State of the Union Addresses of Barack Obama, 2009-2016 — John Shaqi
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, the true engine of job creation in this country will always be
America's businesses. [Applause] I agree, absolutely. But Government
can create the conditions necessary for businesses to expand and hire
more workers. We should start where most new jobs do, in small
businesses, companies that begin when an entrepreneur takes a chance on
a dream or a worker decides it's time she became her own boss. Through
sheer grit and determination, these companies have weathered the
recession, and they're ready to grow. But when you talk to small-
business owners in places like Allentown, Pennsylvania, or Elyria, Ohio,
you find out that even though banks on Wall Street are lending again,
they're mostly lending to bigger companies. Financing remains difficult
for small-business owners across the country, even those that are
making a profit.
So tonight I'm proposing that we take $30 billion of the money Wall
Street banks have repaid and use it to help community banks give small
businesses the credit they need to stay afloat. I'm also proposing a
new small business tax credit, one that will go to over 1 million small
businesses who hire new workers or raise wages. While we're at it,
let's also eliminate all capital gains taxes on small-business
investment and provide a tax incentive for all large businesses and all
small businesses to invest in new plants and equipment.
Next, we can put Americans to work today building the infrastructure of
tomorrow. From the first railroads to the Interstate Highway System,
our Nation has always been built to compete. There's no reason Europe
or China should have the fastest trains or the new factories that
manufacture clean energy products. Tomorrow I'll visit Tampa, Florida,
where workers will soon break ground on a new high-speed railroad
funded by the Recovery Act. There are projects like that all across
this country that will create jobs and help move our Nation's goods,
services, and information.
We should put more Americans to work building clean energy facilities
and give rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy
efficient, which supports clean energy jobs. And to encourage these and
other businesses to stay within our borders, it is time to finally
slash the tax breaks for companies that ship our jobs overseas and give
those tax breaks to companies that create jobs right here in the United
States of America.
Now, the House has passed a jobs bill that includes some of these steps.
As the first order of business this year, I urge the Senate to do the
same, and I know they will. They will. People are out of work. They're
hurting. They need our help. And I want a jobs bill on my desk without
delay.
But the truth is, these steps won't make up for the 7 million jobs that
we've lost over the last 2 years. The only way to move to full
employment is to lay a new foundation for long-term economic growth and
finally address the problems that America's families have confronted
for years.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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