English subtitles for clip: File:2012-03-31 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

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The President:
Over the last few months, I've
been talking about a choice we

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face as a country.

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We can either settle for an
economy where a few people do

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really well and everybody
else struggles to get by,

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or we can build an economy
where hard work pays off again,

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Where everyone gets a fair shot.

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Everyone does their fair share.

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And everyone plays
by the same rules.

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That's up to us.

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And today, I want to talk to you
about the idea that everyone in

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this country should
do their fair share.

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Now, if this were
a perfect world,

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we'd have unlimited resources --
no one would ever have to pay

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any taxes and we could
spend as much as we wanted.

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But we live in
the real world --

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we don't have
unlimited resources.

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We have a deficit that
needs to be paid down.

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And we also have to pay for
investments that will help our

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economy grow and keep our
country safe: Education;

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research and technology;
a strong military;

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and retirement programs like
Medicare and Social Security.

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That means we have
to make choices.

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When it comes to paying down the
deficit and investing in our

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future, should we ask middle-class
Americans to pay even more

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at a time when their budgets
are already stretched to the

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breaking point?

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Or should we ask some of the
wealthiest Americans to pay

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their fair share?

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That's the choice.

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Over the last decade, we've
spent hundreds of billions of

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dollars on what was supposed to
be a temporary tax cut for the

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wealthiest 2% of Americans.

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Now we're scheduled to spend
almost $1 trillion more.

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Today, the wealthiest Americans
are paying taxes at one of the

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lowest rates in 50 years.

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Warren Buffett is paying a
lower rate than his secretary.

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Meanwhile, over
the last 30 years,

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the tax rates for middle-class
families have barely budged.

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That's not fair.

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It doesn't make any sense.

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Do we want to keep giving
tax breaks to the wealthiest

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Americans -- folks like myself
or Warren Buffett or Bill Gates,

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people who don't need them
and never asked for them?

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Or do we want to keep investing
in the things that will grow our

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economy and keep us secure?

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Because we can't
afford to do both.

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Now, some people call
this class warfare.

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But I think asking a billionaire
to pay at least the same tax

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rate as his secretary
is just common sense.

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We don't envy success in this
country; we aspire to it.

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But we also believe that anyone
who does well for themselves

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should do their fair share in
return so that more people have

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the opportunity to get
ahead -- not just a few.

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That's the America I believe
in, and in the next few weeks,

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members of Congress will
get a chance to show you

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where they stand.

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Congress is going to vote on
what's called the Buffett Rule.

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If you make more than
$1 million a year,

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you should pay at least the same
percentage of your income in

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taxes as middle-class
families do.

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On the other hand, if you
make under $250,000 a year --

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like 98% of American
families do --

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your taxes shouldn't go up.

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You're the ones struggling with
the rising cost of everything

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from college tuition
to groceries.

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You're the ones who
deserve a break.

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So every member of Congress
is going to go on record.

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And if they vote to keep on
giving tax breaks to people like

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me -- tax breaks our
country can't afford --

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then they're going to have
to explain to you where that

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money comes from.

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Either it's going to add to our
deficit or it's going to come

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out of your pocket.

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Seniors will have to pay more
for their Medicare benefits.

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Students will see their interest
rates go up at a time when they

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can't afford it.

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Families who are scraping by
will have to do more because the

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richest Americans
are doing less.

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That's not right.

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That's not who we are.

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In America, our story has never
been about what we can do by

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ourselves -- it's about
what we can do together.

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It's about believing in our
future and the future of

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this country.

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So tell your members of
Congress to do the right thing.

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Call them up; write them a
letter; pay them a visit.

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And tell them to stop giving tax
breaks to people who don't need

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them and start investing in the
things that will help grow our

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economy and put
people back to work.

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That's how we'll make this
country a little fairer,

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a little more just, and
a whole lot stronger.

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Thanks.