English subtitles for clip: File:2016-10-08 President Obama's Weekly Address.webm

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The President: Hi, everybody.

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Eight years ago, we were in
the early stages of what

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would become the worst
economic crisis of

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our lifetimes.

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It was a scary time.

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We didn't even know where
the bottom would be.

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But thanks to your hard work
and determination, and some

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smart decisions we made,
today's a different story.

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We turned a recession into a
record streak of job growth,

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creating more than 15
million new private-sector

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jobs and cutting the
unemployment rate in half.

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Getting wages to rise
again was a harder task.

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Even before the recession,
working Americans faced

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decades of slow wage growth.

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Between 1980 and 2007, real
wages barely grew each year.

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But because the policies
we've put in place are

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working, working families
are finally seeing their

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wages and incomes rise, too.

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Since 2012, wages have grown
around 20 times faster than

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they did over the almost
three decades between 1980

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and 2007.

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Last year, folks' typical
household income rose

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by $2,800.

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That's the single biggest
increase on record.

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And across every race and
age group in America,

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incomes rose and
poverty rates fell.

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We lifted 3.5 million people
out of poverty - the largest

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one-year drop in the
poverty rate since 1968.

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What's more, lower- and
middle-income families saw

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the biggest boost in incomes
- in part because 18 states

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and the District, as well as
more than 50 communities,

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have given millions of
Americans a raise by raising

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the minimum wage.

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And states that have raised
their minimum wage have seen

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stronger earnings growth in
low-wage jobs compared to

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states that have not.

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Strengthening benefits
at work helps, too.

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Last week, for example, I
took action to make sure up

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to one million more workers
can earn seven days of paid

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sick leave on the job.

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We're also helping states
expand opportunities for

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workers to save
for retirement.

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But there's a lot more we
should do to strengthen the

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middle class and help
more Americans get ahead.

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Making childcare more
affordable, for example.

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Making sure women earn
equal pay for equal work.

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Guaranteeing paid
family and sick leave.

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Increasing the
federal minimum wage.

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Preparing workers for
the jobs of the future.

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And closing tax loopholes
that benefit just the

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wealthy and big
corporations.

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Now we just need a Congress
that cares about these

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issues - one that will
finally put politics aside

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and act on these
commonsense ideas.

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That's how we'll build on
the progress we've made over

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these past eight years, and
achieve one thing we should

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all agree on - securing a
brighter future for all

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our children.

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Thanks everybody.

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Have a great weekend.