Weekly Address
The White House
November 23, 2013
Hi, everybody. Over the past couple months, most of the
political headlines you’ve read have probably been about the government
shutdown and the launch of the Affordable Care Act. And I know that
many of you have rightly never been more frustrated with Washington.
But if you look beyond those headlines, there are some
good things happening in our economy. And that’s been my top priority
since the day I walked into the Oval Office.
After decades in which the middle class was working harder
and harder just to keep up, and a punishing recession that made it
worse, we made the tough choices required not just to recover from
crisis, but to rebuild on a new foundation for stronger, more durable
economic growth.
Five years later, we have fought our way back. Our
businesses have created 7.8 million new jobs in the past 44 months.
Another 200,000 Americans went back to work last month.
The American auto industry has come roaring back with more
than 350,000 new jobs – jobs churning out and selling the high-tech,
fuel-efficient cars the world wants to buy. And they’re leading the
charge in a manufacturing sector that has added jobs for the first time
since the 1990s – a big reason why our businesses sell more goods and
services “Made in America” than ever before.
We decided to reverse our addiction to foreign oil. And
today, we generate more renewable energy than ever, more natural gas
than anybody, and for the first time in nearly 20 years, America now
produces more oil than we buy from other countries.
We decided to fix a broken health care system. And even
though the rollout of the marketplace where you can buy affordable plans
has been rough, so far, about 500,000 Americans are poised to gain
health coverage starting January 1st. And by the way, health care costs are growing at the slowest rate in 50 years.
And one more thing: since I took office, we’ve cut our
deficits by more than half. And that makes it easier to invest in the
things that create jobs – education, research, and infrastructure.
Imagine how much farther along we could be if both parties
were working together. Think about what we could do if a reckless few
didn’t hold the economy hostage every few months, or waste time on
dozens of votes to repeal the Affordable Care Act rather than try to
help us fix it.
In the weeks ahead, I’ll keep talking about my plan to
build a better bargain for the middle class. Good jobs. A good
education. A chance to buy a home, save, and retire. And yes, the
financial security of affordable health care. And I’ll look for any
willing partners who want to help.
Because of your hard work and tough sacrifices over the
past five years, we’re pointed in the right direction. But we’ve got
more work to do to keep moving that way. And as long as I’m President,
I’ll keep doing everything I can to create jobs, grow the economy, and
make sure that everyone who works hard has a chance to get ahead.
Thanks, and have a great weekend.
No comments:
Post a Comment