Competitiveness Will Take Center Stage at State of the Union
President Obama to Roll Out Proposals For Job Creation
January 25, 2011
After a week focused exclusively on competitiveness, President Obama is likely to make economic growth and prosperity the center of his State of the Union address tonight.
“The Council on Competitiveness has long advocated for an integrated competitiveness agenda that addresses the broad issues of talent, technology, investment and infrastructure--the keys to competitiveness,” said Council President & CEO Deborah Wince-Smith. “The president is taking an important step forward by articulating this strategy to drive growth and raise the standard of living for all Americans.”
Last week, President Obama announced the creation of a jobs and competitiveness initiative, aiming to usher in a new and more dynamic phase of the economic recovery. Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of the General Electric and a member of the Council on Competitiveness, was selected by the president to lead the new economic advisory team.
“Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that businesses can take root and folks can find good jobs and America is leading the global competition that will determine our success in the 21st century,” Obama said during the announcement of the new initiative at a GE manufacturing plant in Schenectady, New York.
A preview of tonight’s speech, published by the Associated Press, noted that many American presidents have seized the competitiveness platform. But each has had a different agenda for how the U.S. economy can keep pace with its competitors. As Council on Competitiveness’s Executive Vice President Bill Booher told the AP’s Erica Werner, “the word competitiveness means different things to different people. We have to identify what competitiveness means and how we achieve that in a much different way today than perhaps we have ever done."
The Council is optimistic that this new direction in White House leadership will lead to a greater focus on manufacturing competitiveness - a challenge that encompasses the nation’s most pressing issues. Unemployment, energy scarcity, diminishing technology leadership and accelerating global competition are all threatening the U.S. manufacturing sector. The Council’s U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative (USMCI) is focusing on this intersection of challenges because it is the foundation of a healthy economy.
“If Congress and the Administration, in partnership with the private sector, can create a set of policies that lead to a vibrant American manufacturing industry, it will become the engine for a new era of economic growth and prosperity,” said Wince-Smith.
“The Council on Competitiveness has long advocated for an integrated competitiveness agenda that addresses the broad issues of talent, technology, investment and infrastructure--the keys to competitiveness,” said Council President & CEO Deborah Wince-Smith. “The president is taking an important step forward by articulating this strategy to drive growth and raise the standard of living for all Americans.”
Last week, President Obama announced the creation of a jobs and competitiveness initiative, aiming to usher in a new and more dynamic phase of the economic recovery. Jeffrey Immelt, Chairman and CEO of the General Electric and a member of the Council on Competitiveness, was selected by the president to lead the new economic advisory team.
“Our job is to do everything we can to ensure that businesses can take root and folks can find good jobs and America is leading the global competition that will determine our success in the 21st century,” Obama said during the announcement of the new initiative at a GE manufacturing plant in Schenectady, New York.
A preview of tonight’s speech, published by the Associated Press, noted that many American presidents have seized the competitiveness platform. But each has had a different agenda for how the U.S. economy can keep pace with its competitors. As Council on Competitiveness’s Executive Vice President Bill Booher told the AP’s Erica Werner, “the word competitiveness means different things to different people. We have to identify what competitiveness means and how we achieve that in a much different way today than perhaps we have ever done."
The Council is optimistic that this new direction in White House leadership will lead to a greater focus on manufacturing competitiveness - a challenge that encompasses the nation’s most pressing issues. Unemployment, energy scarcity, diminishing technology leadership and accelerating global competition are all threatening the U.S. manufacturing sector. The Council’s U.S. Manufacturing Competitiveness Initiative (USMCI) is focusing on this intersection of challenges because it is the foundation of a healthy economy.
“If Congress and the Administration, in partnership with the private sector, can create a set of policies that lead to a vibrant American manufacturing industry, it will become the engine for a new era of economic growth and prosperity,” said Wince-Smith.
Contact:
Lisa Hanna
T 202 383 9507
F 202 682 5150
lhanna@compete.org