In late June, General Electric’s CEO, Jeffrey Immelt, was in Michigan announcing an investment where GE will bring 1,100 jobs to the Michigan economy. He had a few things to say.. A selection of his quotables below.. along with a few thoughts of my own.
1. “Americans need to save more than they earn.”
I suppose this is the next wave of logic from the current face of fascism appeasers. Please re-read what he said.. (or is reported to have said.) Save MORE than you earn? I suppose under the right circumstances, with the proper influx of stimulus to those who would save.. it might be possible, but no.. it doesn’t work..
2. “The U.S. has already lost its leadership in many growth industries.”
Define growth.. What the hell.. define leadership while you are at it..
3. “America needs move more from a service economy to a more industrial and manufacturing one.”
OK, I know you were talking to a Michigan audience, but I need to know if Granholm was listening. I should also like to ascertain how we might do such a thing given the incredible drive to strangle manufacturing by our leadership with the willing help of YOU sir? Your “green Peacock” folly, alongside an obvious skewering of your editorial policies at NBC has placed us in a predicament. You own a piece of this crisis, Mr. Immelt. While raising the costs on energy with the emphasis on creating an artificial point where your wind and alternative energy products are competitive with fossil fuels, you have helped make the wealth creating manufacturing process too expensive for the remainder of industry.
4. “The U.S. needs to become a large exporter and to do that American companies need to invest heavily in R&D. Each year, GE puts 6% of its industrial revenue back into technology and because of this more than half of the products it sells today didn’t even exist a decade ago.”
See #3.. To have something left to put into R&D, it does require an initial profit. Profit that gets eaten up by artificial crisis driven government mandates is lost forever. I wonder how much of that 6% you put into this years R&D budget came from GE capital which got a healthy helping of Taxpayer Pie?
5. “America needs to get busy addressing the two biggest global challenges – clean energy and affordable health care.”
Nuclear is an option I support. I even support wind farms etc, but there are many considerations that should be made before mandates are established punishing taxpayers and small business. And HEALTH CARE frankly, gets more expensive for the private payers as GOVERNMENT becomes involved. Government needs to limit its providing of benefits and encourage through tax breaks personal HSAs.. THAT would be a solution.
6. “Price of commodities will rise due to increased consumption in emerging markets.”
I understand that a TRUE businessman would understand competition for product and goods. I HOPE you are not so far excluded from that classification, that you don’t realize the implications.
7. “The American consumer cannot lead the recovery. This economy must be driven by business investment, manufacturing and exports.”
The consumer cannot lead the recovery if the government has their money already tied up. Exports cannot happen if a regulatory climate which benefits remote development of our technology by crafting government induced cost barriers. Small business struggles to fight the eco nazis, and GE finds a friend in government barely keeping the the eco nazi off its back. And Investment in larger concerns that are apparently TOO BIG TO FAIL now appears to be worthless.. Ask the former “preferred” owners (investors in) of GM and Chrysler.. they are still scratching their heads trying to figure out how they were buggered so bad. I wouldnt throw a DIME in ANY business until this regime is changed.
8. “The US should set a national goal to create high value added jobs and have manufacturing jobs be no less than 20% of total employment, about twice what it is today.”
Again.. See #3 goals are wonderful things.. let logic dictate a course of action.
9. “Business should reinvest in new American jobs which will create leadership in the future.”
See #4. BUSINESS needs to have a couple of dollars left to do such a thing. As long as it is being stolen by rent seeking conglomerates which use media arms to promote their vision for profit, the powers that they promote use that vision to drain the “seed corn” of the rest of business if you will. Soon this golden goose will be inside out Mr. Immelt.
10. “We should welcome the government as a catalyst for leadership and change.”
BULL$&%* Government is YOUR vision. A Vision YOU promote MR. Immelt. We should put that beast of government back in its cage, if for even YOUR good sake sir. For after we are gone, it will look to you for its final meal.
11. “The U.S. needs to see this new Government spending for what it is: an opportunity to turn financial adversity into national advantage – to launch innovations of lasting value to our country.”
The US needs to see it for what it is. NBC-PRAVDA might well promote government spending as an opportunity, but theft is theft, innovation needs no intervention by political reward systems.
12. “Businesses must engage, because status quo is not an option. The country has massive problems and social unrest. Fighting to protect the past is just wrong.”
Is that the next story line for the Media arm of the GE Empire? “Social unrest?” Are you speaking of those violent Tea Party Protesters? The Grannies whom have lost their life’s savings to inept government interference in free markets? What about the four and five year olds who are already being fitted for their “mule packs?” “The Past” sir, worked quite well, but don’t let that stop you from trying to cement your lips firmly on the posteriors of our congress and president. When the crap hits the fan at least we will know WHOM it had to travel through first.
13. “An American renewal will be shaped by the public and private sectors, and – more than ever – by a willingness to act boldly for the good of the country.”
Pretty bold activity in your position I suppose.. You obviously are a picker of winning strategies… Since 2000 (Immelt becomes GE CEO) GE stock has tumbled by 75%. I should point out it was not all due to the market crash caused by other GOVERNMENT “Bold Moves.” (the history of CRA is well known by now) I wonder now what happens as a result of T. Boone Pickens garage being too small? Will the market become weak for GE windmills?
BOLD would be putting them up with NO RESERVE on eBay..
