English subtitles for clip: File:2012-08-18 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

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The President:
Hi, everybody.

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This week, I spent some time
traveling across Iowa talking

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with folks about rebuilding an
economy where if you work hard,

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you and your family
can get ahead.

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And along the way, I stopped in
at Cascade High School to thank

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the teachers there for
doing such a great job --

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and wish them luck as they
head back to the classroom for

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this school year.

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There's nothing more important
to our country's future than the

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education we give our kids.

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And there's no one more
important to that education than

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the person at the
front of the classroom.

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Teachers matter.

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Most work tirelessly,
with modest pay,

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sometimes digging into their own
pocket for school supplies --

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just to make a difference.

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They give everything
for our kids --

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and in return, we
should invest in them.

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But here's the thing: this year,
several thousand fewer educators

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will be going back to school.

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Since 2009, we've lost more than
300,000 education jobs, in part,

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because of budget cuts at
the state and local level.

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Think about what that
means for our country.

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At a time when the rest of the
world is racing to out-educate

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America, these cuts force our
kids into crowded classrooms,

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cancel programs for preschoolers
and kindergartners,

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and shorten the school
week and the school year.

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That's the opposite of what we
should be doing as a country.

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States should be making
education a priority in their

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budgets, even in
tough fiscal times.

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And Congress should be
willing to help out --

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because this affects all of us.

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That's why part of the jobs bill
that I sent to Congress last

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September included support
for states to prevent further

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layoffs and to rehire teachers
who'd lost their jobs.

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But here we are -- a year later
with tens of thousands more

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educators laid off -- and
Congress still hasn't done

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anything about it.

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In fact, the economic plan
that almost every Republican in

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Congress voted for would make
the situation even worse.

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It would actually cut
funding for education --

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which means fewer
kids in Head Start,

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fewer teachers in
our classrooms,

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and fewer college students
with access to financial aid --

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all to pay for a massive
new tax cut for millionaires

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and billionaires.

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That's backwards.

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That's wrong.

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That plan doesn't invest in our
future; it undercuts our future.

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If we want America to
lead in the 21st century,

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nothing is more important
than giving everyone the best

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education possible -- from the
day they start preschool to the

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day they start their career.

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That's why we launched a
national competition to

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improve our schools.

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And for less than 1% of what our
nation spends on education each

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year, we've encouraged almost
every state to raise their

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standards -- the first time
that's happened in a generation.

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That's why we've invested in
math and science education,

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and given states more
flexibility on No Child

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Left Behind.

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And that's why we've reformed
the student loan program to put

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students before big banks, and
increased financial aid for

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millions of young people --
because in America, higher

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education can't be a luxury;
it's an economic necessity every

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family should be able to afford.

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This is a country where no
matter what you look like or

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where you come from, if you're
willing to study and work hard,

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you can go as far as your
talents will take you.

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You can make it if you try.

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I am only the President of the
United States today because of

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the chance my education gave me.

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And I want every child
in America to have

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that same chance.

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That's what I'm fighting for.

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And as long as I have the
privilege of being your

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President, that's what I'm
going to keep fighting for.

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Thanks, and have
a great weekend.