Weekly Address: "Everyone is going to have to be willing to compromise..."

[jefferson_dem]

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

For Immediate Release July 23, 2011

WEEKLY ADDRESS: A Bipartisan Approach to Strengthening the Economy

WASHINGTON-- In this week’s address, President Obama discussed the urgency of Democrats and Republicans coming together to take a balanced approach to cutting the deficit to strengthen our economy and leave for our children a more secure future.

Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Washington, DC

For years, the government has spent more money than it takes in. The result is a lot of debt on our nation’s credit card – debt that unless we act will weaken our economy, cause higher interest rates for families, and force us to scale back things like education and Medicare.

Now, folks in Washington like to blame one another for this problem. But the truth is, neither party is blameless. And both parties have a responsibility to do something about it. Every day, families are figuring out how stretch their paychecks – struggling to cut what they can’t afford so they can pay for what’s really important. It’s time for Washington to do the same thing. But for that to happen, it means that Democrats and Republicans have to work together. It means we need to put aside our differences to do what’s right for the country. Everyone is going to have to be willing to compromise. Otherwise, we’ll never get anything done.

That’s why we need a balanced approach to cutting the deficit. We need an approach that goes after waste in the budget and gets rid of pet projects that cost billions of dollars. We need an approach that makes some serious cuts to worthy programs – cuts I wouldn’t make under normal circumstances. And we need an approach that asks everybody to do their part.

So that means, yes, we have to make serious budget cuts; but that it’s not right to ask middle class families to pay more for college before we ask the biggest corporations to pay their fair share of taxes. It means that before we stop funding clean energy, we should ask oil companies and corporate jet owners to give up the tax breaks that other companies don’t get. Before we cut medical research, we should ask hedge fund managers to stop paying taxes at a lower rate than their secretaries. Before we ask seniors to pay more for Medicare, we should ask the wealthiest taxpayers to give up tax breaks we simply cannot afford under these circumstances.

That’s the heart of this approach: serious cuts, balanced by some new revenues. And it’s been the position of every Democratic and Republican leader who has worked to reduce the deficit, from Bill Clinton to Ronald Reagan. In fact, earlier this week, one of the most conservative members of the Senate, Tom Coburn, announced his support for a balanced, bipartisan plan that shows promise. And then a funny thing happened. He received a round of applause – from a group of Republican and Democratic senators. That’s a rare event in Washington.

So there will be plenty of haggling over the details in the days ahead. But this debate boils down to a simple choice. We can come together for the good of the country and reach a compromise; we can strengthen our economy and leave for our children a more secure future. Or we can issue insults and demands and ultimatums at each another, withdraw to our partisan corners, and achieve nothing. Well, we know the right thing to do. And we know what the American people expect us to do.

VIDEO here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2011/07/23/weekly-address-bipartisan-approach-strengthening-economy

[boppers]

1. "from Bill Clinton to Ronald Reagan"

That says so many things, in so few words.

[bvar22]

6. Yes it does,

and NONE of them good for the Working Class & The Poor.

[ananda]

2. "Everyone" meaning the poor, the elderly, the disabled...

... will have to compromise their ability to survive.

[jefferson_dem]

4. Right.

That's exactly what he says. Did you even read it before posting?

[Warren Stupidity]

3. where "everyone" means "everyone who is or will be receiving social security and medicare"

So far, the sacrifices offered have been astoundingly one sided. And those are the offers from the people supposedly on our side.

By the way cutting spending at the federal level is idiocy with the economy on the edge of a new recession.

[woo me with science]

5. +1

[bvar22]

7. This is the same "fair & balanced" CRAP you see on Fox News.

On one side, the extreme RIGHT viewpoint,

on the other side, a Center Right position.

After the Fair & Balanced "Compromise", the results is:

A SOLID Republican Policy victory!

HOORAY!
Thank GAWD it passed!!!



Who will STAND and FIGHT for THIS American Majority?
You will know them by their WORKS,
not by their excuses.

[emilyg]

8. Let's start with Washington.

[jzodda]

9. Strange he left out Defense Spending

Which could really go to helping this situation out if we reduce the spending on Empire.

[Doctor_J]

10. "Neither party is blameless"

I wonder if we'll hear that from hate radio or any repukes in government.

Appeaser. Clueless, equivocating appeaser. He just doesn't get that america is in a death struggle with the Repukes, and that he's supposed to be the leader of the opposition.