English subtitles for clip: File:2012-11-10 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

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The President:
Hi, everybody.

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On Tuesday, America
went to the polls.

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And the message you sent was
clear: you voted for action,

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not politics as usual.

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You elected us to focus
on your jobs, not ours.

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That's why I've invited leaders
of both parties to the White

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House next week, so we can
start to build consensus around

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challenges we can
only solve together.

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I also intend to
bring in business,

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labor and civic leaders
from around the country,

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from outside Washington, to get
their ideas and input as well.

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At a time when our economy is
still recovering from the Great

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Recession, our top priority
has to be jobs and growth.

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That's the focus of the plan
I talked about throughout

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the campaign.

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It's a plan to reward businesses
that create jobs here in

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America, and give people access
to the education and training

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that those businesses
are looking for.

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It's a plan to rebuild our
infrastructure and keep us on

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the cutting edge of
innovation and clean energy.

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And it's a plan to reduce
our deficit in a balanced and

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responsible way.

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This is even more important
because at the end of this year,

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we face a series of deadlines
that require us to make major

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decisions about how to
pay down our deficit --

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decisions that will have a huge
impact on the economy and the

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middle class, not only
now, but in the future.

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Last year, I worked with
Democrats and Republicans to cut

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a trillion dollars'
worth of spending,

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and I intend to work with
both parties to do more.

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But as I said over and over
again on the campaign trail,

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we can't just cut our
way to prosperity.

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If we're serious about
reducing the deficit,

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we have to combine spending
cuts with revenue --

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and that means asking the
wealthiest Americans to pay a

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little more in taxes.

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That's how we did it when
Bill Clinton was President.

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And that's the only way we can
afford to invest in education

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and job training
and manufacturing --

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all the ingredients of a
strong middle class and a

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strong economy.

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Already, I've put forward a
detailed plan that allows us to

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make these investments while
reducing our deficit by

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$4 trillion over
the next decade.

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Now, I'm open to
compromise and new ideas.

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But I refuse to accept any
approach that isn't balanced.

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I will not ask students or
seniors or middle-class families

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to pay down the entire deficit
while people making over

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$250,000 a year aren't asked
to pay a dime more in taxes.

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This was a central
question in the election.

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And on Tuesday, we found out
that the majority of Americans

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agree with my approach --
Democrats, Independents,

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and some Republicans.

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Now we need a majority
in Congress to listen --

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and they should start by making
sure taxes don't go up on the

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98% of Americans making under
$250,000 a year starting

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January 1st.

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This is something
we all agree on --

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that taxes on middle-class
families should not go up.

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Congress should permanently
extend the middle-class tax cuts

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right now; even as we
negotiate a broader deficit

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reduction package.

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It's a step that would give
millions of families and 97% of

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small businesses the peace of
mind that will lead to new jobs

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and faster growth.

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There's no reason to wait.

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We know there will be
differences and disagreements in

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the months to come.

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That's part of what makes
our political system work.

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But on Tuesday, you said
loud and clear that you won't

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tolerate dysfunction, or
politicians who see compromise

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as a dirty word.

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Not when so many of your
families are still struggling.

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Instead, you want cooperation.

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You want action.

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That's what I plan to
deliver in my second term,

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and I expect to find leaders
from both parties willing

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to join me.

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Thanks, and have
a great weekend.