Obama Talks About How to Build a Rising, Thriving Middle Class

Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Weekly Address
The White House
May 17, 2013

Hi, everybody.  Over the past few months, I’ve laid out a series of commonsense ideas to reignite the true engine of our economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class. 

The way I see it, there are three areas where we need to focus.  One: making America a magnet for good jobs.  Two: making sure our workers have the education and skills they need to do those jobs.  And three: making sure your hard work leads to a decent living.

I’ve also been visiting cities across the country that are doing some interesting and creative things along these lines. 

On Friday, I stopped by a factory in Baltimore that’s creating good jobs here at home by exporting digging equipment abroad. 

I read with young kids in a pre-K program, where kids are getting a head start learning the skills they’ll need to succeed in life. 

And I stopped by a program that’s helping folks in tough circumstances – especially low-income dads – get the training and guidance they need to find work and support their families. 

That’s why I like getting out of the Washington echo chamber whenever I can – because too often, our politics aren’t focused on the same things you are.  Working hard.  Supporting your family and your community.  Making sure your kids have every chance in life.

More than anything, the American people make me optimistic about where we’re headed as a nation.  Especially after all we’ve been through the past several years.  And that should encourage us to work even harder on the issues that matter to you.

In a little over three years, our businesses have created more than 6.5 million new jobs.  And while our unemployment rate is still too high, it’s the lowest it’s been since 2008.  But now we need to create even more good, middle-class jobs, and we need to do it faster. 

Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs.  But now we need to get middle-class wages and incomes rising too. 

Our housing market is healing.  But we still need to help a lot more families stay in their homes, or refinance to take advantage of historically low rates. 

And our deficits are shrinking at the fastest rate in decades.  But now we need to budget in a smarter way that doesn’t hurt middle-class families or harm critical investments in our future. 

So in a lot of sectors, things are looking up.  The American auto industry is thriving.  American energy is booming.  And American ingenuity in our tech sector has the potential to change the way we do almost everything. 

In the coming weeks, I’m going to visit more cities like Baltimore, and Austin, Texas – where I was two weeks ago; places where Americans are coming together to strengthen their own communities and economies – and in the process, making this country better for all of us. 

And I’m going to keep trying to work with both parties in Washington to make progress on your priorities.  Because I know that if we come together around creating more jobs, educating more of our kids, and building new ladders of opportunity for everyone who’s willing to climb them – we’ll all prosper, together.  

Thanks. And have a great weekend.

Growing the Housing Market and Supporting our Homeowners

WEEKLY ADDRESS: Growing the Housing Market and Supporting our Homeowners 

Remarks of President Barack Obama

Weekly Address

The White House

Hi, everybody.  Our top priority as a nation is reigniting the true engine of our economic growth – a rising, thriving middle class.  And few things define what it is to be middle class in America more than owning your own cornerstone of the American Dream: a home.

Today, seven years after the real estate bubble burst, triggering the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and costing millions of responsible Americans their jobs and their homes, our housing market is healing.  Sales are up.  Foreclosures are down.  Construction is expanding.  And thanks to rising home prices over the past year, 1.7 million more families have been able to come up for air, because they’re no longer underwater on their mortgages.

From the day I took office, I’ve made it a priority to help responsible homeowners and prevent the kind of recklessness that helped cause this crisis in the first place. 

My housing plan has already helped more than two million people refinance their mortgages, and they’re saving an average of $3000 per year. 

My new consumer watchdog agency is moving forward on protections like a simpler, shorter mortgage form that will help to keep hard-working families from getting ripped off.

But we’ve got more work to do.  We’ve got more responsible homeowners to help – folks who have never missed a mortgage payment, but aren’t allowed to refinance; working families who have done everything right, but still owe more on their homes than they’re worth.

Last week, I nominated a man named Mel Watt to take on these challenges as the head of the Federal Housing Finance Agency.  Mel’s represented the people of North Carolina in Congress for 20 years, and in that time, he helped lead efforts to put in place rules of the road that protect consumers from dishonest mortgage lenders, and give responsible Americans the chance to own their own home.  He’s the right person for the job, and that’s why Congress should do its job, and confirm him without delay.

And they shouldn’t stop there.  As I said before, more than two million Americans have already refinanced at today’s low rates, but we can do a lot better than that.  I’ve called on Congress to give every responsible homeowner the chance to refinance, and with it, the opportunity to save $3,000 a year.  That’s like a $3,000 tax cut.  And if you’re one of the millions of Americans who could take advantage of that, you should ask your representative in Congress why they won’t act on it. 

Our economy and our housing market are poised for progress – but we could do so much more if we work together.  More good jobs.  Greater security for middle-class families.  A sense that your hard work is rewarded.  That’s what I’m fighting for – and that’s what I’m going to keep fighting for as long as I hold this office.

Thank you.  And have a great weekend.

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