State of the Union Addresses of Barack Obama, 2009-2016Obama, Barack
General
State of the Union Addresses of Barack Obama, 2009-2016
Obama, Barack
Presidents -- United States -- Messages; United States -- Politics and government -- Sources
Now, as we stabilized the financial system, we also took steps to get
our economy growing again, save as many jobs as possible, and help
Americans who had become unemployed. That's why we extended or
increased unemployment benefits for more than 18 million Americans,
made health insurance 65 percent cheaper for families who get their
coverage through COBRA, and passed 25 different tax cuts.
Now, let me repeat: We cut taxes. We cut taxes for 95 percent of
working families. We cut taxes for small businesses. We cut taxes for
first-time home buyers. We cut taxes for parents trying to care for
their children. We cut taxes for 8 million Americans paying for college.
[Applause] I thought I'd get some applause on that one. [Laughter]
As a result, millions of Americans had more to spend on gas and food
and other necessities, all of which helped businesses keep more workers.
And we haven't raised income taxes by a single dime on a single person-
-not a single dime.
Now, because of the steps we took, there are about 2 million Americans
working right now who would otherwise be unemployed. Two hundred
thousand work in construction and clean energy. Three hundred thousand
are teachers and other education workers. Tens of thousands are cops,
firefighters, correctional officers, first-responders. And we're on
track to add another 1 1/2 million jobs to this total by the end of the
year.
The plan that has made all of this possible, from the tax cuts to the
jobs, is the Recovery Act. That's right, the Recovery Act, also known
as the stimulus bill. Economists on the left and the right say this
bill has helped save jobs and avert disaster. But you don't have to
take their word for it. Talk to the small business in Phoenix that will
triple its workforce because of the Recovery Act. Talk to the window
manufacturer in Philadelphia who said he used to be skeptical about the
Recovery Act, until he had to add two more work shifts just because of
the business it created. Talk to the single teacher raising two kids
who was told by her principal in the last week of school that because
of the Recovery Act, she wouldn't be laid off after all.
There are stories like this all across America. And after 2 years of
recession, the economy is growing again. Retirement funds have started
to gain back some of their value. Businesses are beginning to invest
again, and slowly some are starting to hire again.
But I realize that for every success story, there are other stories, of
men and women who wake up with the anguish of not knowing where their
next paycheck will come from, who send out resumes week after week and
hear nothing in response. That is why jobs must be our number-one focus
in 2010, and that's why I'm calling for a new jobs bill tonight.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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