Obama Reaffirms Commitment to Middle Class

(AP)  A healthy economy needs bustling Main Streets and a thriving middle class even more than a healthy stock market, President Barack Obama said as he reaffirmed his commitment to work hard for America's hardworking men and women.

In his weekly radio and Internet address, Mr. Obama on Saturday outlined what he's done to help the middle class, a group he says has been squeezed the most during the recession.

He touted efforts to create jobs, make college more affordable, help the middle class build retirement nest eggs, cut taxes on these families and stop health insurance companies from refusing to cover people with pre-existing medical conditions.

Labor Day is about more than grilling food and spending time with family and friends, President Obama said.

"It's also a day to honor the American worker - to reaffirm our commitment to the great American middle class that has, for generations, made our economy the envy of the world," he said.

But President Obama said that, for a decade, middle-class families have experienced stagnant incomes and declining economic security while tax breaks were given to companies that shifted jobs overseas and Wall Street firms reaped huge profits.

"So this Labor Day, we should recommit ourselves to our time-honored values and to this fundamental truth: To heal our economy, we need more than a healthy stock market; we need bustling Main Streets and a growing, thriving middle class," President Obama said. "That's why I will keep working day by day to restore opportunity, economic security and that basic American dream for our families and future generations."

In the weekly Republican message, Rep. Geoff Davis, criticized nearly 200 pending rules and regulations as a threat to job creation. Davis said many of the mandates would cost small-business owners who don't have the money or time to comply with them.

"The more time small-business owners spend pushing paper, the less time they have to focus on creating jobs," Davis said.

He highlighted legislation he introduced that would require Congress to vote on every major new rule before it can take effect.

"The sooner we rein in the red-tape factory in Washington, D.C., the sooner small businesses can get back to creating jobs and helping more Americans find an honest day's work," he said.

[taxedmore]

I think the $15,900,000,000,000 spent on "means tested" giveaway programs may have contributed more to the decline of the middle class. Every dollar spent to remove the need for individual responsibility had to come from somewhere and that somewhere has been the middle class for the most part. All the money spent on all the wars this country has fought since its founding is a way less than half of what has been spent on the giveaway programs started in the 1960's. Food stamps, WIC, subsidized housing, Medicaid, free ER care, TANF, free school lunches, SCHIP, LIHEAP, free cell phones, EIC, Child Tax Credits and the list goes on and on. Now we are going to add another 31 million people to the list of those who don't have to pay their health care insurance? Is it a coincidence that the national debt is now 13 Trillion dollars? And what is going to happen when 11 or 12 million illegal aliens get to have their families join them here and most of them qualify to sign up for the giveaway programs? The rate the debt is increasing will go up even faster. The rich cannot pay that back. The poor and low income will continue to get their free ride. The middle class is going to foot the bill and it will drive this country's middle class into poverty, but who will relieve them of the responsibility to pay their bills? The Chinese?

[wfw3536]

If Obama was concerned about the middle class he would stop this spending when the government is borrowing 42 cents of every dollar. He passed health care which will cost us more and takes away our rights to determine our own health care in the future as it will be determined by the government. He does not have a plan for job growth and seems disinterested in helping regular folks and small businesses. Over year ago he said jobs was his number 1 priority and then he wastes a year on the health care bill. He wasted 870 billion of stimulus money and it goes on and on. Vote in November to take back our government for regular folks.

[Liberalism_Is_Illness]

by mgeg1 September 5, 2010 11:10 AM EDT
You have obviously not taken advantage of Obama's tax credits for college students. The words you are looking for are "because", not "cause" or "cauz", and "relies" not "lies".
*******************************

Don't be stupid you poor ignorant liberal.There has always been credit for college students in America.It's not an Obama's invention.

[P0ST1ING_AWAY]

by jwilwade September 4, 2010 9:57 PM EDT
I was reading this and it occurred to me it said a re-commitment! I and the 9 million unemployed and the 21 million underemployed was never aware that he had made the first commitment ..................................
=============================================================
Dearest Mr. TBB:
Being a Stupid TBB (Tea-Bagger-Bozo) has many disadvantages.
Being stupid is just ONE of them.
Maybe Obama could follow the advice of the empty-headed crowd and
just pass more tax breaks .... I know all of those unemployed people
will just LOVE their tax break.

[tarbox55]

Bush's 2 wars combined DO/DID NOT cost as much as the cost of the Illegal Immigrants not only in dollars but to our economy, education (students are not getting the education they should be getting), unemployment (without them unemployment would be negligable), crime and many other areas of society.

Obama talks out of two sides of his mouth. He says he is committed to the middle class and then he and congress act in ways to stymie the growth of the economy, small business amd job creation (except if it's in the government or unions).

Actually, Obama wants NO middle class. "Spread the Wealth", the supposed wealth ALWAYS comes from the middle class. And, it benefits a small sector of the people and damages the economy. His tax cuts would be minimal and If he gets his Cap & Trade and all this green crap done the cost of energy alone will wipe out the tax cuts and then some. But, I'll bet he'll come up with programs to subsidize the energy for the poor which will again come out of the pocket of the middle class.

Lastly, go to the polls in November and let's get rid of Nasty Nancy and Dirty Harry.

[michaelm07]

It is entertaining to see the libs on here really showing the claws at anyone who doesn't agree with Obama. These screeching little girls are really cranking it up. Maybe it is the 42% approval rating? Maybe it is the 'recovery' Summer? Or perhaps it is the supposed 9.6 unemployment? Or the total failure on any foreign policy topic? The list of failures is a looooong one. I suppose they will get even more animated as November approaches. Their pointy little heads will pop if they getting anymore flustered. They seem to me like cartoon characters. So much fun to watch, don't you think? And a nice diversion from the great job Obama's doing.

[curse914]

by cleantheDCcesspool September 4, 2010 1:40 PM EDT
by curse914 September 4, 2010 1:33 PM EDT
Anyone who thought that a President could realistically promise a targeted unemployment number was delusional to begin with.

In his weekly radio address on Jan. 10, 2009, Barack Obama said the No. 1 goal of his economic stimulus plan is to create 3 million new jobs in the next two years. Less than 20 percent of them will be government jobs.

curse: if you are going to continue to shoot yourself in the foot, you had best get that foot out of your mouth.

{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}{}

You rarely make cogent arguments. One has nothing to do with the other, and it is obvious your response is knee jerk dogma.

I reside in the periphery outside of labels. My view of our economy is Malthusian, if it must be labeled. And my understanding of the function of government is that it works in tandem with and adopted economic anatomy. In this case, that anatomy is infinite in in theory and a failure in reality. Left and Right, support theoretical infinity of growth.

[dadirt]

Since when are illegals, labor unions and welfare recipients the middle class. The middle class are the ones most hurt by Obama and his crooked politics.

[RobAla]

The best thing he could do for the middle class is to ask Congress to repeal this horrible health care bill. It is killing jobs, because businesses will not use money on hand to hire people. Instead, they are concerned about what this stupid legislation is going to cost them. They have to have the money to survive this ridiculous bill. Americans asked the federal government to help bring down the cost of health care. What we got was a fatter federal government, and more expensive health care for the middle class.

[ianlou]

What the Dems have going for them in the end is the fact that:

MOST HAVE REALIZED THAT REPUBLICANS DO NOT CARE ABOUT THE LIVELYHOOD OF WORKING AMERICANS.

The first ten years of this Century made that perfectly clear.