1 00:00:08,661 --> 00:00:11,193 The President: Over the last few weeks, I've been talking a lot about

2 00:00:11,194 --> 00:00:13,127 America's economic future.

3 00:00:13,127 --> 00:00:15,994 I've told you how I believe we should go about creating strong,

4 00:00:15,994 --> 00:00:17,394 sustained growth.

5 00:00:17,394 --> 00:00:19,494 How we should pay down our long-term debt in a

6 00:00:19,494 --> 00:00:20,994 balanced way.

7 00:00:20,994 --> 00:00:24,528 And most of all, what we should do right now to create good,

8 00:00:24,528 --> 00:00:28,794 middle-class jobs so people who work hard can get ahead.

9 00:00:28,795 --> 00:00:33,594 This isn't some abstract debate or trivial Washington argument.

10 00:00:33,594 --> 00:00:36,261 I've said that this is the defining issue of our time and

11 00:00:36,261 --> 00:00:37,528 I mean it.

12 00:00:37,528 --> 00:00:39,594 I've said that this is a make-or-break moment for the

13 00:00:39,594 --> 00:00:42,194 middle class and I believe it.

14 00:00:42,194 --> 00:00:44,828 The decisions we make over the next few years will have an

15 00:00:44,828 --> 00:00:48,461 enormous impact on the country we live in and the one we pass

16 00:00:48,461 --> 00:00:50,594 on to our children.

17 00:00:50,594 --> 00:00:53,027 Right now, we're still fighting our way back from the worst

18 00:00:53,027 --> 00:00:55,628 economic crisis since the Great Depression.

19 00:00:55,628 --> 00:00:59,594 The economy's growing again but it's not growing fast enough.

20 00:00:59,594 --> 00:01:03,227 Our businesses have created 4.3 million new jobs over the last

21 00:01:03,227 --> 00:01:07,294 27 months but we're not creating them fast enough.

22 00:01:07,294 --> 00:01:10,094 And we're facing some pretty serious headwinds --

23 00:01:10,094 --> 00:01:13,461 the effects of the recent spike in gas prices to the financial

24 00:01:13,461 --> 00:01:15,361 crisis in Europe.

25 00:01:15,361 --> 00:01:19,194 But here's the thing: We have the answers to these problems.

26 00:01:19,194 --> 00:01:21,928 We have plenty of big ideas and technical solutions from both

27 00:01:21,928 --> 00:01:23,527 sides of the aisle.

28 00:01:23,528 --> 00:01:25,661 That's not what's holding us back.

29 00:01:25,661 --> 00:01:29,594 What's holding us back is a stalemate in Washington.

30 00:01:29,594 --> 00:01:32,661 Last September, I sent Congress a jobs bill full of the kinds of

31 00:01:32,661 --> 00:01:35,961 bipartisan ideas that could put over a million Americans back to

32 00:01:35,961 --> 00:01:40,194 work and help bolster our economy against outside shocks.

33 00:01:40,194 --> 00:01:42,594 I sent them a plan that would've reduced our deficit by

34 00:01:42,594 --> 00:01:46,594 $4 trillion in a balanced way that pays for the investments we

35 00:01:46,594 --> 00:01:50,094 need by cutting unnecessary spending and by asking the

36 00:01:50,094 --> 00:01:53,728 wealthiest Americans to pay a little bit more in taxes.

37 00:01:53,728 --> 00:01:57,027 Since then, Congress has passed a few parts of that jobs bill --

38 00:01:57,027 --> 00:02:00,094 like a tax cut that's allowing working Americans to keep more

39 00:02:00,094 --> 00:02:03,226 of your paycheck every week -- but on most of the ideas that

40 00:02:03,227 --> 00:02:05,328 would create jobs and grow our economy,

41 00:02:05,328 --> 00:02:08,561 Republicans in Congress have not lifted a finger.

42 00:02:08,561 --> 00:02:11,661 They'd rather wait until after the election in November.

43 00:02:11,661 --> 00:02:14,127 Just this past week, one of them said,

44 00:02:14,127 --> 00:02:17,094 "Why not wait for the reinforcements?"

45 00:02:17,094 --> 00:02:18,394 That's a quote.

46 00:02:18,394 --> 00:02:20,494 And you can bet plenty of his colleagues are thinking

47 00:02:20,494 --> 00:02:22,528 the same thing.

48 00:02:22,528 --> 00:02:24,227 I think that's wrong.

49 00:02:24,227 --> 00:02:27,227 This isn't about who wins or loses in Washington.

50 00:02:27,227 --> 00:02:30,294 This is about your jobs and your paychecks and your

51 00:02:30,294 --> 00:02:31,895 children's future.

52 00:02:31,895 --> 00:02:35,428 There is no excuse for Congress to stand by and do nothing while

53 00:02:35,428 --> 00:02:38,194 so many families are struggling.

54 00:02:38,194 --> 00:02:40,126 No reason whatsoever.

55 00:02:40,127 --> 00:02:43,094 And right now, Congress should pass a bill to help states put

56 00:02:43,094 --> 00:02:45,960 thousands of teachers and firefighters and police officers

57 00:02:45,961 --> 00:02:47,594 back on the job.

58 00:02:47,594 --> 00:02:50,126 They should've passed a bill a long time ago to put thousands

59 00:02:50,127 --> 00:02:53,127 of construction workers back to work rebuilding our roads and

60 00:02:53,127 --> 00:02:54,795 bridges and runways.

61 00:02:54,795 --> 00:02:56,695 And instead of just talking about job creators,

62 00:02:56,695 --> 00:02:59,727 they should give small business owners a tax break for hiring

63 00:02:59,728 --> 00:03:03,161 more workers and paying them higher wages.

64 00:03:03,161 --> 00:03:05,961 Right now, Congress should give every responsible homeowner the

65 00:03:05,961 --> 00:03:09,928 opportunity to save an average of $3,000 a year by refinancing

66 00:03:09,928 --> 00:03:11,294 their mortgage.

67 00:03:11,294 --> 00:03:14,428 They should extend tax credits for clean energy manufacturers

68 00:03:14,428 --> 00:03:17,960 so we don't walk away from 40,000 good jobs.

69 00:03:17,961 --> 00:03:20,928 And instead of giving tax breaks to companies who ship jobs

70 00:03:20,928 --> 00:03:24,127 overseas, Congress should take that money and use it to cover

71 00:03:24,127 --> 00:03:27,294 moving expenses for companies that are bringing jobs back

72 00:03:27,294 --> 00:03:28,961 to America.

73 00:03:28,961 --> 00:03:31,528 There is no reason to wait.

74 00:03:31,528 --> 00:03:34,094 So you see, every problem we face is within our power

75 00:03:34,094 --> 00:03:35,661 to solve.

76 00:03:35,661 --> 00:03:38,461 What's lacking is our politics.

77 00:03:38,461 --> 00:03:40,928 I need you to remind your Members of Congress why you sent

78 00:03:40,928 --> 00:03:43,561 them to Washington in the first place.

79 00:03:43,561 --> 00:03:45,961 Tell them to stop worrying about the next election and start

80 00:03:45,961 --> 00:03:48,561 worrying about the next generation.

81 00:03:48,561 --> 00:03:50,328 I'm ready to work with anyone --

82 00:03:50,328 --> 00:03:52,895 Republican, Democrat or Independent --

83 00:03:52,895 --> 00:03:55,494 who is serious about moving this country forward.

84 00:03:55,494 --> 00:03:58,861 And I hope Members of Congress will join me.

85 00:03:58,861 --> 00:04:00,828 Thanks, and have a great weekend.