Thursday, September 19, 2013

Monday, September 16, 2013

No-drama Budget Needed to Speed Growth


Passing a comprehensive budget that won't kill the economy is what Pres. Barack Obama spoke about Monday during about an hour of midday televised remarks. His address, falling on the five year anniversary of the financial collapse, deliberately. The day was marred by yet another mass shooting — this time in a Naval facility in Washington D.C. —— of which the president called cowardly, the White House tweeted. President Obama offered prayers to to victims and their families.

During his address about the economy, Pres. Obama was clear he would not negotiate on Obamacare and that the main duty of Congress is to pass a budget. He said leaving sequester in place is draining economic gains made since he won re-election. 
"We are not yet where we need to be. We need more ladders of opportunity for the poor who want to get into the middle class," he said adding that the top one percent of earners grab 20 percent of the economy (mostly through capital gains). Within the one percent, the upper most gains go to one-tenth of the one percent.
 "Everybody else loses ground," he said.
It's all made worse by the recession. Obama asked the American public and Congress to "focus" on creating jobs and long-term economic security.
 Republicans are not focused on building the economy at the moment, he said, adding that he is hoping for "the lightbulb to go off," in their collective mind and help the economy grow instead of looking at deeper education and infrastructure cuts.
 "We have to make investments to attract good jobs...that pay good wages that lead to high standards of living. Education has critical role in this," he said.
Many of the president's words were met with applause.

Start at the 14:00 mark


Leaving in place sequester cuts hurt the recovery process, the president said.
"We are not growing as fast as we should because the sequester cuts are in place," Obama said, quoting "independent economists."
 The president also said Republicans spend time investing in "non-growth policies," however deficits are still falling faster than they did during WWII, since before the president was born and since he has taken office. By the end of the year, deficits will be cut in half. Still, the president implored Congress to "pass a sensible budget" in place of sequester as "this is not asking too much."
"Congress' most fundamental job is passing a budget," President Obama said.
 On stage, standing behind the president during his speech, were small business owners, home owners and students— those most affected by sequester cuts.




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Editor, Imadeamesss.com

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Statement by the Press Secretary on the House Republican Budget


THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 12, 2013

Pres. Obama speaks about budget cuts, shootings during
a visit to Hyde Park Academy Feb. 15, 2013.
The President believes that there is an opportunity for Democrats and Republicans to come together around a balanced plan to grow the economy and shrink the deficit by investing to create jobs, cutting wasteful spending, and strengthening programs like Medicare and Medicaid.  This approach will require both parties to compromise and make tough choices.

While the House Republican budget aims to reduce the deficit, the math just doesn't add up.  Deficit reduction that asks nothing from the wealthiest Americans has serious consequences for the middle class.  By choosing to give the wealthiest Americans a new tax cut, this budget as written will either fail to achieve any meaningful deficit reduction, raise taxes on middle class families by more than $2,000 – or both.  

By choosing not to ask for a single dime of deficit reduction from closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and well-connected, this budget identifies deep cuts to investments like education and research – investments critical to creating jobs and growing the middle class.  And to save money, this budget would turn Medicare into a voucher program--undercutting the guaranteed benefits that seniors have earned and forcing them to pay thousands more out of their own pockets.  We've tried this top-down approach before.  The President still believes it is the wrong course for America.

That’s why the President has put forward a balanced approach to deficit reduction with no sacred cows.  It includes more Medicare savings over the next decade than the House Republican budget, but it does so by cracking down on waste and fraud, not by asking middle class seniors to bear the burden.  It closes tax loopholes for the wealthiest and biggest corporations so we can still afford to create jobs by investing in education, manufacturing, infrastructure, and small businesses.  The President’s plan puts our nation on a fiscally sustainable path and grows our economy from the middle class out.

While the President disagrees with the House Republican approach, we all agree we need to leave a better future for our children.  The President will continue to work with Republicans and Democrats in Congress to grow the economy and cut the deficit in a balanced way. This is the approach the American people overwhelmingly support, and that is what the President will continue to fight for each day.

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