Jobs a Priority
CBS News
Transcript
from presidential economic adviser larry summers a positive administration spins today on the nation's biggest concerns money and jobs today everybody agrees that the recession is over unemployment dipped to 10 percent in november mortgage rates are at an all-time low but banks aren't lending in 2009 total refinancing activity was one trillion dollars in contrast to 2.8 trillion in 2003. refinancing matters because it helps people spend and pay down debt wall street analyst jim awad says there's a reason the bankers are being stingy they are not lending money to main street because they don't believe the economic recovery is necessarily sustainable and durable the president in his saturday address laid much of the blame for the nation's economic woes on the bankers much of it was due to the irresponsibility of large financial institutions on wall street that gambled on risky loans and complex financial products the president meets tomorrow with officers of the 12 biggest banks including citigroup jpmorgan chase bank of america wells fargo and goldman sachs economic adviser larry summers previewed mr obama's message that those banks owe their survival to taxpayer health they need to recognize that they've got obligations to the country after all that's been done for them and there's a lot more they can do but jim awad says the banks don't think they owe anything to society at large what they feel they owe to is to their employees to themselves to their bonuses and to their shareholders and republicans say it's increased government oversight that's keeping the banks from blending i hope that the discussion centers on what seems to be a real overreaction if you will on the part of some some auditors in the regulatory arena the president's made it very clear that he's upset about the banks spending millions of dollars on bonuses and on lobbying against financial restrictions and he's going to tell them tomorrow that they are slowing the pace of the recovery russ bill plant in the white house thank you very much you