English subtitles for clip: File:2011-10-08 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

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The President:
Next week, the Senate will
vote on the American Jobs Act.

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It's a bill that will put more
people to work and put more

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money in the pockets
of working Americans.

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And it will provide our economy
with the jolt that it really

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needs right now.

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This is not the time for the
usual games or political

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gridlock in Washington.

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The challenges facing financial
markets around the world could

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have very real effects on our
own economy at a time when it's

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already fragile.

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But this jobs bill can help
guard against another downturn

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here in America.

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This isn't just my belief --
it's what independent economists

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have said -- not
just politicians,

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not just people in
my administration --

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independent experts who do this
for a living have said that this

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jobs bill will have a
significant effect for our

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economy and middle-class
families all across America.

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But if we don't act, the
opposite will be true --

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there will be fewer
jobs and weaker growth.

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So any senator out there who's
thinking about voting against

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this jobs bill needs to explain
why they would oppose something

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that we know would improve
our economic situation.

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If the Republicans in Congress
think they have a better plan

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for creating jobs right
now, they should prove it.

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Because one of the same
independent economists who

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looked at our plan just
said that their ideas

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"wouldn't mean much for the
economy in the near term."

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If their plan
doesn't measure up,

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the American people deserve to
know what it is that Republicans

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in Congress don't like
about this jobs plan.

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You hear a lot of our Republican
friends say that one of the most

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important things we
can do is cut taxes.

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Well, they should
love this plan.

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The American Jobs Act would cut
taxes for virtually every worker

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and small business in America.

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And if you're a small business
owner that hires new workers,

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raises wages or hires a veteran,
you get an additional tax cut.

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Right now, hundreds of thousands
of teachers and firefighters and

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police officers have been
laid off because of state

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budget cuts.

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This jobs bill will put a
lot of these men and women

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back to work.

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Right now, there are millions of
laid-off construction workers

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who could be repairing
our bridges and roads,

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and modernizing our schools.

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Why wouldn't we want to put
these men and women to work

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rebuilding America?

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The proposals in this bill are
steps we have to take if we want

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to build an economy that lasts;
if we want to be able to compete

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with other countries for jobs
that restore a sense of security

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for the middle class.

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But we also have to rein in our
deficit and start living within

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our means, which is why this
jobs bill is paid for by asking

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millionaires and billionaires
to pay their fair share.

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Some see this as class warfare.

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I see it as a simple choice --
we can either keep taxes exactly

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as they are for millionaires
and billionaires,

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or we can ask them to pay at
least the same rate as a plumber

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or a bus driver.

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And in the process, we can
put teachers and construction

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workers and veterans
back on the job.

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We can either fight to protect
their tax cuts or we can cut

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taxes for virtually every worker
and small business in America.

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But we can't afford to do
both -- it's that simple.

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There are too many people
hurting in this country for us

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to simply do nothing.

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The economy is too fragile for
us to let politics get in the

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way of action.

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The people who represent you in
Washington have a responsibility

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to do what is best for you --
not what's best for their party

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or what's going to help them win
an election that's more than a

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year away.

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So I need you to keep making
your voices heard in Washington.

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I need you to remind these
folks who they work for.

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And I need you to tell your
senators to do the right thing

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by passing this jobs
bill right away.

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Thanks so much.