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The President:
Hi, everybody.
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On Tuesday, America
went to the polls.
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And the message you sent was
clear: you voted for action,
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not politics as usual.
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You elected us to focus
on your jobs, not ours.
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That's why I've invited leaders
of both parties to the White
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House next week, so we can
start to build consensus around
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challenges we can
only solve together.
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I also intend to
bring in business,
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labor and civic leaders
from around the country,
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from outside Washington, to get
their ideas and input as well.
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At a time when our economy is
still recovering from the Great
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Recession, our top priority
has to be jobs and growth.
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That's the focus of the plan
I talked about throughout
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the campaign.
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It's a plan to reward businesses
that create jobs here in
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America, and give people access
to the education and training
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that those businesses
are looking for.
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It's a plan to rebuild our
infrastructure and keep us on
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the cutting edge of
innovation and clean energy.
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And it's a plan to reduce
our deficit in a balanced and
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responsible way.
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This is even more important
because at the end of this year,
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we face a series of deadlines
that require us to make major
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decisions about how to
pay down our deficit --
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decisions that will have a huge
impact on the economy and the
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middle class, not only
now, but in the future.
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Last year, I worked with
Democrats and Republicans to cut
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a trillion dollars'
worth of spending,
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and I intend to work with
both parties to do more.
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But as I said over and over
again on the campaign trail,
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we can't just cut our
way to prosperity.
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If we're serious about
reducing the deficit,
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we have to combine spending
cuts with revenue --
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and that means asking the
wealthiest Americans to pay a
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little more in taxes.
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That's how we did it when
Bill Clinton was President.
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And that's the only way we can
afford to invest in education
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and job training
and manufacturing --
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all the ingredients of a
strong middle class and a
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strong economy.
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Already, I've put forward a
detailed plan that allows us to
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make these investments while
reducing our deficit by
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$4 trillion over
the next decade.
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Now, I'm open to
compromise and new ideas.
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But I refuse to accept any
approach that isn't balanced.
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I will not ask students or
seniors or middle-class families
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to pay down the entire deficit
while people making over
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$250,000 a year aren't asked
to pay a dime more in taxes.
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This was a central
question in the election.
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And on Tuesday, we found out
that the majority of Americans
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agree with my approach --
Democrats, Independents,
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and some Republicans.
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Now we need a majority
in Congress to listen --
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and they should start by making
sure taxes don't go up on the
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98% of Americans making under
$250,000 a year starting
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January 1st.
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This is something
we all agree on --
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that taxes on middle-class
families should not go up.
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Congress should permanently
extend the middle-class tax cuts
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right now; even as we
negotiate a broader deficit
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reduction package.
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It's a step that would give
millions of families and 97% of
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small businesses the peace of
mind that will lead to new jobs
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and faster growth.
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There's no reason to wait.
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We know there will be
differences and disagreements in
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the months to come.
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That's part of what makes
our political system work.
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But on Tuesday, you said
loud and clear that you won't
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tolerate dysfunction, or
politicians who see compromise
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as a dirty word.
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Not when so many of your
families are still struggling.
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Instead, you want cooperation.
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You want action.
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That's what I plan to
deliver in my second term,
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and I expect to find leaders
from both parties willing
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to join me.
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Thanks, and have
a great weekend.
