Steve Wynn unloads on Obama and explains why there are no jobs.

[manimal]

This argument is the exact same argument the hacks were having during the Clinton administration. Let's introduce some more anecdotal evidence, I am a small businessman in the Indianapolis area. I am in the process of hiring three people. Want to know the reason I am only hiring three people? Lack of demand pure and simple. I have paid less in taxes the last few years than I have EVER paid.
Want to know another crazy thing? I am also looking forward to next year and the year after when healthcare becomes easier for me and my eployees. Thats right my costs will go down. Do I like paying taxes ? No. Who the he'll does........

There a definitive things that the Obama admistritation has done that has pissed me off and effected my business but taxes and unfair business environments is not one of them. I seriously can ot fathom how anyone ov the age of 40 can't see Obama for what he is.... A middle of he road republican with some liberal social ideas.......

 

[umbrella39]

Tax breaks for the rich never leads one new customer to your door. Black bush and Congress know this all too well.

 

[Naeeldar]

Because they don't see markets with sufficient demand in them to warrant investment. I think that is really beyond arguing, right? People here are saying it is because of a regulatory environment, and so I'm asking for evidence of this.

Steve Wynn is trying to explain why his business in Vegas is going down the shitter, but it's because Vegas is going down the shitter. Wynn's casinos aren't having trouble because of federal regulation, it's because the average amount of cash people were gambling there decreased by about 33% since the recession started.

That is not what he is trying to explain. He's actually being asked why they are not expanding when they have a huge amount of cash they are sitting on.

Again your missing the boat. It is NOT ACTUAL REGULATION in place today. It's the fear that they might do something else. A perfect example is the healthcare plan. A lot of business took one time charges when they went in place (the really large ones). That was a fairly radical change and these business are afraid of more radical change.

All LARGE corporations are susceptible to regulation change. doesn't matter the industry. Especially healthcare or tax changes. Thats the fear these business have right now. They know more change is coming and there is no certainty ahead. You don't invest without certainty.

And a lot of companies are selling their goods just fine. It shows in the profits.

 

[Naeeldar]

Tax breaks for the rich never leads one new customer to your door. Black bush and Congress know this all too well.

Where do people get that tax breaks are being asked for? These people with thousands, in some cases tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of employees want to know that is not going to be any radical changes to healthcare or taxes.

Not reduce my taxes. They want to know more change is not coming.

 

[ayabe]

And a lot of companies are selling their goods just fine. It shows in the profits.

A lot of that profit is driven from lower overhead as a result of laying off people and not hiring replacements.

 

[fskimospy]

That is not what he is trying to explain. He's actually being asked why they are not expanding when they have a huge amount of cash they are sitting on.

Again your missing the boat. It is NOT ACTUAL REGULATION in place today. It's the fear that they might do something else. A perfect example is the healthcare plan. A lot of business took one time charges when they went in place (the really large ones). That was a fairly radical change and these business are afraid of more radical change.

All LARGE corporations are susceptible to regulation change. doesn't matter the industry. Especially healthcare or tax changes. Thats the fear these business have right now. They know more change is coming and there is no certainty ahead. You don't invest without certainty.

And a lot of companies are selling their goods just fine. It shows in the profits.

Large corporations account for only a small fraction of total US jobs. Once again, please provide any evidence whatsoever for what you're saying. What I'm trying to get at is that there's a reason why 2/3rds of economists don't agree with your point. You can't just gut check this stuff.

Selling their goods just fine? What do you mean by this? Are you saying that there isn't a lack of demand in the US economy currently? Corporations have hugely cut costs and ramped up productivity over the last few years. Even if demand remained depressed, if their costs go way down, they show huge profits.

 

[sactoking]

Just to dispel some myths that have been spoken so far:

Over the last 12 months, large Strip gaming take is up 4.3% http://gaming.nv.gov/documents/pdf/1g_11may.pdf
In the 12 months before that, large Strip gaming take was down 1.25%http://gaming.nv.gov/documents/pdf/1g_10may.pdf
In the 12 months before that, large Strip gaming take was down 14.5% http://gaming.nv.gov/documents/pdf/1g_09may.pdf
In the 12 months before that, large Strip gaming take was down 0.08%.
Since 2007, total large Strip gaming take is down 14.55%.

Despite that, Wynn is still sitting on a huge pile of cash.

Wynn says he won't hire due to regulatory environment and economic uncertainty. Others have dismissed this claim using consumer demand as the true impetus for not hiring. The problem with the consumer demand claim is that it is a circuitous argument: businesses won't hire because demand is low and demand is low because consumers have no jobs because businesses aren't hiring. Something has to break the circle or the situation will never improve; economic certainty/uncertainty seems as likely a factor as any other.

"Well, Vegas is heavily dependent upon tourism!" Yes, it is. Traffic at McCarran is up 5.6% in June, year-over-year, and 3.8% overall. http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2011/jul/18/mccarran-reports-boost-june-passenger-traffic/

Steve Wynn is just saying what dozens or hundreds of other business leaders have said: governmental uncertainty is contributing to the stagnant job market. The President and Congress are only making things worse. You may choose to lay this at the feet of the House and ignore the Senate and President's role on the matter, that's your prerogative. Given Wynn's political leanings and Obama's pre-election "marketing" hype, he chooses to feel like he got the old bait-and-switch; Obama is not the "savior" or "bridge-builder" he was made out to be. Wynn's view may not mesh with your political ideology but that does not invalidate his viewpoint. You can continue thinking the sky is green and maybe one day you'll be right.

 

[fskimospy]

It's not a circuitous argument at all, it's basic economics. Economies have cycles, and recessions feed on themselves by decreasing demand, which decreases employment, which decreases demand, etc. That's one of the reasons why all recessions aren't 10 seconds long.

Also, it's very strange that you say that gambling revenues are down 15%, but then say that an unwillingness to invest must be due to government regulation. Maybe it's due to the fact that you don't tend to build new casinos when gambling revenues are down 15%.

Something does in fact need to break the cycle and increase demand. I am still waiting for any evidence whatsoever that government regulation is what is causing this. Nobody seems to be able to offer anything other than anecdotes, and that doesn't fly.

 

[soundforbjt]

Traffic at McCarran may be up, but how many are staying there in Vegas vs how many are passing through to other destinations? Many who still go to Vegas are not spending as much as they did and are cashing in on the weekday bargin hotel rates.

 

[the DRIZZLE]

The new rules just went into effect, so counting the number of them at this point seems a bit silly. They had to be changed due to a court order that found the old ones had basically just been written by the industry, and so we'll see eh?

EDIT: Also, Obama's EPA rule on Yucca Mountain is also consistent with what was found to be required by another court order against Bush's EPA that found its rules were impermissibly lax.

You can't be serious. It's been two and half years, and he hasn't issued any permits. Gregory Jazcko has stopping all progress on Yucca mountain by refusing to even allow a vote on the issue and stalling his commissions report. The other members of the commission including other Obama appointees have stated as much. The Obama administration's energy policy is to use its oversight authority to prevent anything they don't like, even when it's been authorized by Congress. Can you honestly say this is good government?

 

[Dulanic]

CEO of one of the largest gambling companies in the world

So... basically he offers the world nothing right? Just a shift of money from one person to another where he skims off the top.

I have nothing against gambling, I do it myself sometimes and enjoy it. But the idea that I am going to listen to the business nonsense from a CEO of a casino is laughable.

 

[spidey07]

You can't be serious. It's been two and half years, and he hasn't issued any permits. Gregory Jazcko has stopping all progress on Yucca mountain by refusing to even allow a vote on the issue and stalling his commissions report. The other members of the commission including other Obama appointees have stated as much. The Obama administration's energy policy is to use its oversight authority to prevent anything they don't like, even when it's been authorized by Congress. Can you honestly say this is good government?

"Under my plan, energy prices would necessarily skyrocket"
-Barrack Obama

 

[theeedude]

And I'm telling you that the business community in the US is frightened to death of the weird political philosophy of the President of the United States. And until he's gone, everybody's going to be sitting on their thumbs. It's obvious to the most casual observer that the obama is bad for business. Unemployment is harsh but it teaches that elections have consequences.

Bush was good for business, we can see where that landed our economy.

 

[ProfJohn]

It's not a circuitous argument at all, it's basic economics. Economies have cycles, and recessions feed on themselves by decreasing demand, which decreases employment, which decreases demand, etc. That's one of the reasons why all recessions aren't 10 seconds long.

Also, it's very strange that you say that gambling revenues are down 15%, but then say that an unwillingness to invest must be due to government regulation. Maybe it's due to the fact that you don't tend to build new casinos when gambling revenues are down 15%.

Something does in fact need to break the cycle and increase demand. I am still waiting for any evidence whatsoever that government regulation is what is causing this. Nobody seems to be able to offer anything other than anecdotes, and that doesn't fly.

The recession ended two years ago...

In mosts other cycles we would be seeing a strong uptick in employment at this point, but we aren't.

 

[ProfJohn]

So... basically he offers the world nothing right? Just a shift of money from one person to another where he skims off the top.

I have nothing against gambling, I do it myself sometimes and enjoy it. But the idea that I am going to listen to the business nonsense from a CEO of a casino is laughable.

Because you obviously know more about creating jobs than the guy who has 20,000 employees...

 

[Dulanic]

Because you obviously know more about creating jobs than the guy who has 20,000 employees...

Never said I do. However, 1 CEO doesn't know everything about the US either. 1000 different CEOs will have 1000 different answers. You just pick the one that fits your agenda. Would you like me to go find a oil company CEO and ask them why we need alternate sources of energy?

 

[ProfJohn]

Because they don't see markets with sufficient demand in them to warrant investment. I think that is really beyond arguing, right?

I take it you didn't bother to read the link before making that statement?

The question that Wynn was asked that led to his rant was the following:

William Lerner - Deutsche Bank Securities

Steve, just 2 development questions for you. One in Macau, one in Vegas. Does it -- maybe you're already contemplating this formally, but does it make sense to build residential or villas in Macau, #1? And then #2, in Vegas, especially as I hear Marilyn talk about, a month like October for example, that there's not an inch of meeting square footage left in Las Vegas and as we think about limited or no supply over the next several years, being added back to Las Vegas, does it not make sense to expand your meeting square footage? I know you can do it east of country club or in that area?

So there certainly is demand for meeting space and yet no one is investing in building any.

 

[ProfJohn]

Never said I do. However, 1 CEO doesn't know everything about the US either. 1000 different CEOs will have 1000 different answers. You just pick the one that fits your agenda. Would you like me to go find a oil company CEO and ask them why we need alternate sources of energy?

Why don't we ask BP who has a whole division aimed at alternative energy.
http://www.bp.com/managedlistingsection.do?categoryId=9035187&contentId=7065224
Katrina Landis - Chief Executive Officer

Katrina Landis is the CEO of BP’s Alternative Energy division. Alternative Energy has businesses in solar, wind, biofuels, and carbon capture and storage. In each business we are serving customers in today’s market place at the same time as working on innovations for the future.

 

[fskimospy]

You can't be serious. It's been two and half years, and he hasn't issued any permits. Gregory Jazcko has stopping all progress on Yucca mountain by refusing to even allow a vote on the issue and stalling his commissions report. The other members of the commission including other Obama appointees have stated as much. The Obama administration's energy policy is to use its oversight authority to prevent anything they don't like, even when it's been authorized by Congress. Can you honestly say this is good government?

The new rules just came out and the feds have already issued their first permit for a new plant based on them.

The administration using its regulatory authority to regulate isn't good government? Congress has the ability to alter this regulatory authority whenever it feels like it, so if what he is doing is against the will of Congress, they can change it any time.

 

[ProfJohn]

Here is a really scary comment from Wynn...

September will be our fifth anniversary in the People's Republic of China in Macau, and we love it there. We are so grateful to be part of that market and to be allowed to participate in that community. We find the political environment, the regulatory environment, the human resource environment that we're in to be absolutely delicious. Life is quite straightforward in China. The government is predictable.

So doing business in China is easier for them than doing it in the US... scary.

You know why we listen to people like Wynn.

The guy started with nothing and is now the 512th richest man in the world. So he obviously knows a bit about building businesses.

BTW if his name was Buffet and he was claiming that we had to raise taxes you left wingers would be jumping up and down...

 

[Dulanic]

Why don't we ask BP who has a whole division aimed at alternative energy.
http://www.bp.com/managedlistingsection.do?categoryId=9035187&contentId=7065224
Katrina Landis - Chief Executive Officer

Katrina Landis is the CEO of BP’s Alternative Energy division. Alternative Energy has businesses in solar, wind, biofuels, and carbon capture and storage. In each business we are serving customers in today’s market place at the same time as working on innovations for the future.

Look we can both find one off situations to fit an agenda. I know you do it all day every day.

I can find CEOs who say raise taxes...
http://www.reporternewspapers.net/2...ys-tax-increase-needed-to-keep-county-afloat/

I just don't make topics every time some loon says something I like.

 

[fskimospy]

I take it you didn't bother to read the link before making that statement?

The question that Wynn was asked that led to his rant was the following:

So there certainly is demand for meeting space and yet no one is investing in building any.

I did read it actually, and it's hilarious how deep the bullshit is. While there might have been a month where convention bookings were solid, demand for conventions as compared to pre recession levels are still terrible, and that is even with some businesses charging 2007 or even 2004 rates for bookings. Even with massive discounts they are generally flat or below what they were before.

http://www.lvrj.com/business/electr...ion-officials-hopes-for-future-113157569.html

According to this article, extrapolated through the end of the year, about 5 million people attended conventions in Las Vegas (EDIT: In 2010), a drop of somewhere more than a million conventioneers as compared to 2007. But yeah, it must be government regulations that are preventing the creation of more meeting space, it couldn't be a lack of demand. Nahhhhhhhh.

No of course it can't be simple supply and demand economics everyone, it has to be the nebulous confidence fairy at work.

 

[fskimospy]

Here is a really scary comment from Wynn...

So doing business in China is easier for them than doing it in the US... scary.

You know why we listen to people like Wynn.

The guy started with nothing and is now the 512th richest man in the world. So he obviously knows a bit about building businesses.

BTW if his name was Buffet and he was claiming that we had to raise taxes you left wingers would be jumping up and down...

Of course doing business in China is easier if you have the government on your side. Not only will they sweep almost all regulations aside for you, but the government's massive intervention in the economy makes it easy for them to help you out.

Only in Pro-Jo's bizarro world is he holding up the Chinese economy as a positive example for the US. This will only stay so long as he can use it to attack Obama however, in all other circumstances he will refer to China in a terrible light, highlighting how they are giant communists, etc.

 

[Dulanic]

I did read it actually, and it's hilarious how deep the bullshit is. While there might have been a month where convention bookings were solid, demand for conventions as compared to pre recession levels are still terrible, and that is even with some businesses charging 2007 or even 2004 rates for bookings. Even with massive discounts they are generally flat or below what they were before.

http://www.lvrj.com/business/electr...ion-officials-hopes-for-future-113157569.html

According to this article, extrapolated through the end of the year, about 5 million people attended conventions in Las Vegas, a drop of somewhere more than a million conventioneers as compared to 2007. But yeah, it must be government regulations that are preventing the creation of more meeting space, it couldn't be a lack of demand. Nahhhhhhhh.

No of course it can't be simple supply and demand economics everyone, it has to be the nebulous confidence fairy at work.

My wife work in the trade show/convention industry and they have been taking a hit also. There is 0 doubt that conventions and trade shows have declined during the recession.

 

[Throckmorton]

Yes, this is who we should trust, the owner of a gambling company.