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Obama: Build America to last
Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012 | 2:01 a.m.
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After World War II, a generation of heroes returned home to build the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. Today, as another generation of brave troops come home, we have a similar opportunity.
In my State of the Union address, I laid out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last — an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.
When it comes to American manufacturing, the rebirth of the American auto industry should give us new confidence. Over the past few years, it’s become more expensive to do business in places like China, while America is getting more productive. So for a lot of companies, it’s making more business sense to bring jobs back home.
We have to seize this opportunity to help these companies succeed. But right now, companies get all kinds of tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas, while companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. That makes no sense. It is time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America.
The blueprint for an economy built to last also means making sure American workers have the skills they need for the jobs of today and tomorrow. At a time when millions of Americans are looking for work, I hear from business owners who can’t find workers with the skills they need. That’s inexcusable, and we know how to fix it. Let’s train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. Let’s forge partnerships between businesses and community colleges. Let’s turn our unemployment system into a re-employment system that puts people to work.
These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. But to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier. That means giving schools resources to keep good teachers on the job and extending the tuition tax credit which saves middle-class families thousands of dollars and gives more young people the chance to earn their way through college.
An economy built to last is one fueled by American-made energy. Right now, American oil production is the highest it’s been in eight years. Last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past 16 years. However, we all know that oil isn’t enough. We need an all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy.
We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly 100 years. My administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy, which could support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. We must do this without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk. That means requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use.
What’s true for natural gas is true for clean energy. Thanks to federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled over the past three years. I will not walk away from these jobs or cede these industries to other countries. We have subsidized oil companies for a century. It’s time to end those taxpayer giveaways, and double down on the American clean energy industry.
Finally, an economy built to last insists on a return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility. These values should guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future. When it comes to the deficit, we’ve already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings. But we need to do more, and that means making choices. We can either keep giving tax breaks to millionaires who often pay lower tax rates than middle-class households, or we can keep our investments in everything else — things like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans. But if we’re serious about paying down our debt, we can’t do both.
The American people know what the right choice is. They know that our generation’s success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other, and to their country’s future. We know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared responsibility. That’s an America built to last.
Barack Obama is the 44th president of the United States of America.
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"Build America to last"
You sure are great with slogans, Mr. President.
What ever happened to:
"Change we can believe in"
Or:
"Change we need"
Or:
"Pass this bill!"
Or:
"We can't wait!"
You're right about the last one, because we can't wait till November to get you the heck out of the White House. Only then will we be able to build America to last.
Good luck with that class warfare thing. Funny how you once said that a recession is no time to raise taxes. And now you're saying it's just SO important to raise taxes on the wealthy.
Why didn't you listen to your own Simpson-Bowles commission if you really wanted to raise revenue? Its tax reform measures would have lowered rates for EVERYONE, while eliminating loopholes that currently deprive the Treasury of $1.1 trillion a year. If implemented, this would leave the Treasury with an excess of new tax revenue of $100 billion a year, or $1 trillion over a decade. And it would be fair for everyone.
But you put politics first and ignored the Simpson-Bowles commission's recommendations completely, despite the fact that he was the one who created it. You picked up your marbles and went home. And you blame Congress? No, Mr. President. Blame yourself.
Class warfare is not leadership. Itt's obfuscation. Shame on you, Mr. President.
I read President Obama's piece with a great deal of interest.
It leaves me wondering what "Build America to last," really will look like, if the president's record & results in office are a guide.
For me, when I look at his agenda and record, it seems to me he is trying to turn the US into some foreign, Euro-styled country.
The countries of Europe have already tried his prescription, and discovered it is not sustainable.
Why would voters here want to emulate a failed system?
Reasonable voters do not want to see our government spend us over a fiscal cliff, but that is the direction our president is taking us with his 'transformative' efforts.
I believe President Obama is a good hearted person, but his agenda is foreign to most voters, and is not taking the country in the right direction.
When looking at his record, many voters are justified in questioning whether our president is up to the job, or shares our vision of success.
He leaves me believing he wants to divide the country by demonizing hard work, and success.
While I like President Obama as a person, I will not vote for him again, after living through his current results in office.
We can do better & deserve better.
Nothing should infuriate voters more than this egotistical and power-captivated President. Every word from his lips is calculated for maximum voter impact. Every slogan he repeats has been tested and retested by his marketing engine. Every rolled up sleeve moment is designed by his handlers for the softening affect. Every dollar spent is designed to expand his base of government-dependent voters. We cannot stand for four more years of Obama. He must be voted out of office with a resounding majority to show the rest of the world and the liberal "progressives" (how obnoxious is that term-progressive? It implies that anyone who doesn't believe in what they believe is somehow is stuck in the past.) that euro-style governance is unacceptable in the land of the free and brave. NO MORE OBAMA!!
Here, as in his State of the Union address, the President has opened with a military reference. In his State of the Union address, he used the Navy Seals mission as a metaphor for how Americans must "work together" and "focus on the mission at hand" and do not "obsess over their differences."
On Friday, George Will wrote an excellent piece on how telling this is in regard to Obama's aspirations to command civilian life. An excerpt:
Progressive presidents use martial language as a way of encouraging Americans to confuse civilian politics with military exertions, thereby circumventing an impediment to progressive aspirations -- the Constitution and the patience it demands.
Obama, aspiring to command civilian life, has said that in reforming health care, he would have preferred an "elegant, academically approved" plan without "legislative fingerprints on it" but "unfortunately" he had to conduct "negotiations with a lot of different people."
His campaign mantra "We can't wait!" expresses progressivism's impatience with our constitutional system of concurrent majorities. To enact and execute federal laws under Madison's institutional architecture requires three, and sometimes more, such majorities. There must be majorities in the House and Senate, each body having distinctive constituencies and electoral rhythms. The law must be affirmed by the president, who has a distinctive electoral base and election schedule. Supermajorities in both houses of Congress are required to override presidential vetoes. And a Supreme Court majority is required to sustain laws against constitutional challenges.
"We can't wait!" exclaims Obama, who makes recess appointments when the Senate is not in recess, multiplies "czars" to further nullify the Senate's constitutional prerogative to advise and consent, and creates agencies (e.g., Obamacare's Independent Payment Advisory Board and Dodd-Frank's Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) untethered from legislative accountability.
Like other progressive presidents fond of military metaphors, he rejects the patience of politics required by the Constitution he has sworn to uphold.
@GOPReallySux
"You can't build an America to last when the GOP controls the Congress and wants that very same America to fail."
The GOP does not "control" Congress. It only controls the House. The fact is that Obama had majorities in both the Senate and the House for his first two years in office, and he got everything he wanted except Cap and Trade (but that's only because he didn't have enough support from DEMOCRATS).
The results? A failed economy. And a soon to be failed presidency.
Nine more months.
Sounds good, as do most of his speeches. Like Clinton, this guy speaks very well and has a great deal of charisma. Problem is, he is full of crap. If re-elected, which is all he is trying to do, the country will be bankrupt, weak, and vulnerable to our enemies. The people gave him a chance to "change" - remember "Yes we can", and all the other catchy phrases he used? Well, let the record speak for itself. This guy is a clown. Next November it is time to say, "Good Night Gracie". He is worse than Jimmie Carter.
Slogans, semantics, and witticisms won't get votes from this household like it did the last go around.
We've been waiting and waiting and waiting for "Change" which never came and isn't coming.
Try DOING something and then build the slogans. NO dem votes from this house this time. Period.
The populist path President Obama sees for America has already been tried and failed miserably, take a look at Greece, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. If our goal for America is bankruptcy and second class (or maybe third class) status then President Obama's path is correct. If we want to get back to self reliance, where you WORK for a living, where you are paid according to the demand for your skills, we MUST vote President Obama out of office. In four more years we may never be able to recover from the morass he has created.
During the SOTU address, Obama addressed the nation's structural debt problem by voting 'present'. Nary a mention.
But it is an election year.
GOP sx: Played the race card again I see. As usual, that's all you got.
Does any rational American believe a word this clown says anymore?
Wow. This man is a total joke.
Mr. President...
Considering what you inherited when you took this gig, you've done a REMARKABLE JOB.
Democrats & Independents don't agree with the entirety of what you've done as President, but we DO understand that WHAT you do is predicated on what you KNOW the Republicans/TeaNuts will 'ALLOW' you to do...we're PAINFULLY AWARE of all the mindless roadblocks that have been thrown in your way by the right; their incessant desire to make you a 'one-term' President has clouded any semblance of judgement they may have once had.
As the 2012 election approaches, we can reflect on your successes and misfires, and know that you are wise and well intentioned, and support your platform as laid out in the State of the Union address.
The hate-filled, ill-informed, Fox-Snooze brainwashed, low-functioning rabble-rousers are well offset by a comfortable majority, thank God, so we look forward to another 4-year term of painfully & meticulously putting the USA back on track.
Godspeed, President Obama!
gmag39.......
well spoken
Geeezzzz, gmag, don't embarrass yourself like that. You can't continue to blame Bush. That game is three long years old and smells equally the same.
gmag; great post.
How long does that inherited thang last?
Good thing he inherited a natural gas boom or we'd really be in trouble, what with stimulus-funded green energy companies going bankrupt left and right. Of course, he still has the green job fantasy.
@gmag39
"Mr. President... Considering what you inherited when you took this gig, you've done a REMARKABLE JOB."
Really?
Look at the economic numbers to verify what a "REMARKABLE JOB" Obama is doing. Just the other day I read that the Real GDP increased by just 1.7 percent in 2011, compared with an increase of 3.0 percent in 2010. I'd call that a pretty big indicator that things are getting even worse.
Then there was that failed stimulus that was supposed to keep unemployment under 8%. But what's it at now -- about 8.5%, with African-Americans at 16%? Then there's the government dependence number, meaning the percentage of persons receiving one or more federal benefit payments, which is now at a staggering 47% -- its highest level in American history. And have you looked at your healthcare costs lately? It was up 7.5% in 2010, up another 8% percent in 2011, and in 2012, it is expected to rise again by 8.5%. Do you remember Obama promising that ObamaCare would lower every family's health care costs by $2,500 per year?
Then there's that pesky price of gasoline -- up 83% under Obama. Not to mention that ground beef, a staple of middle-class families, has gone up 24%.
Plus, this year, more than 46 million (15% of all Americans) will get food stamps. That's 45% higher than when Obama took office, and twice as high as the average for the previous 40 years.
Furthermore, the total number of a private-sector jobs lost since Obama has taken office is 4,189,000. And the total number of a private-sector jobs gained since Obama has taken office is 2,947,000. Which means he's still got a 1,242,000 private-sector jobs deficit, which really isn't "REMARKABLE" at all, is it?
I won't even get into matters of corruption, like Solyndra, Fast & Furious, ObamaCare waivers to Obama's union buddies, to Harry Reid's entire state of Nevada, or that 25% of the total waivers issued went to businesses in Nancy Pelosi's district. You get the idea.
Yes, that's some "REMARKABLE JOB" Obama is doing!:D
Here is a President that had both houses of Congress in his control for the 1st 2 years of his administration. He wasted the whole two years screwing around with the Obama Health Care bidness. Now that the public has rescinded his control he finds it convenient to blame the GOP controlled House. Typical Democrat. Blame it on the GOP. Obama is a short timer. Don't lend this man any more money OR time. He will begone in less than a year.
@GOPReallySux
"The good news is this. EVERY poll - even those run by the Fake News Channel show President Obama handily defeating ANY of the current republican con men running for President."
Yes, Rasmussen has Obama ahead of Romney by 2 whole points, with nine months left for Obama to continue to wreck the economy. Good luck with that.
Btw, Bill Clinton recently referred to MSNBC as "our own version of Fox."
Obama 2012: Build a dependent class to last.
Dubya almost destroyed the country in 8 years and Obama has almost fixed it in 4! 4 more years and we'll be back on track!
And yet another rhetorical blueprint from Obama. Interesting that he didn't cite any accomplishments in his State of the Union address, likely because ObamaCare is abhorred by the majority of citizens and the catastrophic debt he's built up is nothing to crow about.
The question to ask is: Are we better off than we were before Obama took office.
Answer: No, particularly the 15 million unemployed and the record 46 million on food stamps.
Let's see a blueprint in writing, Mr. President. Simpson-Bowles submitted their recommendations for the economy in writing, and you pitched those recommendations in the wastebasket. Paul Ryan submitted his "Roadmap for Success" and you mocked him.
@judithod
"The question to ask is: Are we better off than we were before Obama took office?"
Actually, I think the question should be this: Are we better off than we were four trillion dollars ago?
Kinda puts a new spin on it.
Are you guys freaking kidding us? You swill-drinking automatons of President Obama will stoop at nothing to try and make this President seem like something he is not. To say that Europe's problems had to do with right-wing austerity measures is absolutely ludicrous and a complete lie. Europe's problems today are the result of politicians, just like Obama, Reid and Pelosi, who promise everything under the sun to build a permanent voting block of hand-out recipients. It is only in the last two months that the plight of Europe had become so dire that they put in office two conservative representatives: one in Italy and one in Greece. None of the countries have technically imposed the full level of austerity required to live within their means. When that happens, all heck will break loose. It will be the same here in the U.S. when you have naive fools like you progressives who don't understand that being $16,000,000,000,000 in debt, more than the annual GDP of the whole country, will require that programs, benefits and hand-outs be reigned in. You could tax 100% of the income of the top 1% and still do very little to impact the annual deficit and growting implosion that will soon be upon us.
@jeffersonrox
"You could tax 100% of the income of the top 1% and still do very little to impact the annual deficit and growting implosion that will soon be upon us."
I'll do you one better:
You could CONFISCATE all the wealth of the top 1% and you wouldn't be able to run this country for a single year!
I can see both gmag and dipstick have drank the kool-aid, believe the propaganda from the liberal media and believe Obama even after all the lies.
Obama is not interested in getting unemployed workers back to work unless they are union jobs.
If he has his way, your "clean energy" will lead to NV Energy bills doubing and possibly tripling. He will cause more unemployment in the coal mining
industry because after the plant close down the mines will follow. And, the national debt will continue to spiral. He complains about Bush over 8 years, yet in three years he has surpassed the rise during the entire 8 years of the Bush administration.
And, the companies shipping jobs overseas, they're all his buddies. The same with the companies who are not paying taxes on overseas profits (GE - Jeffrey Imelt $94 BILLION).
The guys an incompetent, inexperienced BUM. He's still a community organizer.
THANK YOU PRESIDENT OBAMA.
YOU ARE THE MAN!
Thank God you are in the drivers seat and the
greedy, heartless republicans are in the back
seat, crying like babies.
WE GOT YOUR BACK, MR. PRESIDENT!
The majority of Americans know the truth.
George Bush and the greedy, crazy republican
party destroyed our economy.
And they can't stop lying.
You have brought our country back from the brink.
We will give you four more years to fix the
HUGE MESS THAT GREEDY, ANTI-UNION REPUBLICANS
CREATED.
We are already half way there.
We will not allow these crazy, ignorant
republicans back into the White House.
These crazy republicans need to hang their
sorry heads in shame for what they have done.
FOUR MORE YEARS FOR PRESIDENT OBAMA!!!
@teamster
I've got great news for you! Kool-Aid now comes in 47 flavors!
Say, as a teamster, did you get one of those thousands of ObamaCare waivers Obama sent out to his perennial union campaign contributors?
john......
We union members have great health care,
no thanks to you greedy republicans.
My health care was IMPROVED BY OUR GREAT
PRESIDENT.
You republicans have been brain-washed by your
republican slave-masters.
I guess you like that slave-master kool-aid.
Start thinking, if you can.
ALWAYS VOTE DEMOCRATIC!!!
This is where Mr. Obama should have placed his emphasis when he first took office instead of health care reform.
In March of 2009, he said that not only are most of the jobs not going to come back, but we did not need or want them to do so because they would be bad for the economy. After three years of high unemployment it would seem Mr. Obama was mistaken about the last part.
Although I fully agree that we must bring these jobs back, and that we must use an all-of-the-above approach to energy, the timing of this makes it look much more like election tactics rather than genuine interest. It seems a lot like how the issue of immigration reform is trotted out every four years to entice the Hispanic voters and then forgotten until the next election.
It is also disturbing that we do not hear more about our trade policies. Yes, the SOTU mentioned recent agreements, but those agreements benefit our partners almost immediately while our companies must wait as long as five years to see improved terms. This does not seem like a good deal for us.
Mr. Obama has said nothing of how our trade relations with China have impacted our economy other than to say we must revise our tax codes. Yes, that is badly needed, but it is our trade policies and acceptance of restrictions placed upon us by the WTO, combined with China's continued abuse or ignoring of the WTO agreements that is the real culprit. Why has nothing been done about this?
I close with a question for Mr. Obama. Do you, Mr. President, support Harry Reid's efforts to bring Chinese interests into our energy projects? If it is bad that we buy so many products manufactured in China, is it not worse than we must obtain our jobs from them, as well?
boftx.....
If President Obama didn't do health care first,
it would not have been done.
Health care and jobs go hand in hand.
We need both.
So much was broken when President Obama stepped
in, it was incredible.
He's fixing the mess but it takes time.
If we don't want to go through this again,
NEVER VOTE REPUBLICAN!
@teamster
"Health care and jobs go hand in hand."
Really? Or are you just another union idiot?
Health care bennies were only connected to employment after WWII as a way to attract employees.
Since then, unions have pressed their employers for an obscene amount of benefits that government can no longer afford. The chickens have come home to roost.
Lots of luck on your dying breed's future!
Though I don't agree with it, I understand why the Republicans want us to hate gay people and poor people and hispanics and black people and muslims, etc... but could someone explain to me now why they want us to hate Europe? I missed that one... how did Europe get to be the scourge of the earth now? I thought Europe was our friends. now every speech the Republicans tout "if you wanna see where we're headed, take a look at Europe!"
To you Republicans out there... is anyone worthy of our friendship, except Israel of course (I know they're scared). Asia stole our jobs, Muslims won't roll over and do what we tell them for oil, Mexicans?... the nerve of those people for just existing!
This is why I can't support the Republicans... they hate everyone and have no desire to coexist in a world they can't dominate... I hate neighbors like that, why would I want it for a government?
john......
The problem with you republicans is that you have
no common sense.
Like I said before, you've been brain-washed by
your republican slave-masters.
For us union members, health care AND A REAL
RETIREMENT PROGRAM are included with our jobs.
Many no-union companies still offer health care
for their workers.
Were you dropped on your head, as a child?
It sure sounds like it.
John....
And since you haven't noticed, your crazy
republican party is the dying breed.
Thank God.
The cornerstone of rebuilding our nation should be fair and unbiased media as nations with such are recognized to have good government. Apparently you can't have one without the other!
Comment removed by moderator. Please read the Reader Agreement regarding self-promotion.
Don.....
That is exactly why Al Gore created the internet.
To get the unbiased truth.
Thank you, Dennis.
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
Let's restore manufacturing - educate people - create more energy - reduce the debt - blah, blah, blah.
You're supposed to be brilliant, Mr. President. My twelve-year-old could have written this article.
We expect you to honestly explain why you've failed to accomplish these obvious goals ("It's Bush's fault" isn't an acceptable answer). More importantly, persuade us that you've got a workable plan for your second term.
Fair shake - millionaires and billionaires - blah, blah, blah. Can't you do better that that?
Comment removed by moderator. Off Topic
After World war II troops came home to a huge housing shortage, and FDR passed away. Harry Truman and you have some common ground, but the housing shortage is now a housing overbuild,the Taft-Hartley act was passed over his veto ( Union issues) and he was able to get only 1 liberal act passed before congress put the brakes on his spending, you got an edge on that Mr. O,( Fair deal)and in the end His approval ratings in the polls started out very high, then steadily sank until he was one of the most unpopular men to leave the White House. I see this history repeating. You can't do anything without spending money, which you don't have. How about a new idea? I think your state of the union had about 4 or 5 new regulatory agencies, most of the proposed already have the same in place! Adjusted for inflation our gasoline costs are now about 30% higher then in the post world war II years, another failure on your part. You want to rebuild America? Get fuel costs back to $2.50 a gallon inflation adjusted with some sort of government control, yes I never would ask this but THEN tax it 50 cents, use that money to rebuild. Because fuel costs are so important I feel they should be regulated much like the utilities are. I await your reply.
Only a fool would not support the President in bringing jobs back from overseas countries. It's the best inveatment for the future of our country. Giving U.S. companies a tax break for coming back home and creating jobs for Americans. It would be a double for the country taking in taxes from workers. Instead of paying out unemployment benifits and food stamps to the same people who need it at this time. The majority of laid off workers would rather be working than getting assistance from the goverment.
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