Corporate leaders are slamming the president over taxes and the uncertain effects of his policies, and the executives' siege mentality is holding back the economy.
Is fear of President Barack Obama one reason we're stuck with sluggish economic growth?
That's the message the CEOs of several major companies are sending out.
In unusually vitriolic attacks on a sitting president, including references to communist Russia and Adolf Hitler, CEOs have complained they can't predict what Obama will do next -- and how his new regulations and taxes might hit their companies.
Which party is better for the economy?
"We don't know what the latest great idea from Obama will be. Therefore, we are hunkering down," Cypress Semiconductor (CY, news, msgs) CEO T.J. Rodgers told me last week, echoing public comments over summer from CEOs at companies such as Intel (INTC, news, msgs) and Verizon (VZ, news, msgs).
He said that because of Obama, CEOs are focusing on their core businesses and hiring less, to control costs and risks. "CEOs are uncertain, so they don't want to have the liability of adding a lot of employees," Rodgers said.Msn.Video.createWidget('PlayerAd1Container', 'PlayerAd', 300, 213, {"configCsid": "MSNmoney", "configName": "player-money-articles-16x9", "player.vcq": "videoByUuids.aspx?uuids=9580163b-04aa-464d-9a25-be46ba7aa3c7,23363096-b85f-4493-9a1f-2950e259d162,7f204a1a-ba42-4d0d-af58-4906b3b4b9b1,4b31e467-88e7-400a-a906-c27963bcc5eb,ab08cfa1-22bf-4fcf-b428-7860342f15c2,dccfad91-0258-4315-9bd6-4273b1dfcb84", "player.fr": "iv2_en-us_money_article_16x9-investing-companyfocus"}, 'PlayerAd1');Msn.Video.createWidget('Gallery4Container', 'Gallery', 304, 150, {"configCsid": "MSNmoney", "configName": "gallery-money-articles", "gallery.linkbackLocation": "bottom_left", "gallery.numColsGrid": "3", "gallery.categoryRequests": "videoByUuids.aspx?uuids=9580163b-04aa-464d-9a25-be46ba7aa3c7,23363096-b85f-4493-9a1f-2950e259d162,7f204a1a-ba42-4d0d-af58-4906b3b4b9b1,4b31e467-88e7-400a-a906-c27963bcc5eb,ab08cfa1-22bf-4fcf-b428-7860342f15c2,dccfad91-0258-4315-9bd6-4273b1dfcb84;videoByTag.aspx%3Ftag%3Dmoney_dispatch%26ns%3DMSNmoney_Gallery%26mk%3Dus%26vs%3D1;videoByTag.aspx%3Ftag%3Dbest%2520of%2520money%26ns%3DMSNmoney_Gallery%26mk%3Dus%26vs%3D1"}, 'Gallery4');There's certainly a lot of uncertainty out there as we approach November's midterm elections. Next year's tax rules are in limbo. The effects of health care and financial reform have yet to be seen. And then there's what many perceive as an anti-CEO message in Obama's rhetoric -- aimed mostly at chiefs of big banks and health insurers but also at hunkered-down execs in general.
"Obama uses political rhetoric to demean me and my motives, but the fact is, I am completely happy with my motives and the morality of my decisions," Rodgers said. "My moral responsibility is to protect and grow the investment of shareholders." Are conditions really that bad? The irony is that, by many measures, public companies are doing quite well in the Obama economy. The S&P 500 Index ($INX) is up about 35% since Inauguration Day. Profits are expected to rise 36% in 2010, Bloomberg reports. And companies are sitting on a near-record $2 trillion in cash, money they could use to invest and create jobs.
Of course, those profits and that treasure are to a great degree the result of hunkering down and cutting costs.
Find an online broker and start tradingObama defenders say his criticism of big bank and insurance CEOs have been justified, given the financial meltdown and the number of Americans without health coverage. And, of course, no president can afford to be anti-business.
"Using Obama's priorities for fixing the economy as an excuse is deplorable," said Brandon Rees, the deputy director of the AFL-CIO Office of Investment. "These CEOs would be better off focusing on their businesses."
In fact, many CEOs, including Brian Roberts of Comcast (CMCSA, news, msgs) and Mike Duke of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news, msgs), have supported Obama's reforms, and Warren Buffett opined recently that the economy is back on track.
It's hardly rare for CEOs to speak out against Washington when it's doing something they don't like. What's different now is the vitriol and directness of these corner-office broadsides. CEOs on the offensive Consider the following attacks on Obama and the Democrats in recent months:
Intel CEO Paul Otellini, referring to Obama and the Democrats, said in an August speech to the Technology Policy Institute's Aspen Forum, "I think this group does not understand what it takes to create jobs."Verizon CEO Ivan Seidenberg, in a June speech at the Economic Club of Washington, accused Obama of creating an "increasingly hostile environment for investment and job creation."Cypress Semiconductor's Rodgers told me last week that he had "started out happy with Obama because we had broken through the white male barrier" and made "a step forward for equality." But Rodgers added: "I have become deeply disappointed with him. It is amateur hour in Washington. The guy hasn't got a clue about the economy, how jobs are created, how wealth is created. It reminds me of the Jimmy Carter years, only worse." Blackstone Group CEO Steven Schwarzman seemed to compare the Obama administration to Hitler by saying in a recent private meeting that Washington's push to increase taxes on private-equity firms is war, "like when Hitler invaded Poland in 1939," according to Newsweek.Observers say such overt attacks are rare. "I don't remember corporate leaders speaking out this vehemently in the past, said Gary Shilling of A. Gary Shilling & Co., which offers investment advice. "People in these positions don't get there unless they know how to keep their mouths shut when they need to."
Shilling speculated that CEOs need a scapegoat for the poor economy and that the administration "has mishandled things to the point where it has volunteered itself" for the job.
"Much more than any time that I have seen in my career, business is concerned about specific policies and ideas coming out of Washington," said Fred Fraenkel, the chairman of the investment policy committee at Beacon Trust and former director of global research at Lehman Brothers.
Daniel Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a think tank dedicated to limited government, suggested CEOs are also letting loose because they feel "a little bit liberated" by polls suggesting Republicans may take a majority in the House of Representatives and make significant gains in the Senate in the November elections.
Continued: Stifling uncertaintyMore from MSN Money
CEOs: Cut more jobs, make more moneyInvestors head for the bunkerHow the stock market is killing jobs8 CEOs' total windfall: $250 millionNo inflation means no recovery1 | 2 | next >
Rate this Article Click on one of the stars below to rate this article from 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest). LowThank you for rating.UGR('ratCntrl')High var avgRating=0;avgRating=6.434783; if(avgRating!=0){avgRating=avgRating/2;avgRating=Math.round(avgRating*100)/100;var sDisplayText="Average rating: " + avgRating + " from ";var usersCount=46;sDisplayText = sDisplayText + usersCount;if (usersCount==1)sDisplayText=sDisplayText + " user";else sDisplayText=sDisplayText + " users";avgRatingElem=document.getElementById("averageRating");avgRatingElem.innerText=sDisplayText;} View all top-rated articlesE-mail us your comments on this article Discuss in a message board MSN Money InsightNew Investor CenterMarket DispatchesJubak's JournalTop Stocks blogCompany FocusContrarian ChroniclesSmart Spending blogFast AnswersDecision CentersStart InvestingMutual FundsFind Hot StocksSimple StrategiesPower ToolsInvesting for IncomeReal Estate InvestingRecent Articles by Michael BrushCEOs: Cut more jobs, make more money 09/07/2010How the stock market is killing jobs 08/31/20108 bargain buys for the rebound 08/24/2010More . . .Stocks To WatchAdobe SystemsGeneral MillseBayAltria GroupCaterpillarCitigroupGoogleAT&TFund data provided by Morningstar, Inc. © 2009. All rights reserved.StockScouter data provided by Gradient Analytics, Inc.Quotes supplied by Interactive Data.MSN Money's editorial goal is to provide a forum for personal finance and investment ideas. Our articles, columns, message board posts and other features should not be construed as investment advice, nor does their appearance imply an endorsement by Microsoft of any specific security or trading strategy. An investor's best course of action must be based on individual circumstances.Msn.Video.createWidget('Gallery8Container', 'Gallery', 500, 230, {"configCsid": "MSNmoney", "configName": "gallery-money-article-site-wide"}, 'Gallery8'); 15CommentsNewestOldestBestWorstControversialdurkadurkajihad1 minute ago*hippie voice* screw the corporations man 0 0ReportSpamMahler_Five49 minutes agoWith people like Steven Schwarzman leading American industry we are in more trouble than I thought. This man is clearly off his rocker. Lord save us from lunatics like this. 2 0ReportSpamGwyneth1 hour agoObama is a JOKE! A bad JOKE! He is ruining our country and making us the laughingstock of the world.
If you think we were hated before, we look like complete idiots now, totally incompetent!
I hope everyone that voted for this idiot got THE CHANGE they were looking for!
2 3ReportSpamright-wing girl1 hour agoWhat is wrong with the economy is Obama. He doesn't know the first thing about running the country, financial responsibility, or personal freedom to work a job, raise a family. The one thing he has done though that no one else has been able to do is make Jimmy Carter look like a financial genius. Get this looser out of office before we turn into 3rd world country with a dictator for a leader. 8 8ReportSpamkhanshus3 hours agoyou are all missing the point. the ceo's are taking a calculated risk. not really much of a risk at all. after much belt tightening and cutbacks they find themselves awash in money. they say the unknowns of obama policy are holding them back. hogwash. these people are in the business of business, not in collecting interest in large amounts of cash. that doesnt keep up with inflation and is a losing proposition. no, they are betting on the come. they dont act, the economy continues to look bad, the republicans take back control and they dont have to pay higher taxes. if not, after the next election they will have to play ball with new rules. either way, after november's election things will improve as they start to put their money to work. best case scenario, the right gets back control of congress, the economy improves, the right gets the credit and the corporations dont pay higher taxes. worst case, the dems keep control, the economy improves, the corporations have to pay higher taxes and they only lost a few months gambling on the come. the corps. were spoiled by bush and now they want it al their way. take, take, take and no give. all the talk about the administration not knowing anything about creating jobs, crying about the vilification of the banking industry, comparing obama to nazi's invading poland is all a smoke screen that smell of horse manure. the market is up, profits are up and they are sitting on two trillion in cash. oh poor, poor me. dont buy the rhetoric about not knowing what health care is going to cost either. there is no public option. the new rules were amended to suit the insurance industry, healthy young people will have to join the insurance pool (probably with public money) and the health companies will see profits double. go out and buy their stock a.s.a.p. they are going to see a windfall. 8 7ReportSpamCharles L. Morse Sr.4 hours agoObama is a very destructive social path with no plan to fix America's problems . He is only now trying to do the things he should have done to fix this mess . Job base is the tax base . Spending money and borrowing money without jobs to tax is bad business . You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that out . 7 12ReportSpamderfer5 hours agoFile this article under....Duh! 2 2ReportSpamjumpnjive5 hours agoListen ...
CEO Jamie Dimon lamented that the "incessant, broad-based vilification of the banking industry isn't fair, and it is damaging. . .
If an industry REFUSES to listen to polite and reasonable suggestions, then they will have to be informed in other ways.
5 3ReportSpamjumpnjive6 hours agoWASHINGTON (Reuters) â?? The recession ended in June 2009, making it the longest downturn since the Great Depression of the 1930s, the National Bureau of Economic Research said on Monday. ....It is evident that the media has spent the past year misinforming the public, and participating in the right-wing negative campaign against President Obama and Democrats.
5 10ReportSpamRedd the Sock6 hours ago
Actually the irony is that the best way they could have defused Obama was to hire and expand. His power comes from those that see the big corporate paychecks at the same time as their pink slips, and decide that behavior needs to be controled. Then furthering the irony, they wonder why their sales are down, when it's due to essentialy the same kind of fear. Why spend money (If we have any) when we're not sure if our jobs will be here tomorrow? It's a real catch 22.
At any rate, corporate america is starting to depress me. Once great rsk takers and trailblazers have been reduced to whiny children. No longer the risk takers, they want it all made easy for them or they won't play. Was America built on people that complained the future was uncertain and hard, or was is built on people that saw the uncertainty and said, "so what, I'm still going for it."
10 2ReportSpamjumpnjive6 hours agoThe top Executives give themselves milions of dollars in bonuses, supposedly because they make "complex" decisions. But now they say it's all too complex for them to undesrstand! The only decision they make is giving themselves more bonuses. Corporations need to consider why they have inept twits running their businesses.
8 3ReportSpamjayb6 hours agoCEOs are using politcal rhetoric to further their own interests. I can't believe that the Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent is comparing the Obama administration to the Soviet communist regime because the government has proposed a tax on soft drinks. If we go along with Muhtar's line of thinking all taxes on food drinks including on alcohol and cigrettes should be removed because what right does the government have to tax any food or drink?
Muhtar sounds anti-American and until he apologizes for his remarks or is removed from Coca-Cola, a company I admire, I am not buying any products made by the Coca-Cola company. I will also be discouraging others from supporting Coca-Cola in anyway.
CEOs should know better what to say and not say. This is disgusting.
9 9ReportSpamHardess7 hours agoCypress Semiconductor CEO T.J. Rodgers says his "moral (emphsis mine) responsibility is to protect and grow the investment of shareholders." And he thinks President Obama is what's wrong with the country. UNBELIEVABLE. 13 11ReportSpamGas Guzzlers8 hours agoCEOs have no problem getting access to healthcare , the bankrupted Cadillac kind, yet they are uncertain about getting their workers access to Obamacare. C'mon, gimme a break! How many CEOs has same pre existing conditions that would deny them health coverage if they are not CEOs. C'mon, gimme a break! CEOs figure that the best way is to get the MINDLESS GOP BACK IN POWER !! GOP is NIHLISM!!!!!!!!!!!!!â??!!!!! 8 20ReportSpamGas Guzzlers8 hours agoCEOs dont mind paying $10 for gasoline which is exactly what is wrong with their minds!!! and their leaderships!!! We keep saying to ourselves that we cannot make alternate energy competitive with gasoline until gasoline go up to $10 a gallon. In reality, they dont want alternate energy to depress gasoline prices. We operate a god awful lot of central air conditioners during the hot summer time hours while solar energy can do it finest ! Yet, we drag lawyers into courts to block megasolarfarms all over the Southwest. CEOs couldnt care any less about what can happen to gasoline prices , the main drinking water of American commuters!!! 6 23ReportSpamAdd a commentReportPlease help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behavior. If you believe a message violates theCode of ConductPlease use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities.CategoriesSpamChild pornography or exploitationProfanity, vulgarity or obscenityCopyright infringementHarassment or threatThreats of suicideOtherAdditional comments(optional) 100 character limitAre you sure you want to delete this comment? var initData = {"strings":{"lc_shw":"true","lc_dtf":"%M/dd/yyyy %h:mm tt","lc_dtf2":"ddd %h:mm tt","lc_gmt":"-5","lc_erg":"Comments are currently unavailable. Try again later.","lc_det":"Comments are unavailable on this page.","lc_pgf":"{0} of {1}","lc_1ach":"Comment","lc_ach":"Comments","lc_newm":"Newest","lc_oldm":"Oldest","lc_bestm":"Best","lc_worstm":"Worst","lc_mixedm":"Controversial","lc_prv":"Previous page","lc_nxt":"Next page","lc_pageNumTooltip":"Enter a page number, and then press the Enter key","lc_first":"First page","lc_last":"Last page","lc_rpl":"Reply","lc_rbs":"Report","lc_edt":"Edit","lc_del":"Delete","lc_pstthanks":"Thanks for posting to","lc_pstand":"{0} and {1}","lc_seemore":"See more . . . ","lc_seeless":"See less . . .","lc_rpttxt":"Thank you for reporting.","lc_msg2mod":"Send note to moderator . . .","lc_cc0":"Please help us to maintain a healthy and vibrant community by reporting any illegal or inappropriate behavior. If you believe a message violates the","lc_cc1":"Code of Conduct","lc_cc2":"Please use this form to notify the moderators. They will investigate your report and take appropriate action. If necessary, they report all illegal activity to the proper authorities.","lc_cat":"Categories","lc_spa":"Spam","lc_che":"Child pornography or exploitation","lc_pro":"Profanity, vulgarity or obscenity","lc_cor":"Copyright infringement","lc_har":"Harassment or threat","lc_usrpic":"Inappropriate user picture","lc_oth":"Other","lc_abc":"Additional comments","lc_opt":"(optional)","lc_atl":"100 character limit","lc_rep":"Report","lc_1hourm":"1 hour ago","lc_1minm":"1 minute ago","lc_recomm":"You recommend this","lc_recomdontm":"You don\u0027t recommend this","lc_voted":"You have voted on this","lc_suicide":"Threats of suicide","lc_joi":"Be the first to comment","lc_shwm":"Show comments","lc_hidem":"Hide comments","lc_hourm":"{0} hours ago","lc_minm":"{0} minutes ago","lc_secm":"{0} seconds ago","lc_add":"Add a comment","lc_dmg":"Are you sure you want to delete this comment?","lc_dok":"Delete","lc_dca":"Cancel","lc_pna":"There\u0027s a problem creating posts right now. Please try again later.","lc_clt":"This discussion is closed. New comments cannot be posted.","lc_fta":"Be the first to comment","lc_fsg":"Be the first to add a comment. To add a comment, please","lc_sgn":"sign-in","lc_lnk":"Read comments","lc_spell_gen_err":"Could not check spelling. Please try again later.","lc_spell_no_mist":"No spelling errors found.","lc_spell_num_mist":"Spell check detected {0} mistake(s).","lc_spell_in_prog":"Spell check in progress...","lc_spell_check":"Check Spelling","lc_post_gen_err":"There's a problem creating posts right now. Please try again later.","lc_post_long":"Post cannot be longer than {0} characters.","lc_post_empty":"Your post cannot be empty.","lc_cmnt_day_max":"You already reached the daily limit for posts today. Please post again tomorrow.","lc_post_prog":"Post in progress...","lc_post":"Post","lc_save":"Save","lc_not_auth":"You are not signed in.","lc_no_suggest_paren":"(No suggestions)","lc_ignore_paren":"(Ignore)","lc_insrt_emot":"Insert Emoticon","lc_cancel":"Cancel","lc_ok":"OK","lc_fmt_quote":"Format as Quote","lc_incr_indnt":"Increase Indent","lc_decr_indnt":"Decrease Indent","lc_bullets":"Bullets","lc_numbering":"Numbering","lc_italic":"Italic (CTRL+I)","lc_bold":"Bold (CTRL+B)","lc_post_dirty":"Edits you have made to your post will be lost.","lc_rte":"Rich Text Editor","lc_ip_banned":"The computer or device you are using is temporarily banned from posting on this site. People or automated programs have recently used this computer or device to create unwanted posts. You may still browse the site and read other people's posts, but you can't create, edit, or delete posts.","lc_chk_msg_spell":"Check message for spelling errors (F7)","lc_post_msg":"Post this message (CTRL+ENTER)","lc_perm_ban":"This Windows Live ID was banned for violating the Code of C
"Obama uses political rhetoric to demean me and my motives, but the fact is, I am completely happy with my motives and the morality of my decisions," Rodgers said. "My moral responsibility is to protect and grow the investment of shareholders." Are conditions really that bad? The irony is that, by many measures, public companies are doing quite well in the Obama economy. The S&P 500 Index ($INX) is up about 35% since Inauguration Day. Profits are expected to rise 36% in 2010, Bloomberg reports. And companies are sitting on a near-record $2 trillion in cash, money they could use to invest and create jobs.
Of course, those profits and that treasure are to a great degree the result of hunkering down and cutting costs.
Obama defenders say his criticism of big bank and insurance CEOs have been justified, given the financial meltdown and the number of Americans without health coverage. And, of course, no president can afford to be anti-business.
"Using Obama's priorities for fixing the economy as an excuse is deplorable," said Brandon Rees, the deputy director of the AFL-CIO Office of Investment. "These CEOs would be better off focusing on their businesses."
In fact, many CEOs, including Brian Roberts of Comcast (CMCSA, news, msgs) and Mike Duke of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT, news, msgs), have supported Obama's reforms, and Warren Buffett opined recently that the economy is back on track.
It's hardly rare for CEOs to speak out against Washington when it's doing something they don't like. What's different now is the vitriol and directness of these corner-office broadsides. CEOs on the offensive Consider the following attacks on Obama and the Democrats in recent months:
Observers say such overt attacks are rare. "I don't remember corporate leaders speaking out this vehemently in the past, said Gary Shilling of A. Gary Shilling & Co., which offers investment advice. "People in these positions don't get there unless they know how to keep their mouths shut when they need to."
Shilling speculated that CEOs need a scapegoat for the poor economy and that the administration "has mishandled things to the point where it has volunteered itself" for the job.
"Much more than any time that I have seen in my career, business is concerned about specific policies and ideas coming out of Washington," said Fred Fraenkel, the chairman of the investment policy committee at Beacon Trust and former director of global research at Lehman Brothers.
Daniel Mitchell, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, a think tank dedicated to limited government, suggested CEOs are also letting loose because they feel "a little bit liberated" by polls suggesting Republicans may take a majority in the House of Representatives and make significant gains in the Senate in the November elections.
Continued: Stifling uncertaintyMore from MSN Money
1 | 2 | next >
Obama is a JOKE! A bad JOKE! He is ruining our country and making us the laughingstock of the world.
If you think we were hated before, we look like complete idiots now, totally incompetent!
I hope everyone that voted for this idiot got THE CHANGE they were looking for!
Listen ...
If an industry REFUSES to listen to polite and reasonable suggestions, then they will have to be informed in other ways.
It is evident that the media has spent the past year misinforming the public, and participating in the right-wing negative campaign against President Obama and Democrats.
Actually the irony is that the best way they could have defused Obama was to hire and expand. His power comes from those that see the big corporate paychecks at the same time as their pink slips, and decide that behavior needs to be controled. Then furthering the irony, they wonder why their sales are down, when it's due to essentialy the same kind of fear. Why spend money (If we have any) when we're not sure if our jobs will be here tomorrow? It's a real catch 22.
At any rate, corporate america is starting to depress me. Once great rsk takers and trailblazers have been reduced to whiny children. No longer the risk takers, they want it all made easy for them or they won't play. Was America built on people that complained the future was uncertain and hard, or was is built on people that saw the uncertainty and said, "so what, I'm still going for it."
The top Executives give themselves milions of dollars in bonuses, supposedly because they make "complex" decisions. But now they say it's all too complex for them to undesrstand! The only decision they make is giving themselves more bonuses. Corporations need to consider why they have inept twits running their businesses.
CEOs are using politcal rhetoric to further their own interests. I can't believe that the Coca-Cola CEO Muhtar Kent is comparing the Obama administration to the Soviet communist regime because the government has proposed a tax on soft drinks. If we go along with Muhtar's line of thinking all taxes on food drinks including on alcohol and cigrettes should be removed because what right does the government have to tax any food or drink?
Muhtar sounds anti-American and until he apologizes for his remarks or is removed from Coca-Cola, a company I admire, I am not buying any products made by the Coca-Cola company. I will also be discouraging others from supporting Coca-Cola in anyway.
CEOs should know better what to say and not say. This is disgusting.
Read Full Article »
