President Barack Obama speaks to the media during a meeting with his cabinet members in the Cabinet Room of the White House.
Washington:
The US President Barack Obama today called for spending more in the infrastructure sector as he stressed on the need to invest in innovation, research and development and the manufacturing sector.
"We need to invest in America's infrastructure. You guys are helping to show us how to do it in a really smart way. We need to invest in American innovation and research and development. We need to invest in American manufacturing. We should be training more of our workers for new and better jobs," Obama said.
"We should be preparing every child for a world-class education. We should be making sure that hard work pays off with higher wages, greater workplace flexibility, better health and child care. All these things would make a difference in people's day-to-today lives," he said.
The US President emphasised on "investing in our country" rather than "worrying about elections, or trying to score points on cable TV".
"The point is we could do so much more if we just rallied around a sense of economic patriotism. We got to actually do some work, instead of worrying about elections, or trying to score points on cable TV. And we can start by investing in our country," he said.
Obama, who has not driven ever since he became the President in 2009, tried his hand on a simulator. "I just got a tour of a lab where automakers and government researchers team up to create new technologies that help cars communicate with the world around them and with each other.
"They can tell you if an oncoming vehicle is about to run a red light, or if a car is coming around a blind corner, or if a detour would help you save time and gas. And I got to test all this in a simulator," he said. Obama described his experience as "a little disorienting" and underlined the importance of technology for a good economy.
"It was a little disorienting. I haven't driven in about six years. And I am going down the highway and I think I had a little bit of a lead foot. I was starting to hit 90. It was sort of like Knight Rider," Obama said amidst laughter. "As the father of a daughter who just turned 16, any new technology that makes driving safer is important to me. And new technology that makes driving smarter is good for the economy," he said.
Obama pointed out a study stating that Americans spend 5.5 billion hours stuck in traffic each year, which costs the country 120 billion USD in wasted time and gas, that is 800 USD per commuter.
"Then you have got outdated roads and bridges that mean businesses pay an extra 27 billion USD in freight costs, which are then passed on to consumers," Obama noted. "Transportation eats up more of a typical family's household budget than anything except the rent or a mortgage which means that the cutting-edge research that all of you are doing here helps save lives and save money, and leads to new jobs and new technologies and new industries.
"And that is why America has to invest more in the kind of job-creating research and development that you are doing right here at the Highway Research Center," Obama said.
"We need to invest in America's infrastructure. You guys are helping to show us how to do it in a really smart way. We need to invest in American innovation and research and development. We need to invest in American manufacturing. We should be training more of our workers for new and better jobs," Obama said.
"We should be preparing every child for a world-class education. We should be making sure that hard work pays off with higher wages, greater workplace flexibility, better health and child care. All these things would make a difference in people's day-to-today lives," he said.
The US President emphasised on "investing in our country" rather than "worrying about elections, or trying to score points on cable TV".
"The point is we could do so much more if we just rallied around a sense of economic patriotism. We got to actually do some work, instead of worrying about elections, or trying to score points on cable TV. And we can start by investing in our country," he said.
Obama, who has not driven ever since he became the President in 2009, tried his hand on a simulator. "I just got a tour of a lab where automakers and government researchers team up to create new technologies that help cars communicate with the world around them and with each other.
"They can tell you if an oncoming vehicle is about to run a red light, or if a car is coming around a blind corner, or if a detour would help you save time and gas. And I got to test all this in a simulator," he said. Obama described his experience as "a little disorienting" and underlined the importance of technology for a good economy.
"It was a little disorienting. I haven't driven in about six years. And I am going down the highway and I think I had a little bit of a lead foot. I was starting to hit 90. It was sort of like Knight Rider," Obama said amidst laughter. "As the father of a daughter who just turned 16, any new technology that makes driving safer is important to me. And new technology that makes driving smarter is good for the economy," he said.
Obama pointed out a study stating that Americans spend 5.5 billion hours stuck in traffic each year, which costs the country 120 billion USD in wasted time and gas, that is 800 USD per commuter.
"Then you have got outdated roads and bridges that mean businesses pay an extra 27 billion USD in freight costs, which are then passed on to consumers," Obama noted. "Transportation eats up more of a typical family's household budget than anything except the rent or a mortgage which means that the cutting-edge research that all of you are doing here helps save lives and save money, and leads to new jobs and new technologies and new industries.
"And that is why America has to invest more in the kind of job-creating research and development that you are doing right here at the Highway Research Center," Obama said.
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