Before a joint session of Congress last night, a fired-up President Obama delivered his plan to put America back to work:
"The purpose of the American Jobs Act is simple: to put more people back to work and more money in the pockets of those who are working. It will create more jobs for construction workers, more jobs for teachers, more jobs for veterans, and more jobs for the long-term unemployed. It will provide a tax break for companies who hire new workers, and it will cut payroll taxes in half for every working American and every small business. It will provide a jolt to an economy that has stalled, and give companies confidence that if they invest and hire, there will be customers for their products and services. You should pass this jobs plan right away."
The plan would create jobs right away. But as President Obama noted, we also need to look beyond the immediate crisis and begin building a competitive economy that lasts into the future—an economy in which we out-build, out-educate, and out-innovate every other nation on Earth:
"We're going to make sure the next generation of manufacturing takes root not in China or Europe, but right here, in the United States of America. If we provide the right incentives and support—and if we make sure our trading partners play by the rules—we can be the ones to build everything from fuel-efficient cars to advanced biofuels to semiconductors that are sold all over the world. That's how America can be No. 1 again. That's how America will be No. 1 again."
The American Jobs Act is fully paid for. It would reduce the deficit by making additional spending cuts and asking the wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations to pay their fair share. It would also make modest adjustments to existing programs—but President Obama isn't willing to sacrifice the protections that millions of Americans rely on each day:
"What we can't do—what I won't do—is let this economic crisis be used as an excuse to wipe out the basic protections that Americans have counted on for decades. I reject the idea that we need to ask people to choose between their jobs and their safety. I reject the argument that says for the economy to grow, we have to roll back protections that ban hidden fees by credit card companies, or rules that keep our kids from being exposed to mercury, or laws that prevent the health insurance industry from shortchanging patients. I reject the idea that we have to strip away collective bargaining rights to compete in a global economy. We shouldn’t be in a race to the bottom, where we try to offer the cheapest labor and the worst pollution standards. America should be in a race to the top. And I believe that’s a race we can win."
We can't win without the support of everyday Americans joining in the fight to create jobs. President Obama asked those who support his plan to stand with him and make their voices heard in Washington:
"Regardless of the arguments we’ve had in the past, regardless of the arguments we’ll have in the future, this plan is the right thing to do right now. You should pass it. And I intend to take that message to every corner of this country. I also ask every American who agrees to lift your voice and tell the people who are gathered here tonight that you want action now. Tell Washington that doing nothing is not an option. Remind us that if we act as one nation, and one people, we have it within our power to meet this challenge."
Add your name in support of the Americans Jobs Act.
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