thereisnospoon
Gold Member
In his weekly radio address Obama talked about his "Family Summit".
In a perfect world, these ideas have merit.
What's he gonna do , enact mandates via executive fiat? And who pays?
What Obama forgets to mention is that in countries where government has mandated for example, 6 weeks vacation, paid family leave 35 hour work weeks, etc government subsidizes businesses at taxpayer expense.
In this country, there are no such subsidies and now should there be. I certainly do not want to pay for them. And if this ever came to fruition, we taxpayers would be forced to fund this. No thanks.
One thing leaves me laughing. Obama stated all through his first campaign that he believed the economy should develop from the "bottom up"....
Now he says the economy develops from "the middle out".
Here is the text of his speech....Now I fully realize that the liberal USMB members will read this and rise up to give Obama a standing ovation....More free stuff via government. Only it is NOT free. Everything has a cost. And those costs invariably come out of the same pockets Obama claims he is trying to fill.
"Hi, everybody. As President, my top priority is rebuilding an economy where everybody who works hard has the chance to get ahead.
Thats what Ill spend some time talking about on Monday, at the White House Summit on Working Families. Were bringing together business leaders and workers to talk about the challenges that working parents face every day, and how we can address them together.
Take paid family leave. Many jobs dont offer adequate leave to care for a new baby or an ailing parent, so workers cant afford to be there when their family needs them the most. Thats wrong. And it puts us way behind the times. Only three countries in the world report that they dont offer paid maternity leave. Three. And the United States is one of them. Its time to change that. A few states have acted on their own to give workers paid family leave, but this should be available to everyone, because all Americans should be able to afford to care for a family member in need.
Childcare is another challenge. Most working families I know cant afford thousands a year for childcare, but often thats what it costs. That leaves parents scrambling just to make sure their kids are safe while theyre at work forget about giving them the high-quality early childhood education that helps kids succeed in life.
Then theres the issue of flexibility the ability to take a few hours off for a parent-teacher conference or to work from home when your kid is sick. Most workers want it, but not enough of them have it. Whats more, it not only makes workers happier studies show that flexibility can make workers more productive and reduce worker turnover and absenteeism. Thats good for business.
At a time when women make up about half of Americas workforce, outdated workplace policies that make it harder for mothers to work hold our entire economy back. But these arent just problems for women. Men also care about whos watching their kids. Theyre rearranging their schedules to make it to soccer games and school plays. Lots of sons help care for aging parents. And plenty of fathers would love to be home for their new babys first weeks in the world.
In fact, in a new study, nearly half of all parents women and men report that theyve said no to a job, not because they didnt want it, but because it would be too hard on their families. When that many talented, hard-working people are forced to choose between work and family, somethings wrong. Other countries are making it easier for people to have both. We should too, if we want American businesses to compete and win in the global economy.
Family leave. Childcare. Flexibility. These arent frills theyre basic needs. They shouldnt be bonuses they should be the bottom line.
The good news is, some businesses are embracing family-friendly policies, because they know its key to attracting and retaining talented employees. And Im going to keep highlighting the businesses that do. Because I take this personally. I take it personally as the son and grandson of some strong women who worked hard to support my sister and me. As the husband of a brilliant woman who struggled to balance work and raising our young ladies when my job often kept me away. And as the father of two beautiful girls, whom I want to be there for as much as I possibly can and whom I hope will be able to have families and careers of their own one day.
We know from our history that our economy grows best from the middle-out; that our country does better when everybody participates; when everyones talents are put to use; when we all have a fair shot. Thats the America I believe in. Thats the America Ill keep fighting for every day. "
BTW, Obama has used the phrase "top priority" in so many ways, it has lost any meaning.
In a perfect world, these ideas have merit.
What's he gonna do , enact mandates via executive fiat? And who pays?
What Obama forgets to mention is that in countries where government has mandated for example, 6 weeks vacation, paid family leave 35 hour work weeks, etc government subsidizes businesses at taxpayer expense.
In this country, there are no such subsidies and now should there be. I certainly do not want to pay for them. And if this ever came to fruition, we taxpayers would be forced to fund this. No thanks.
One thing leaves me laughing. Obama stated all through his first campaign that he believed the economy should develop from the "bottom up"....
Now he says the economy develops from "the middle out".
Here is the text of his speech....Now I fully realize that the liberal USMB members will read this and rise up to give Obama a standing ovation....More free stuff via government. Only it is NOT free. Everything has a cost. And those costs invariably come out of the same pockets Obama claims he is trying to fill.
"Hi, everybody. As President, my top priority is rebuilding an economy where everybody who works hard has the chance to get ahead.
Thats what Ill spend some time talking about on Monday, at the White House Summit on Working Families. Were bringing together business leaders and workers to talk about the challenges that working parents face every day, and how we can address them together.
Take paid family leave. Many jobs dont offer adequate leave to care for a new baby or an ailing parent, so workers cant afford to be there when their family needs them the most. Thats wrong. And it puts us way behind the times. Only three countries in the world report that they dont offer paid maternity leave. Three. And the United States is one of them. Its time to change that. A few states have acted on their own to give workers paid family leave, but this should be available to everyone, because all Americans should be able to afford to care for a family member in need.
Childcare is another challenge. Most working families I know cant afford thousands a year for childcare, but often thats what it costs. That leaves parents scrambling just to make sure their kids are safe while theyre at work forget about giving them the high-quality early childhood education that helps kids succeed in life.
Then theres the issue of flexibility the ability to take a few hours off for a parent-teacher conference or to work from home when your kid is sick. Most workers want it, but not enough of them have it. Whats more, it not only makes workers happier studies show that flexibility can make workers more productive and reduce worker turnover and absenteeism. Thats good for business.
At a time when women make up about half of Americas workforce, outdated workplace policies that make it harder for mothers to work hold our entire economy back. But these arent just problems for women. Men also care about whos watching their kids. Theyre rearranging their schedules to make it to soccer games and school plays. Lots of sons help care for aging parents. And plenty of fathers would love to be home for their new babys first weeks in the world.
In fact, in a new study, nearly half of all parents women and men report that theyve said no to a job, not because they didnt want it, but because it would be too hard on their families. When that many talented, hard-working people are forced to choose between work and family, somethings wrong. Other countries are making it easier for people to have both. We should too, if we want American businesses to compete and win in the global economy.
Family leave. Childcare. Flexibility. These arent frills theyre basic needs. They shouldnt be bonuses they should be the bottom line.
The good news is, some businesses are embracing family-friendly policies, because they know its key to attracting and retaining talented employees. And Im going to keep highlighting the businesses that do. Because I take this personally. I take it personally as the son and grandson of some strong women who worked hard to support my sister and me. As the husband of a brilliant woman who struggled to balance work and raising our young ladies when my job often kept me away. And as the father of two beautiful girls, whom I want to be there for as much as I possibly can and whom I hope will be able to have families and careers of their own one day.
We know from our history that our economy grows best from the middle-out; that our country does better when everybody participates; when everyones talents are put to use; when we all have a fair shot. Thats the America I believe in. Thats the America Ill keep fighting for every day. "
BTW, Obama has used the phrase "top priority" in so many ways, it has lost any meaning.
