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Has America 'Gone Soft?'

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    Former Senator Evan Bayh on whether the U.S. has lost its competitive edge.

  • Duration 3:35
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In a recent interview that He did with the local station in in Florida President Obama responded to a question about our country's economic future and here's the quote from the president.

It's a great great country that it got a little soft.

And we didn't have that same competitive edge that we needed of the last couple of decades need to get that back on track.

So has America really gotten soft from DC to former Indiana senator Evan Bayh joins us right now -- it's good to see senator -- do you.

You agree with that that we've lost our competitive edge and maybe even gotten a little bit soft.

I'm not sure -- do.

-- soft I do think that the world is a more competitive economic place and when you look at.

The Genesis of the economic problems we have right now we clearly had a bubble in the housing market.

When that I was sloppy lending practices people borrowing too much there.

When that bubble popped that -- created a financial crisis.

Which then led to the downturn that we had now we've stabilized that that the growth is very anemic because confidence is low.

There are now international problems in Europe and elsewhere so.

We need to focus in the short run on cutting taxes to get money in people's pockets so we can get consumer demand back.

Having a moratorium on regulations to free up businesses so that they can invest some of the money that's on their books right and in the long term -- we need to get our deficit under control.

Because that's gonna -- -- -- long run so.

I'm not sure it's a soft but we do have competitive challenges that we face that we can meet if we do the right thing.

Well it's interesting in terms of how we go about meeting them because I was just listening to your comments that you made in the first two that you said.

But your democratic senator from Illinois from from Indiana and you're the governor there -- Were from.

Or widely associated with being Republican ideas -- cutting taxes -- type of thing.

And then you mentioned getting our deficits and ordered -- you do it to be balanced in terms of raising revenue and everything else but then again it's a centrist approach.

If you are still in the senate it seems like you wouldn't fit -- that nobody.

In one party ever mentions the ideas of another party -- how are we gonna get anything done if we can't we can adopt ideas from both sides anymore.

O'Connell that's a great question and it is a pretty lonely time for moderates are pragmatists in the United States congress of the debate tends to be.

Dominated by those -- neither the far right -- the far left from what we need our you know ideas don't really have a partisan label on them.

Very often they're don't have ideological labels on them the question is what will work what -- get people back to work.

What will free up capital for invest -- will make us more competitive.

And the political process right now is not serving the country well because it is polarizing.

At a time we need to bring people together -- consensus.

And moving four -- stock like this.

Other problems just get worse and worse right political prop the political process needs reform.

Well whether we've got softer orb but certainly it is more competitive world as you mentioned a moment -- are you at any level of confidence.

That any that's gonna change in the near future is election year doesn't seem like it will.

Well elections tend to focus on politicians' minds and with the public being -- to satisfied as it is right now kind of with everybody Democrats independents all of them.

It could be a very anti incumbent year and so as we get closer I think those in congress election incentive to get things done and and to break the gridlock out of a sense of self preservation.

And so you know it's up ultimately up to us if we don't like the way people there are doing their jobs we should vote in other people and I think that that that awareness -- actually.

And a sense of crisis are the two things we have going force that will hopefully -- help break this gridlock.

Maybe -- super committee or together but maybe that's a wishful thinking it's had to by what what wouldn't wouldn't bet the farm on that one caveat that doesn't look like it's senator by thank you very much for coming on again good to see you face hello as well as I have a couple lifting sentiment or was it first and them more realistic yet but.

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