WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Obama called on both parties to work together to find a balanced approach to solving our nation’s deficit problem.  The President emphasized the importance of compromise and shared sacrifice so that we can overcome our fiscal challenges and move our country forward.  To get our fiscal house in order, we must cut spending, but we must also close tax loopholes for special interests and ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.  Through cooperation and a bipartisan approach, we can get our economy on firmer ground and give our businesses the confidence they need to create more jobs across the United States.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
July 16, 2011

Today, there’s a debate going on in Washington over the best way to get America’s fiscal house in order and get our economy on a stronger footing going forward.

For a decade, America has been spending more money than we’ve taken in.  For several decades, our debt has been rising.  And let’s be honest – neither party in this town is blameless. Both have talked this problem to death without doing enough about it.  That’s what drives people nuts about Washington.  Too often, it’s a place more concerned with playing politics and serving special interests than resolving real problems or focusing on what you’re facing in your own lives.

But right now, we have a responsibility – and an opportunity – to reduce our deficit as much as possible and solve this problem in a real and comprehensive way.

Simply put, it will take a balanced approach, shared sacrifice, and a willingness to make unpopular choices on all our parts.  That means spending less on domestic programs.  It means spending less on defense programs.  It means reforming programs like Medicare to reduce costs and strengthen the program for future generations.  And it means taking on the tax code, and cutting out certain tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest Americans.

Now, some of these things don’t make folks in my party too happy.  And I wouldn’t agree to some of these cuts if we were in a better fiscal situation, but we’re not.  That’s why I’m willing to compromise.  I’m willing to do what it takes to solve this problem, even if it’s not politically popular.  And I expect leaders in Congress to show that same willingness to compromise.

The truth is, you can’t solve our deficit without cutting spending.  But you also can’t solve it without asking the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share – or without taking on loopholes that give special interests and big corporations tax breaks that middle-class Americans don’t get.

It’s pretty simple.  I don’t think oil companies should keep getting special tax breaks when they’re making tens of billions in profits.  I don’t think hedge fund managers should pay taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries.  I don’t think it’s fair to ask nothing of someone like me when the average family has seen their income decline over the past decade – and when many of you are just trying to stretch every dollar as far it it’ll go.

We shouldn’t put the burden of deficit reduction on the backs of folks who’ve already borne the brunt of the recession.  It’s not reasonable and it’s not right.  If we’re going to ask seniors, or students, or middle-class Americans to sacrifice, then we have to ask corporations and the wealthiest Americans to share in that sacrifice.  We have to ask everyone to play their part.  Because we are all part of the same country.  We are all in this together.

So I’ve put things on the table that are important to me and to Democrats, and I expect Republican leaders to do the same.  After all, we’ve worked together like that before.  Ronald Reagan worked with Tip O’Neill and Democrats to cut spending, raise revenues, and reform Social Security.  Bill Clinton worked with Newt Gingrich and Republicans to balance the budget and create surpluses.  Nobody ever got everything they wanted.  But they worked together.  And they moved this country forward.

That kind of cooperation should be the least you expect from us – not the most you expect from us.  You work hard, you do what’s right, and you expect leaders who do the same.  You sent us to Washington to do the tough things.  The right things.  Not just for some of us, but for all of us.  Not just what’s enough to get through the next election – but what’s right for the next generation.

You expect us to get this right.  To put America back on firm economic ground.  To forge a healthy, growing economy.  To create new jobs and rebuild the lives of the middle class.  And that’s what I’m committed to doing.

Thank you.

WASHINGTON – In this week’s address, President Obama called on both parties to come together during this unique moment to find a significant, balanced approach to deficit reduction that lets us live within our means without hurting investments our economy needs to grow and create jobs.  The President believes the American people deserve to have their leaders work in a bipartisan way to find common ground to tackle our fiscal challenges so we can be in a stronger position to focus on new job-creation measures to get the American people back to work.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
July 9, 2011
Washington, DC

Earlier this week, we did something that’s never been done here at the White House – we had a Twitter Town Hall. I even sent my first live tweet as President. The questions at the town hall were sent in from across the country and covered all kinds of topics – from jobs and the economy to education and energy.

Lots of people also submitted different versions of another question. They’d start by saying that our politics has grown so contentious. Then they’d ask, When will both parties in Congress come together on behalf of the people who elected them?

That’s a really important question, and it goes to the heart of a debate we’re having right now in this country – and that’s the debate about how to tackle the problem of our deficits and our debt.

Now, there are obviously real differences in approach. I believe we need a balanced approach. That means taking on spending in our domestic programs and our defense programs. It means addressing the challenges in programs like Medicare so we can strengthen those programs and protect them for future generations. And it means taking on spending in the tax code – spending on tax breaks and deductions for the wealthiest Americans.

But I also know that Republicans and Democrats don’t see eye to eye on a number of issues. And so, we’re going to continue working over the weekend to bridge those gaps.
The good news is, we agree on some of the big things. We agree that after a decade of racking up deficits and debt, we finally need to get our fiscal house in order. We agree that to do that, both sides are going to have to step outside their comfort zones and make some political sacrifices. And we agree that we simply cannot afford to default on our national obligations for the first time in our history; that we need to uphold the full faith and credit of the United States of America

With a recovery that’s still fragile and isn’t producing all the jobs we need, the last thing we can afford is the usual partisan game-playing in Washington.  By getting our fiscal house in order, Congress will be in a stronger position to focus on some of the job-creating measures I’ve already proposed – like putting people to work rebuilding America’s infrastructure, or reforming our patent system so that our innovators and entrepreneurs have a greater incentive to generate new products, or making college more affordable for families.  And businesses that may be holding back because of the uncertainty surrounding the possibility of a default by the U.S. government will have greater confidence to invest and create jobs.

I know we can do this. We can meet our fiscal challenge.  That’s what the American people sent us here to do. They didn’t send us here to kick our problems down the road. That’s exactly what they don’t like about Washington. They sent us here to work together. They sent us here to get things done.

Right now, we have an extraordinary – and extraordinarily rare – opportunity to move forward in a way that makes sure our government lives within its means, that puts our economy on a sounder footing for the future, and that still invests in the things we need to prosper in the years to come. And I’m hopeful that we will rise to the moment, and seize this opportunity, on behalf of all Americans, and the future we hold in common. Thanks everyone, and have a great weekend.