"It is time for companies to step up," President Obama said Wednesday during a town hall hosted by CBS News that's been broadcast this morning on The Early Show.
American taxpayers, he said, helped bail out several industries in 2008 and 2009.
"Companies have benefited from that, and they're making a lot of money," Obama said, "And now's the time for them to start betting on American workers and American products."
Some companies are doing that, the president added. He cited Intel "the microchip manufacturer up in Oregon ... they've just built a new multibillion dollar plant. And they are hiring — hundreds of new — or American workers to work at this new plant. And there are a lot of companies who are doing the right thing."
The president also cautioned that while the economy appears to be on the mend, it will take "several years for us to get back to where we need to be."
Earlier, we passed along word about a dip in claims for jobless benefits, a spike in wholesale prices and a modest increase in retail sales.
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