English subtitles for clip: File:2010-07-17 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

1
00:00:08,452 --> 00:00:11,619
The President: This week, many of our
largest corporations reported robust

2
00:00:11,619 --> 00:00:14,753
earnings -- a positive
sign of growth.

3
00:00:14,753 --> 00:00:16,985
But too many of our small
business owners and those who

4
00:00:16,985 --> 00:00:21,119
aspire to start their own small
businesses continue to struggle,

5
00:00:21,119 --> 00:00:23,519
in part because they can't get
the credit they need to start

6
00:00:23,519 --> 00:00:25,819
up, grow, and hire.

7
00:00:25,819 --> 00:00:28,218
And too many Americans whose
livelihoods have fallen prey to

8
00:00:28,219 --> 00:00:30,386
the worst recession
in our lifetimes --

9
00:00:30,386 --> 00:00:33,486
a recession that cost our
economy eight million jobs --

10
00:00:33,486 --> 00:00:36,486
still wonder how
they'll make ends meet.

11
00:00:36,486 --> 00:00:40,184
That's why we need to take new,
commonsense steps to help small

12
00:00:40,185 --> 00:00:43,886
businesses, grow our
economy, and create jobs --

13
00:00:43,886 --> 00:00:46,286
and we need to take them now.

14
00:00:46,286 --> 00:00:49,286
For months, that's what
we've been trying to do.

15
00:00:49,286 --> 00:00:51,786
But too often, the Republican
leadership in the United States

16
00:00:51,786 --> 00:00:56,853
Senate chooses to filibuster
our recovery and obstruct our progress.

17
00:00:56,853 --> 00:00:59,486
And that has very
real consequences.

18
00:00:59,486 --> 00:01:03,019
Consider what this obstruction
means for our small businesses --

19
00:01:03,019 --> 00:01:06,652
the growth engines that
create two of every three new

20
00:01:06,653 --> 00:01:08,586
jobs in this country.

21
00:01:08,586 --> 00:01:11,051
A lot of small businesses still
have trouble getting the loans

22
00:01:11,052 --> 00:01:14,386
and capital they need to keep
their doors open and hire new workers.

23
00:01:14,386 --> 00:01:18,018
So we proposed steps to get them
that help: Eliminating capital

24
00:01:18,019 --> 00:01:20,185
gains taxes on investments.

25
00:01:20,185 --> 00:01:23,985
Establishing a fund for
small lenders to help small businesses.

26
00:01:23,985 --> 00:01:27,919
Enhancing successful SBA
programs that help them access

27
00:01:27,919 --> 00:01:30,352
the capital they need.

28
00:01:30,352 --> 00:01:33,786
But again and again, a partisan
minority in the Senate said

29
00:01:33,786 --> 00:01:37,419
"no," and used procedural
tactics to block a simple,

30
00:01:37,419 --> 00:01:39,786
up-or-down vote.

31
00:01:39,786 --> 00:01:42,319
Think about what these stalling
tactics mean for the millions of

32
00:01:42,319 --> 00:01:46,019
Americans who've lost their
jobs since the recession began.

33
00:01:46,019 --> 00:01:48,719
Over the past several weeks,
more than two million of them

34
00:01:48,719 --> 00:01:52,018
have seen their unemployment
insurance expire.

35
00:01:52,019 --> 00:01:55,352
For many, it was the only way to
make ends meet while searching

36
00:01:55,352 --> 00:02:00,985
for work -- the only way
to cover rent, utilities, even food.

37
00:02:00,985 --> 00:02:04,452
Three times, the Senate has
tried to temporarily extend that

38
00:02:04,452 --> 00:02:06,352
emergency assistance.

39
00:02:06,352 --> 00:02:09,319
And three times, a
minority of Senators --

40
00:02:09,318 --> 00:02:12,418
basically the same crowd who
said "no" to small businesses --

41
00:02:12,419 --> 00:02:14,552
said "no" to folks
looking for work,

42
00:02:14,552 --> 00:02:17,653
and blocked a straight
up-or-down vote.

43
00:02:17,653 --> 00:02:19,886
Some Republican leaders actually
treat this unemployment

44
00:02:19,886 --> 00:02:23,019
insurance as if it's
a form of welfare.

45
00:02:23,019 --> 00:02:26,152
They say it discourages
folks from looking for work.

46
00:02:26,152 --> 00:02:28,685
Well, I've met a lot of folks
looking for work these past few

47
00:02:28,686 --> 00:02:31,853
years, and I can tell you, I
haven't met any American who

48
00:02:31,853 --> 00:02:34,519
would rather have an
unemployment check than a

49
00:02:34,519 --> 00:02:37,919
meaningful job that lets you
provide for your family.

50
00:02:37,919 --> 00:02:40,519
And we all have
friends, or neighbors,

51
00:02:40,519 --> 00:02:43,519
or family members who already
know how hard it is to land a

52
00:02:43,519 --> 00:02:47,519
job when five workers are
competing for every opening.

53
00:02:47,519 --> 00:02:51,386
Now in the past, Presidents and
Congresses of both parties have

54
00:02:51,386 --> 00:02:53,984
treated unemployment
insurance for what it is --

55
00:02:53,985 --> 00:02:56,152
an emergency expenditure.

56
00:02:56,152 --> 00:02:59,152
That's because an economic
disaster can devastate families

57
00:02:59,152 --> 00:03:03,486
and communities just as
surely as a flood or tornado.

58
00:03:03,486 --> 00:03:06,619
But suddenly, Republican
leaders want to change that.

59
00:03:06,619 --> 00:03:08,919
They say we shouldn't provide
unemployment insurance because

60
00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:10,686
it costs money.

61
00:03:10,686 --> 00:03:13,653
So after years of championing
policies that turned a record

62
00:03:13,653 --> 00:03:17,984
surplus into a massive deficit,
including a tax cut for the

63
00:03:17,985 --> 00:03:20,786
wealthiest Americans, they've
finally decided to make their

64
00:03:20,786 --> 00:03:23,985
stand on the backs
of the unemployed.

65
00:03:23,985 --> 00:03:26,352
They've got no problem spending
money on tax breaks for folks at

66
00:03:26,352 --> 00:03:29,486
the top who don't need them
and didn't even ask for them;

67
00:03:29,486 --> 00:03:32,619
but they object to helping folks
laid off in this recession who

68
00:03:32,619 --> 00:03:34,819
really do need help.

69
00:03:34,819 --> 00:03:38,585
And every day this goes on,
another 50,000 Americans lose

70
00:03:38,586 --> 00:03:41,452
that badly needed lifeline.

71
00:03:41,452 --> 00:03:43,753
Well, I think these
Senators are wrong.

72
00:03:43,753 --> 00:03:46,753
We can't afford to go back to
the same misguided policies that

73
00:03:46,753 --> 00:03:48,886
led us into this mess.

74
00:03:48,886 --> 00:03:51,952
We need to move forward with the
policies that are leading us out

75
00:03:51,952 --> 00:03:53,686
of this mess.

76
00:03:53,686 --> 00:03:56,653
The fact is, most economists
agree that extending

77
00:03:56,653 --> 00:03:59,486
unemployment insurance is one of
the single most cost-effective

78
00:03:59,486 --> 00:04:02,819
ways to help
jumpstart the economy.

79
00:04:02,819 --> 00:04:05,585
It puts money into the pockets
of folks who not only need it

80
00:04:05,586 --> 00:04:09,586
most, but who are also most
likely to spend it quickly.

81
00:04:09,586 --> 00:04:11,386
That boosts local economies.

82
00:04:11,386 --> 00:04:13,886
And that means jobs.

83
00:04:13,886 --> 00:04:16,286
Increasing loans
to small business.

84
00:04:16,286 --> 00:04:18,219
Renewing unemployment insurance.

85
00:04:18,219 --> 00:04:20,918
These steps aren't just the
right thing to do for those

86
00:04:20,918 --> 00:04:24,252
hardest hit by the recession --
they're the right thing to do

87
00:04:24,252 --> 00:04:25,686
for all of us.

88
00:04:25,686 --> 00:04:29,019
And I'm calling on Congress once
more to take these steps on

89
00:04:29,019 --> 00:04:32,152
behalf of America's
workers, and their families,

90
00:04:32,152 --> 00:04:36,786
and small business owners --
the people we were sent here to serve.

91
00:04:36,786 --> 00:04:39,219
Because when storms
strike Main Street,

92
00:04:39,219 --> 00:04:41,719
we don't play politics
with emergency aid.

93
00:04:41,719 --> 00:04:45,352
We don't desert our fellow
Americans when they fall on hard times.

94
00:04:45,352 --> 00:04:46,551
We come together.

95
00:04:46,552 --> 00:04:48,286
We do what we can to help.

96
00:04:48,286 --> 00:04:51,853
We rebuild stronger,
and we move forward.

97
00:04:51,853 --> 00:04:53,786
That's what we're doing today.

98
00:04:53,786 --> 00:04:56,119
And I'm absolutely convinced
that's how we're going to come

99
00:04:56,119 --> 00:04:59,019
through this storm
to better days ahead.

100
00:04:59,019 --> 00:05:00,519
Thanks.