Weekly Address: The President Talks About How to Build aRising, Thriving Middle Class
WASHINGTON, DC—In this week’s address, President Obama talked about his belief that a rising,thriving middle class is the true engine of economic growth, and that to reignite that engine andcontinue to build on the progress we’ve made over the last four years, we need to invest in threeareas: jobs, skills and opportunity.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address The White House MAY 17, 2013
Hi, everybody. Over the past few months, I’ve laid out a series of commonsense ideas to reignitethe true engine of our economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class. The way I see it, there are three areas where we need to focus. One: making America a magnetfor good jobs. Two: making sure our workers have the education and skills they need to do thosejobs. And three: making sure your hard work leads to a decent living. I’ve also been visiting cities across the country that are doing some interesting and creative thingsalong these lines.
So on Friday, for example, I stopped by a factory in Baltimore that’s creating good jobs here athome by exporting dragging equipment abroad.
I read with young kids in a pre-K program, where kids are getting a head start learning the skillsthey’ll need to succeed in life.
And I stopped by a program that’s helping folks in tough circumstances – especially low-incomedads – get the training and guidance they need to find work and support their families.
That’s why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can – because toooften, our politics aren’t focused on the same things you are. Working hard. Supporting yourfamily and supporting your community. Making sure your kids have every chance in life.
More than anything, the American people make me optimistic about where we’re headed as anation. Especially after all we’ve been through the past several years. And that should encourageus to work even harder on the issues that matter to you.
In a little over three years, our businesses have created more than 6.5 million new jobs. And whileour unemployment rate is still too high, it’s the lowest it’s been since 2008. But now we need tocreate even more good, middle-class jobs, and we need to do it faster. Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs. But now we need to get middle-class wagesand incomes rising too.
Our housing market is healing. But we still need to do a lot more to help families stay in theirhomes, or refinance to take advantage of historically low rates.
And our deficits are shrinking at the fastest rate in decades. But now we get budget in a smarterway that doesn’t hurt middle-class families or harm critical investments in our future.
So in a lot of sectors, things are looking up. The American auto industry is thriving. Americanenergy is booming. And American ingenuity in our tech sector has the potential to change theway we do almost everything.
In the coming weeks, I’m going to visit more cities like Baltimore, and Austin, Texas – where I wastwo weeks ago; places where Americans are coming together to strengthen their owncommunities and economies – and in the process, making this country better for all of us.
And I’m going to keep on trying to work with both parties in Washington to make progress onyour priorities. Because I know that if we come together around creating more jobs, educatingmore of our kids, and building new ladders of opportunity for everyone who’s willing to climb them– we’ll all prosper, together. Thanks. And have a great weekend.
