President Barack Obama will visit Chandler's Intel manufacturing plant Today as part of a five-state tour to sell his election-year economic plan following last night's State of the Union address.
Chandler Mayor Jay Tibshraeny said he predicted Obama would come to the city as soon as he heard news reports that the president is unveiling a job-creation plan.
"I assumed that he would come to Intel," Tibshraeny said. "This is a project of international acclaim because of the magnitude of the project and the company as well, Intel. So it's not a surprise."
Intel is in the midst of a $5 billion expansion at the Chandler facility, which is considered one of the largest construction projects in the world. It is expected to employ an additional 1,000 workers when it opens next year.
In a preview video released over the weekend, Obama called for more U.S. manufacturing, domestic energy production and worker training for the jobs of tomorrow.
Chandler fits into that message, Tibshraeny said, because Intel is a prime example of a technological company that's creating high-wage jobs. But he said various levels of government have to work together to get companies like Intel.
"The infrastructure requirement to locate projects of that magnitude is very encompassing," Tibshraeny said. "If anything, I'd like to see how the state government and the federal government can partner with the local entities to attract and retain these industries."
Tibshraeny said he believes Obama will be the first sitting president to visit Chandler.
He said he didn't know yet what involvement he may have during Obama's visit. Likewise, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith said details were still being worked out for the president's East Valley visit, including whether he'd get any time with Obama.
Smith is fresh out of meeting with the president during a trip last week to Washington for a gathering of the U.S. Conference of Mayors. Smith, a Republican, said he had a couple of minutes of one-on-one time with Obama and reiterated previous conversations about regulatory reform.
Smith said Obama's call for job training is a "good start" and something the mayors' organization has fought for. A lack of training is holding back job growth locally, Smith said. Able Engineering, an aircraft maintenance company in Mesa, has told the city it's having trouble finding enough qualified engineers and project managers. Able is expanding its Mesa facility and its average annual salary is $100,000.
"There are millions of jobs in our economy that are not being filled because we don't have enough adequately trained workers," Smith said.
Government and industry traditionally worked together to improve the skills of the nation's workforce, but those programs have been slashed recently, he said.
"It's unfortunate because these are the types of programs that more than pay for themselves," Smith said. "To me, this is a dumb cut."
Contact writer: (480) 898-6548 or ggroff@evtrib.com
ralpho posted at 7:04 pm on Mon, Jan 23, 2012.
Just what is it they think he has been doing to get us from the 750,000 jobs a month we were losing under Bush to where we are now.
And to the Governor and her balanced budget. That Obama stimulus working like a mother aint it.
You bunch of losers.
k33j88 posted at 2:47 am on Tue, Jan 24, 2012.
Did Intel receive federal monies? If so, they're doomed to implode into the ashheap of failure. Sure hope those sitting in the boardrooms had enough common sense to avoid any of the presidents economic policys/handouts.
Rational Human posted at 6:47 am on Tue, Jan 24, 2012.
Some falsely claimed that 8 million jobs were lost during the Bush administration. To the contrary, there was a net gain of 1 million jobs under President George W. Bush. It's true that more than 8 million jobs were lost as a result of the recent recession — from the job peak to trough — but only about half of those were lost under Bush and still there was a net gain.
In 8 years, Bush turned a $5.7 trillion inherited debt into a $10.6 trillion debt. That was due to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In less than 4 years Obama turned a 10.6 trillion inherited debt into over 15 trillion debt and he wants another 4 years. He continued the policies of Bush and then some. Great job Obama. Tell us all about the future you have in store for us.
TeaPartyPatriot posted at 7:20 am on Tue, Jan 24, 2012.
Unemployment currently sits at 8.5%. When Obama took office, it was 6.8%.
There are fewer payroll jobs in America than there were in 2000, and 40% of those are considered to be “low-paying.”
Also in decline, the self-employed. In the past six years, two million fewer people consider themselves to be self-employed.
The price of a gallon of gas when Obama took office was $1.68. Today, the average price of gas is up 102% to $3.38/gallon.
Home energy costs have also risen substantially: The average American household spends $1420 per year on electricity. The increase is about $300 per year.
The U.S. Census claims that 146 million people, nearly half of the country is considered “low income” or living in poverty.
Median household income is down 7% over the past six years
20% of the American men between the ages of 25-35 now live at home with their parents, because they have to do so.
Food Stamp use is at an all time high. 46 million people no rely on govt. assistance to get food into their homes, an increase of 14 million since Obama took office.
In 1985, Americans bought 11 million cars. In 2009, that number had fallen to 5.4 million.
The average age of a car on the road in America is now 10 years. In 1990 – the average car was just 6.5 years old.
America takes in $2.1 trillion dollars each year. The latest budget says that we will spend $3.8 trillion.
When Obama took office in 2009, our debt was $10.6 trillion. Today it stands at $15.23 trillion and is on track to smash through the $6.2 trillion dollar threshold during Obama’s first term. That would be a record – one president amassing more debt than all of the presidents from Washington to Clinton COMBINED.
The food stamp president has done quite a job on us and in only 4 years. 4 more years should be enough to finish his agenda.
Suziehaystack819 posted at 10:09 am on Tue, Jan 24, 2012.
You know the difference between Oboma and his dog?
His dog has papers.
TeaPartyPatriot posted at 12:23 pm on Tue, Jan 24, 2012.
Canadian Resources Minister Joe Oliver says Barack Obama blocked the pipeline deal on behalf of radical left-wing Billionaire George Soros.
Soros has pumped millions into American far-left groups, many of which used some of his money to campaign for Barack Obama.
Barack Obama vetoed a major oil pipeline deal that would have brought thousands of new jobs and decreased our oil dependency on the Middle East. Obama is ensuring that unemployment stays high, gas prices climb, and America keeps sending tens of billions to Saudi Arabia, and Venezuela. The so-called “environmental concerns” are completely unfounded.
The liberal Washington Post called Obama’s veto “an act of national insanity.” Liberal TIME magazine attacked Obama and said the veto means Canadian oil will go to China and Americans will continue buying oil from Saudi Arabia.
Natural Resources Minister Joe Oliver recently blamed billionaire agitator George Soros, who funds extreme left-wing causes in North America, Europe, and Central Asia. He also fingered the US based Tides Foundation.
The Tides Foundation is a left-wing not for profit with a budget in the hundreds of millions. They are most known for promoting the global warming hoax.
Heywood_Jablome posted at 4:47 pm on Wed, Jan 25, 2012.
Obummer, Hysterical Pelosi and Dingy Harry Reid are traitors to America and need to be arrested, tried and incarcerated,