English subtitles for clip: File:2016-01-16 President Obama's Weekly Address.webm

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Hi, everybody.

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On Tuesday, I gave my final
State of the Union Address.

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And a focus was this: how do
we make the new economy work

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better for everyone, not
just those at the top?

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After the worst economic
crisis of our lifetimes,

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we're in the midst of
the longest streak of

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private-sector job
growth in our history.

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More than 14
million new jobs.

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An unemployment
rate cut in half.

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At the same time, our
economy continues to go

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through profound changes
that began long before the

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Great Recession hit.

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It's changed to the point
where even when folks have

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jobs; even when the
economy is growing;

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it's harder for hardworking
families to pull themselves

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out of poverty, harder for
young people to start out on

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their careers, and tougher
for workers to retire when

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they want to.

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That's a big part of the
reason a lot of working

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families are
feeling anxious.

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And it offends our
fundamentally American

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belief that everybody who
works hard should be able to

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get ahead.

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That's why we've been
fighting so hard to give

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families more opportunity
and more security - by

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working to create
more good jobs,

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invest in our middle class,
and help working people

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get a raise.

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It's what the Affordable
Care Act is all about -

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filling in the gaps in
employer-based care so that

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when somebody loses a job,
or goes back to school,

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or starts that new business,
they still have health care.

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And it's why I believe
we've got to take steps to

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modernize our unemployment
insurance system.

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If a hardworking
American loses her job,

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regardless of what
state she lives in,

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we should make sure she can
get unemployment insurance

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and some help to retrain
for her next job.

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If she's been
unemployed for a while,

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we should reach out to her
and connect her with

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career counseling.

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And if she finds a new job
that doesn't pay as much as

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her old one, we should offer
some wage insurance that

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helps her pay her bills.

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Under my plan, experienced
workers who now make less

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than $50,000 could replace
half of their lost wages -

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up to $10,000
over two years.

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It's a way to give families
some stability and encourage

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folks to rejoin the
workforce - because we

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shouldn't just be talking
about unemployment;

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we should be talking
about re-employment.

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That's when America works
best - when everyone has

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opportunity; when everyone
has some security;

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and when everyone can
contribute to this country

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we love.

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That's how we make sure that
hardworking families

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can get ahead.

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And that's what I'll be
fighting for with every last

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day of my presidency.

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Thanks everybody.

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Have a great weekend.