President Obama's Weekly Address (10/16/10)

President draws contrast with Republicans on jobs at home vs. overseas

President Obama used this week's address to draw a sharp contrast between his policies and those of the Republicans on corporate tax breaks. President Obama argued that tax breaks should be directed at driving job growth here at home rather than encouraging companies to create jobs overseas. However, President Obama warned that Republicans have a history of supporting the opposite by voting for tax breaks that encourage companies to create jobs out of the country:

"Over the last four years alone, Republicans in the House voted eleven times to continue rewarding corporations that create jobs and profits overseas - a policy that costs tax payers billions of dollars every year. That doesn't make a lot of sense. It doesn't make sense for American workers, American businesses, or America's economy."

In contrast, the President offered the recent Jobs Bill as a better fit for our economy:

"It eliminated the capital gains taxes for key investments in small businesses. It increased the deduction to defray the cost of starting a company. And it's freeing up credit for folks who need it. In fact, in just the first two weeks since i signed the bill, thousands of business owners have been able to get new loans through the SBA."

In addition to the recently passed Jobs Bill, the President explained that he wants to close the tax loopholes that support businesses that create jobs overseas instead of here in the United States. Instead, as an attempt to spur job growth at home, the President wants to give businesses a tax break that would allow them to write off all new equipment that they purchase next year. President Obama also stated that he wants to make the Research and Experimentation tax credit permanent as well as give a tax cut for clean energy manufacturing that takes place in this country.

The President's Weekly Address:

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President Obama's Weekly Address (10/9/10)

The President: Strengthening education, an "economic imperative"

President Obama addressed the issue of education this week, tying it to the country's economic prospects as Americans fight for jobs in an increasingly global economy:

"At a time when most of the new jobs being created will require some kind of higher education; when countries that out-educate us today will outcompete us tomorrow, giving our kids the best education possible is an economic imperative."

The President listed several initiatives such as Skills for America's Future, eliminating the middle-man of subsidies to banks for student loans, and America's Race to the Top program. However, President Obama also argued that Republicans in Congress would have cut education by 20%:

"And yet, if Republicans in Congress had their way, we'd have had a harder time meeting that goal. We'd have had a harder time offering our kids the best education possible. Because they'd have cut education by 20% - cuts that would reduce financial aid for eight million students; cuts that would leave our great and undervalued community colleges without the resources they need to prepare our graduates for the jobs of the future."

Though he acknowledged the need to make tough decisions regarding our national deficit, the President argued that such concerns should not be used as an excuse to cut funding for education:

"Now, it's true that when it comes to our budget, we have real challenges to meet. And if we're serious about getting our fiscal house in order, we'll need to make some tough choices. I'm prepared to make those choices. But what I'm not prepared to do is to shortchange our children's education. What I'm not prepared to do is undercut their economic future, your economic future, or the economic future of the United States of America. Nothing would be more detrimental to our prospects for success than cutting back on education. It would consign America to second place in our fiercely competitive global economy. But China and India aren't playing for second. South Korea and Germany - they aren't playing for second. They're playing for first - and so should the United States of America."

President Obama's Weekly Address:

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President Obama's Weekly Address (10/2/10)

President touts initiatives on solar power and clean energy

This week, President Obama discussed the importance that solar power and clean energy will have on our economy. Claiming a historic commitment to clean energy, the President outlined a vision where new initiatives can account for hundreds of thousands of jobs by 2012. As the President noted, one such project is already underway:

"For example, I want to share with you one new development, made possible by the clean energy incentives that we've launched. This month, in the Mojave Desert, a company called BrightSource plans to break ground on a revolutionary new type of solar power plant. It's going to put about a thousand people to work building a state-of-the-art facility. And when it's complete, it will turn sunlight into the energy that will power up to 140,000 homes - the largest such plant in the world. Not in China. Not in India. But in California. With projects like this one, and others across this country, we are staking our claim to continued leadership in the new global economy."

President Obama also tied this issue to the upcoming November elections, warning that a Republican takeover threatens an end to many of the initiatives that are already set in motion:

"In fact, in the Pledge they recently released, the Republican leadership is promising to scrap all the incentives for clean energy projects, including those currently underway - even with all the jobs and potential that they hold. This doesn't make sense for our economy. It doesn't make sense for Americans who are looking for jobs. And it doesn't make sense for our future. To go backwards and scrap these plans means handing the competitive edge to China and other nations."

And here is President Obama's Weekly Address:

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President Obama's Weekly Address (9/25/10)

President Obama on Republican policy: "It's an echo of a disastrous decade we can't afford to relive."

Framing this election as a crossroads on the future of our economy, President Obama made sure to list the progress we've already made while still acknowledging that not all news is good news if you are unemployed:

"This week, the economists who officially decide when recessions start and end declared the recession of 2008 to be over. But if you're one of the millions of Americans who lost your home, your job, or your savings as a consequence of the recession, this news is of little comfort or value.

Yes, the economy is growing instead of shrinking, as it was in 2008 and the beginning of 2009. We're gaining private sector jobs each month instead of losing 800,000, as we did the month I took office. But we have to keep pushing to promote growth that will generate the jobs we need, and repair the terrible damage the recession has done."

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Putting a face on poverty

"I would like everyone to understand that it's not just hitting the very poor poor, it hits everybody. Even someone that's out like me - that's working and trying hard to take care of their family - and I'm not talking about just any family. My kids are great kids, but it hits us hard, harder. So, I want them to see a face on how this economy is affecting us." - Joyce Washington, Single Mother

It's unfortunate that the "poor" makes for terrible politics in our national discourse. Politicians and the media frame the debate in a way that cuts poverty almost completely out of the picture. You have the wealthy, and then you have the "middle class."

Well, in actuality, you have the "middle class," the "working class," the "working poor" and the poor. We allow ourselves to ignore poverty because it's easy to pathologize. In our short-sightedness we point the finger at the poor and say, "It is your fault that you are in this predicament."

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President Obama's Weekly Address (9/18/10)

This election, President warns voters to beware the Republican corporate power grab

The election season is in full swing. And with that comes a host of new political ads to persuade the voter before the midterms. However, there's one big difference between this year and elections past: Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, 558 U.S. 50.

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