Hatfield, Pennsylvania
THE PRESIDENT: Hello, everybody! Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) Well, good morning, everybody.
AUDIENCE: Good morning!
THE PRESIDENT: Everybody, please, please have a seat. Have a seat. Relax for a second. (Laughter.)
It is good to see all of you. Hello, Hatfield! (Applause.) It is good
to be back in Pennsylvania. And it is good to be right here at K’NEX.
(Applause.) I want to thank Michael Araten, Robert Glickman, and the
inventor of K’NEX, Joel Glickman, for hosting me today and giving me a
great tour. (Applause.) Where did they go? Where did they go? I want
to -- (applause) -- stand up. Stand up so everybody can see you guys.
There they are. (Applause.) There you go.
And I just noticed, we’ve got a couple of outstanding members of Congress here. We’ve got Chaka Fattah -- (applause)
-- and Allyson Schwartz. (Applause.)
Now, I just finished getting a tour of the K’NEX workshop. I have to
say, it makes me wish that Joel had invented this stuff a little sooner,
when I was a kid. (Laughter.) Back then, you couldn’t really build a
rollercoaster out of your Erector Set. (Laughter.)
And I also got a chance to meet some of the folks who have been working
around the clock to keep up with the Christmas rush, and that’s a good
thing. These guys are Santa’s extra elves here. They manufacture
almost 3,000 K’NEX pieces every minute. And every box that ends up on
store shelves in 30 countries is stamped “Made in America.” And that’s
something to be proud of. That’s something to be proud of. (Applause.)
By the way, I hope the camera folks had a chance to take a look at some
of the K’NEX, including that flag made out of K’NEX. And Joe Biden was
in Costco; he wanted to buy some of this stuff. (Laughter.) But I told
him he had too much work to do. I wasn’t going to have him building
rollercoasters all day long. (Laughter.)
Now, of course, Santa delivers everywhere. I’ve been keeping my own
naughty-and-nice list for Washington. So you should keep your eye on
who gets some K’NEX this year. (Laughter.) There are going to be some
members of Congress who get them, and some who don't. (Laughter and
applause.)
So, look, this is a wonderful time of year. It’s been a few weeks
since a long election finally came to an end. And obviously, I couldn’t
be more honored to be back in the White House. But I’m already missing
the time that I spent on the campaign visiting towns like this and
talking to folks like you.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: We love you!
THE PRESIDENT: I love you back. That's why I miss you. (Applause.)
And one of the benefits of traveling and getting out of the White House
is it gives you a chance to have a conversation with the American
people about what kind of country do we want to be
–- and what kind of country do we want to leave to our kids.
I believe America only thrives when we have a strong and growing middle
class. And I believe we’re at our best when everybody who works hard
has a chance to get ahead. That's what I believe. And I know that's
what the founders of this company believe as well. We were talking
about these guys' dad, who I understand just passed away at the age of
101. So these guys have good genes in addition to inventive minds. And
the story of generations starting businesses, hiring folks, making sure
that if you work hard, you can get ahead, that's what America is all
about. And that’s at the heart of the plan that I’ve been talking about
all year.
I want to reward manufacturers like this one and small businesses that
create jobs here in the United States, not overseas. (Applause.) And
by the way this is a company -- one of the few companies in the toy
industry that have aggressively moved jobs back here. (Applause.)
That's a great story to tell because we’ve got the best workers in the
world and the most productive workers in the world, and so we need
champions for American industry creating jobs here in the United
States.
I want to give more Americans the chance to earn the skills that
businesses are looking for right now, and I want to give our children
the kind of education they’ll need in the 21st century. I want America
to lead the world in research and technology and clean energy. I want
to put people back to work rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our
schools. And I want to do all this while bringing down our deficits in a
balanced and responsible way. (Applause.)
Now, on this last point, you’ve probably heard a lot of talk in
Washington and in the media about the deadlines that we’re facing on
jobs and taxes and investments. This is not some run-of-the-mill
debate. This isn’t about which political party can come out on top in
negotiations. We’ve got important decisions to make that are going to
have a real impact on businesses and families all across the country.
Our ultimate goal, our long-term goal is to get our long-term deficit
under control in a way that is balanced and is fair. That would be good
for businesses, for our economy, for future generations. And I believe
both parties can -- and will -- work together in the coming weeks to get
that done. We know how that gets done. We’re going to have to raise a
little more revenue. We’ve got to cut out spending we don’t need,
building on the trillion dollars of spending cuts we’ve already made.
And if we combine those two things, we can create a path where America
is paying its bills while still being able to make investments in the
things we need to grow like education and infrastructure. So we know
how to do that.
But in Washington, nothing is easy, so there is going to be some
prolonged negotiations. And all of us are going to have to get out of
our comfort zones to make that happen. I’m willing to do that, and I’m
hopeful that enough members of Congress in both parties are willing to
do that as well. We can solve these problems. But where the clock is
really ticking right now is on middle-class taxes. At the end of the
year, middle-class taxes that are currently in place are set to expire
-- middle-class tax cuts that are currently in place are set to expire.
There are two things that can happen. If Congress does nothing, every
family in America will see their income taxes automatically go up on
January 1st. Every family, everybody here, you’ll see your taxes go up
on January 1st. I mean, I’m assuming that doesn’t sound too good to
you.
AUDIENCE: No!
THE PRESIDENT: That’s sort of like the lump of coal you get for
Christmas. That’s a Scrooge Christmas. A typical middle-class family
of four would see their income taxes go up by about $2,200. That’s for a
typical family -- it would be more for some folks. That’s money a lot
of families just can’t afford to lose. That’s less money to buy gas,
less money to buy groceries. In some cases, it means tougher choices
between paying the rent and saving for college. It means less money to
buy more K’NEX.
AUDIENCE: Booo -- (laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: Just the other day, economists said that if income
taxes go up on the middle class, people will spend nearly $200 billion
less in stores and online. And when folks are buying fewer clothes, or
cars, or toys, that’s not good for our businesses; it’s not good for our
economy; it’s not good for employment.
So that’s one path: Congress does nothing, we don’t deal with this
looming tax hike on middle-class families, and starting in January,
everybody gets hit with this big tax hike and businesses suddenly see
fewer customers, less demand. The economy, which we’ve been fighting
for four years to get out of this incredible economic crisis that we
have, it starts stalling again. So that’s one path.
The good news is there’s a second option. Right now, Congress can pass
a law that would prevent a tax hike on the first $250,000 of
everybody’s income -- everybody. So that means 98 percent of Americans,
97 percent of small businesses wouldn’t see their income taxes go up by
a single dime -- because 98 percent of Americans make $250,000 a year
or less; 97 percent of small businesses make $250,000 a year or less.
So if you say income taxes don’t go up for any income above $250,000,
the vast majority of Americans, they don’t see a tax hike.
But here’s the thing. Even the top 2 percent, even folks who make more
than $250,000, they’d still keep their tax cut on the first $250,000 of
income. So it would still be better off for them, too, for us to go
ahead and get that done. Families would have a sense of security going
into the new year. Companies like this one would know what to expect in
terms of planning for next year and the year after. That means
people's jobs would be secure.
The sooner Congress gets this done, the sooner our economy will get a
boost. And it would then give us in Washington more time to work
together on that long-range plan to bring down deficits in a balanced
way: Tax reform, working on entitlements, and asking the wealthiest
Americans to pay a little bit more so we can keep investing in things
like education and research that make us strong.
So those are the choices that we have. And understand this was a
central question in the election -- maybe the central question in the
election. You remember. We talked about this a lot. (Laughter.) It
wasn't like this should come as a surprise to anybody. We had debates
about it. There were a lot of TV commercials about it. And at the end
of the day, a clear majority of Americans -- Democrats, Republicans,
independents -- they agreed with a balanced approach to deficit
reduction and making sure that middle-class taxes don’t go up. Folks
agreed to that.
Now, the good news is we're starting to see a few Republicans coming
around to it, too -- I'm talking about Republicans in Congress. So the
reason I'm here is because I want the American people to urge Congress
soon, in the next week, the next two weeks, to begin the work we have by
doing what we all agree on. Both parties agree that we should extend
the middle-class tax cuts. We've got some disagreements about the
high-end tax cuts, right? Republicans don’t want to raise taxes on
folks like me; I think I can pay a little bit more to make sure that
kids can go to college and we can build roads and invest in NIH so that
we're finding cures for Alzheimer's. And that’s a disagreement that
we're going to have and we've got to sort out.
But we already all agree, we say, on making sure middle-class taxes
don’t go up, so let's get that done. Let's go ahead and take the fear
out for the vast majority of American families so they don’t have to
worry about $2,000 coming out of their pockets starting next year.
The Senate has already passed a bill to keep income taxes from going up
on middle-class families. That’s already passed the Senate. Your
member of Congress like Allyson and Chaka, other Democrats in the House,
they're ready to go. They're ready to vote on that same thing. And if
we can just get a few House Republicans on board, we can pass the bill
in the House. It will land on my desk, and I am ready -- I've got a
bunch of pens ready to sign this bill. (Laughter.) I’m ready to sign
it. (Applause.) There are no shortage of pens in the White House.
(Laughter.) And I carry one around for an emergency just in case, just
waiting for the chance to use it to sign this bill to make sure
people's taxes don’t go up.
AUDIENCE MEMBER: Thank you!
THE PRESIDENT: Well, don’t thank me yet, because I haven't signed it. (Laughter.) I need some help from Congress.
So the key is, though, that the American people have to be involved.
It's not going to be enough for me to just do this on my own. So I'm
hopeful that both sides are going to come together and do the right
thing, but we all know you can't take anything for granted when it comes
to Washington. Let's face it. And that’s why I'm going to be asking
for all of you to make your voices heard over the next few days and the
next couple of weeks.
I need you to remind members of Congress -- Democrats and Republicans
-- to not get bogged down in a bunch of partisan bickering, but let's go
ahead and focus on the people who sent us to Washington and make sure
that we're doing the right thing by them.
So I want you to call, I want you to send an email, post on their
Facebook wall. If you tweet, then use a hashtag we're calling "My2K."
Not Y2K, “My2K,” all right? Because it’s about your “2K” in your
pocket. (Laughter.) We’re trying to burn that into people’s minds
here. (Applause.)
So in the meantime I’m doing my part. I’m meeting with every
constituency group out there. We’re talking to CEOs. We’re talking to
labor groups. We’re talking to civic groups. I’m talking to media
outlets, just explaining to the American people this is not that
complicated. Let’s make sure that middle-class taxes don’t go up.
Let’s get that done in the next couple of weeks.
Let’s also work together on a fair and balanced, responsible plan so
that we are paying our bills -- we’re not spending on things we don’t
need, but we are still spending on the things that make us grow. That’s
the kind of fair, balanced, responsible plan that I talked about during
the campaign, and that’s what the majority of Americans believe in.
So I’m hopeful, but I’m going to need folks like you, the people here
in Hatfield and here in Pennsylvania and all across the country, to get
this done. And a lot is riding on this debate. This is too important
to our economy, it’s too important for our families to not get it done.
And it’s not acceptable to me, and I don’t think it’s acceptable to
you, for just a handful of Republicans in Congress to hold middle-class
tax cuts hostage simply because they don’t want tax rates on
upper-income folks to go up. All right? That doesn’t make sense.
(Applause.)
If your voices are heard, then we can help businesses like this one.
We’re going to sell a whole bunch of K’NEX. (Laughter and applause.)
Let’s give families all across America the kind of security and
certainty that they deserve during the holiday season. Let’s keep our
economy on the right track. Let’s stand up for the American belief that
each of us have our own dreams and aspirations, but we’re also in this
together, and we can work together in a responsible way; that we’re one
people, and we’re one nation.
That’s what this country is about. That’s what all of you deserve.
That’s what I’m fighting for every single day, and I will keep fighting
for as long as I have the privilege of being your President.
No comments:
Post a Comment