GE Chief: Obama's Stimulus Package Will Work

CINCINNATI (AP) -- The chief executive of General Electric Co. has said he thinks President Barack Obama's economic-stimulus efforts will pay off eventually in fighting the recession.

"The government has taken broad action," CEO Jeffrey Immelt said in an interview with The Cincinnati Enquirer published Wednesday. "President Obama has pumped nearly $1 trillion into the economy ... and my sense is that, over time, these things will work."

Immelt told The Enquirer that he also sees some reasons for encouragement. Immelt was in his native Cincinnati area on Tuesday to visit the GE Aviation operations. That division has been one of the bright spots in recently stormy times for the Fairfield, Conn., company.

"Our orders aren't bad given the state of the economy," he said. "I was at our appliance business in Louisville yesterday, and while our variance over last year was still negative for March, it wasn't as badly negative as in February.

"You see certain signs that things are stabilizing, but nonetheless this is a very difficult economy and we've got to be prepared for a range of possible events as we look forward," Immelt said.

Immelt is on Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board, meant to provide outside-the-Beltway input to the president.

"One of the advantages of having a company like GE represented on a panel like that is our breadth both from an industry standpoint as well as a global standpoint," he said.

He said Obama is trying to reach out and has been in touch with members as sounding boards.

He said Obama has been keeping in touch with the group's members.

"What the president is trying to do is use people like me as an early sounding board, almost like his BlackBerry. We're an early voice on how the programs are working," Immelt said. "He's done a good job accessing us on a number of items so far."

GE, which makes everything from light bulbs to jet engines, has seen its share price plummet from the high $30s to as low as $5.72 last month, since missing its first-quarter earnings forecast last April. Shares were down 8 cents, to $10.57, in early afternoon trading Wednesday.

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Not one economist agrees - Immelt should resign 4/8/2009 4:39:00 PM If GE wasn't getting a chunk of the Porkulus bill he wouldn't be saying that. Not one economist thinks it will do anything but destroy private sector jobs to support lublic sector jobs and increase debt. Perhaps the shareholders should find a new CEO.
Wow 4/8/2009 4:42:00 PM Here is a guy who is kissing some MAJOR backside. He must be afraid President BO will replace him, too. How can the "Stimulus" be working when unemployment rolls continue to rise? The idea was to supply jobs to get people back to work, thereby raising the tax revenue and having more citizens with money to help lessen the strain on the economy and get it moving again? The fact is, any improvement in the economy now was set in place before BO started his shenanigans. We have yet to see the reaction of his giveaways on the economy.
Not one economist agrees? 4/8/2009 5:31:00 PM Sorry, actually most economists agree (except the disciples of Limbaugh school of economics). The plan was put together from inputs of the bi-partisan CBO and blue panel of business experts. Let us have some economics principles here: Destroying private sector jobs only happens when near full employment and government pulls workers away from private sector. Now many private sector jobs are gone due to lack of demand for goods, (nowhere near full employment, so no jobs destroyed) so government creating new jobs yields double benefits: (1) money in workers pockets to buy goods to create demand which in turn creates more jobs, and (2) Jobs for infrastructure and technology advancement improves the industrial competitiveness of America so that in the future we can export more and therefore foreign debt will be reduced. Improvement in economy now is due to calming the financial tumults that resulted from bad policies of the past decade, although Bush and Bernanke did recognize the financial tsunami and started taking steps to prop up the banks, an action Obama continued. Increasing liquidity and making more loans available is already starting to push up the economy. Much more is still needed to turn things around.
Wow? 4/9/2009 8:06:00 AM Unemployment is increasing because corporations are laying off workers to maintain profit margins. Cardinal lays off 1500 people, shares go up. These corporations don't give rats @$$ about the workers, look at IBM laying people off at the same time hiring more H1-B workers. Shame on them, profit over compassion! Yes, companies are in the business of greed, I mean, making money. Here's a novel idea, how about companies that actually care about the people who work, and subsequently make them money? I agree folks should be rewarded for hard work, able bodied people should earn their own living and not living off the government. The whole idea that abolishing unions because we no longer need them does not stand up because of the way corporations don’t care about the workers and if the company goes under they (CEOs)don’t care because they’ll get the multimillion dollar bonus and go on to destroy more lives for the sake of profit. It is refreshing to see a CEO of a corporation, especially one the size of GE actually trying to work with the elected (chosen by majority) leader of our country to try and get things back on track. One of the few out there who just may realize that the people who buy the stuff they sell need jobs to do so. And I’m tired of the Limbaugh bile guzzling sycophants who think as long as their jobs are safe that it’s OK to put profits first and people last.
GE = NBC = LIBERAL LEFT 4/9/2009 1:04:00 PM GE owns NBC and the associated liberal left NBC media outfit. If Immelt wasn't a leftist liberal himself, then certainly NBC/MSNBC would not be either else he's not really in charge. Clearly this is a case of you scratch my back i.e., Economic Recovery Advisory Board in case he might sway anything in GE's favor if the opportunity arises and I'll scratch yours, i.e., NBC/MSNBC will never challenge Obama or say ill words against him or anything he does, right or wrong, in fact, all they do is promote the left/Obama and bash the right.
GE and Iran 4/9/2009 1:55:00 PM Let's see, GE shares technology with Iran, now they say the stimulus is going work, seems like they are drinking the same bath water the of the Obamanation.

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