President Obama tasks tech execs with social issues, not just the economy

Homework for the tech executives on President Barack Obama's jobs council is more than just the economy — it's consideration for his social priorities, too.

President Obama opened the first meeting of his jobs council by stressing the need to knock down regulatory obstacles and help businesses compete abroad, but he also put a word in for social issues. "We want to make sure that we're also putting a little pressure on you guys to figure out how do we make sure that the economy is working for everybody," he said to a room full of business executives. This means considering a number of items not critical to their bottom lines. "How do we make sure that every child out there who’s willing to work hard is going to be able to succeed?" President Obama said. "How do we make certain that working families across the country are sharing in growing productivity and that we're not simply creating an economy in which one segment of it is doing very well, but the rest of the folks are out there treading water?" Still, President Obama made it clear that competitiveness and jobs will be the driving focus of the council. He stressed efforts to streamline regulations and reform the tax system.