Judging by the responses pertaining to the subject matter,I'm not alone in my opinion of Chao.Every time I see" THAT WOMAN "on the news or in the press,the over optimistic dribble that she spews forth endlessly,leads me to one of two conclusions.Either she just an administration stooge or like most other people of position or wealth,she holds her optimistic views because she can AFFORD to be optimistic.I cant, I need my job.I believe that her and others in the administration are doing the public and investors a huge disservice in maintaining such an attitude when clearly the economy is not out of the woods.
i agree the chao is a spinmaster, but i do not agree that blaming the current administration for what has been, a mild recession (not bear market) especially give the previous upturn. also, the economy is on the mend, and you only need to look at the stock market for confirmation, which forecasts the economy six months ahead of time. it's just bad timing for bush, just like it was for his father. they enter off just when the economy is headed south. you can blame the excessive corporate building and overexpansion during the previous adminstration (not because of it either i will add). the economy is bigger than one person.
So what would you critics have her do? If you were in her job, how would you describe the jobs report? "Oh noooo, we're screwed now????" What would you do to stop loss of jobs to low wage areas? How would you prevent Canada and other countries from imposing price controls on drugs? These are difficult issues that cut across political lines.
Because we are in a Global Marketplace, commodity-based industries domiciled here in the US have been "exporting" jobs to Indonesia and elsewhere for quite some time. Take a look at Chevron for instance. Their headquarters is in San Ramon, California, which the last time I checked was in an area that had a VERY high cost of living, especially due to housing prices. Yet, they have been "exporting" their entire IT department over to Indonesia ( just like Dell's Technical Support ). Hence, no need to pay "expensive" labor in the San Francisco Bay Area to show up at work at the company's headquarters in San Ramon! In fact, aside from marketing purposes ( with the West Coast being a large marketplace for gasoline, etc. ) there is really no reason that Chevron even needs to be based in the San Francisco Bay Area where the cost of living is so high. Hence, many positions have been shifted back to Houston where Texaco is. Yet, San Ramon is still headquarters to Chevron. In fact, I know of some managers at Chevron here in San Ramon that would welcome a "demotion" if they could get reassigned to a cheaper place to live. Moreover, The only way that you are able to "advance" through such an organization is to be willing to move to London or Indonesia. Now how many working heads of households and a family of 4 are going to be willing to do that? As a result, the opportunities for advancement in a global commodity player like Chevron are few and far between, here in the states . . . And I might add that this is nothing new, it's been going on for years now!
well, if I had that job, I would decline television interviews, especially since she has a belligerent, arrogant attitude towards anyone who mildly criticizes or questions her opinion...I think that she would be well advised to keep a very low profile...
My apologies to dafugginman.I didnot mean to imply the current administration is entirely to blame for current economic conditions . I'll correct myself by saying ALL administrations since 1982 have overindulged in manipulation of fiscal and monetary policy ,and ALL bear responsibility to varying degree. I hope you're not betting retirement money on the six month confirmation.The supposed low in october was 9 months ago.
To AAA,You seem to be overlooking recent historyand how overoptimism and false perception fleeced US investors to the tune of amost ten TRLLION.
If you really want to improve the economy, especially for low income workers: Close the border with Mexcio! No more illegals. They have greatly increased the supply of low skill labor in the southwest, thus pushing down wages. Unless Washington gets serious about it, the number of illegals will only increase in the future, putting a cap on low wages and increasing the gap between the rich and the poor. Reduce taxes paid by low income earners. End protectionist policies. These are band aids for structural changes facing this country. Encourage more saving and investment.
actually, you might be on to something here... B Schools also teach an important lesson.... honesty.... Falling on one's sword....that would work well for her... cutting across administrations, well, clearly her message is being delivered in the tone that she's supposed to deliver it in. Perhaps she's actually doing her job. Perhaps she's representing the administration Perhaps she's just part of the problem seems that other Administrations had point men/women that knew what that role was for, and what Labor Secretary actually meant. Can you imagine her doing a Robert Reich negotiation between labor unions about to strike? whew..... Simply put, perhaps we are seeing the proper face for this role,,,,