Obama’s Weekly Address: A Plan to Create Jobs and Cut the Deficit
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Craig F. Walker/The Denver Post(WASHINGTON) — As he prepares to unveil his budget next week, President Obama made the case for his plan, saying in his weekly address that it will reduce the deficit and avoid “self-inflicted wounds” like sequestration.
“Yesterday, we learned that our businesses created 95,000 new jobs last month. That’s about 500,000 new jobs this year, and nearly 6.5 million new jobs over the past three years. But we’ve got more work to do,” the president says. “The last thing we need are more self-inflicted wounds from Washington – like the across-the-board spending cuts that are already hurting many communities; cuts that economists predict will cost our economy hundreds of thousands of jobs. If we want to keep rebuilding this economy on a stronger, sturdier foundation for growth – growth that creates good jobs that offer middle-class security – we need to make smarter choices.”
The president continues, saying the budget he intends to reveal this week is “a fiscally-responsible blueprint for middle-class jobs and growth.”
“For years, an argument in Washington has raged between reducing our deficits at all costs, and making the investments we need to grow the economy. My budget puts that argument to rest. We don’t have to choose between these goals – we can do both,” he says.
President Obama tells Americans there is a way to budget without spending beyond our means or making “harsh and unnecessary cuts.” He assures Americans that his plan will shore up retirement and health care programs, while cutting an additional $2 trillion from the deficit that will “surpass the goal of $4 trillion in deficit reduction” that some experts believe is required for full financial recovery. The president says he’s signed more than $2.5 trillion in deficit reduction into law already.
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