According to President Barack Obama, job creation is key to a full economic revival.
On a Tuesday, May 8 visit to Albany, the president said the Capital District is doing everything right to make economic success happen sooner rather than later.
“The reason I came here today is because this school and community represents the future of our economy,” said Obama.
Standing under bright lights in NanoFab X, a $365 million computer chip manufacturing lab still under construction at the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering, Obama praised the high tech work being done there and deemed it a valuable part of the nation’s future progress and a model for the rest of the country.
“Right now, some of the most advanced manufacturing work in America is being done right here in our state of New York. Cutting edge businesses from all over the world are deciding to build here and hire here,” said Obama.
Obama said the education, training and production that occurs at the region’s nanotech hub is paramount to keeping jobs here at home instead of overseas. He said ramping up the workforce domestically is something that needs to happen for the economy to not only recover, but thrive.
“There are steps we can take as a nation to make it easier for companies to grow and to hire; to create platforms of success,” said Obama. “Everything from giving more people the chance to get the right training and education to supporting new research projects in science and technology.”
Obama joined Gov. Andrew Cuomo for a tour of the college prior to his speech. He viewed a computer chip manufacturing clean room and chatted with college scientists who showed him the tools used to make silicon chip wafers.
This is a “make or break moment for America’s middle class,” he said, and there’s “no excuse for inaction,” so he announced a to-do list for Congress and urged citizens to contact their legislators to plead for action.
“It’s about the size of a Post-It note, so every member of Congress should have time to read it,” said Obama, breaking into a grin at audience laughter. “Hopefully they can check things off the list, like when Michelle gives me a list, I check it off.”
No. 1 on the list, which is posted at www.whitehouse.gov for everyone to view, is to “reward American jobs and eliminate tax incentives to ship jobs overseas.” Obama proposed passing legislation that gives companies a new 20 percent tax credit for the cost of moving operations back to the U.S. He said Congress should pay for the credit by eliminating tax breaks for sending business abroad, which are currently in place.
“What we need to do now is to make it easier for companies to do the right thing and one place to start is our tax rates. At the moment, companies get tax breaks for moving factories, jobs, profits overseas,” said Obama. “Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay here are getting hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world and that doesn’t make sense.”
That to-do list goal shouldn’t be hard to accomplish, he said, because thanks to advances in technology, it’s actually becoming more advantageous to manufacture in the U.S.
“Now, it’s getting more expensive to do business in places like China; wages are going up, shipping costs are going up, meanwhile American workers are getting more and more efficient (and) companies located here are becoming more and more competitive,” said Obama.
He pointed to GlobalFoundries in Malta, the location he was originally scheduled to tour and speak at, as a shining example of attracting cutting-edge business and keeping jobs here.
“Companies like IBM, GlobalFoundries could decide to pack up and move elsewhere but chose to stay in Upstate New York because it made more sense to build here,” said Obama.
Congressman Chris Gibson, R-Kinderhook, who represents the 20th District that includes Saratoga County, said Obama’s visit speaks to the work being done locally. He also agreed with the President’s call for bipartisan support to get things done.
“I think leaders in both parties should work together to move our country forward, grow the economy, create jobs, work toward a balanced budget,” said Gibson. “I call on leaders of both parties to take on those goals and help move our country forward.”
Bethlehem Supervisor John Clarkson said the NanoCollege and GloFo doesn’t “have the space for everything” so he’s hoping the Vista Technology Park will pick up the slack and find its own place in the nanotech world.
“We’re hoping that Vista can really benefit from that and pick up a lot of their technology business,” said Clarkson. “… It’s good to have the President’s attention to the tech industry.”
Another “task” Obama put before Congress is to “invest in a new hire tax credit for small businesses,” which would give a 10 percent income tax credit to firms that create new jobs or increase wages this year.
“We should make it easier for them to succeed,” he said.
Colonie Supervisor Paula Mahan said the town is doing its part in commercial growth.
“In our economic development plan we have been working on bringing spinoff companies from GlobalFoundries and jobs to this area and we have had some businesses that have already settled in Colonie that are technology-based and preparing for the future,” said Mahan, who met Obama when he landed at Albany International Airport just after 11 a.m.
Obama also challenged Congress to “cut red tape” in the mortgage market to help homeowners refinance, invest in affordable clean energy and create a Veterans Job Corps to help veterans from Afghanistan and Iraq get jobs.
“Of course it’s not enough just to give them the list, we’ve also got to get them started crossing things off the list,” said Obama.
Obama spent a few minutes shaking hands with lucky crowd members and VIP guests before heading back to the airport just before 2 p.m. and boarding Air Force One for his flight home.
-Marcy Velte contributed to this report.
