A Balanced Approach to
Growing the Economy in 2013
In this week’s address, President
Obama called on Congress to work together on a balanced approach to
reduce our deficit and promote economic growth and job creation. Our
businesses created 2.2 million jobs last year, and we just learned that
our economy created more jobs over the last few months than economists
originally thought. Our economy is poised to expand in 2013 if
Washington politics doesn’t get in the way, and the President called on
Congress to work together to keep moving us forward.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
Weekly Address
The White House
February 2, 2013
Hi, everybody.
In the coming weeks, we face some important decisions about how to pay
down our debt in a way that grows our economy and creates good jobs –
decisions that will make a real difference in the strength and pace of
our recovery.
We began this year with economists and business leaders saying that we
are poised to grow in 2013. And there are real signs of progress: Home
prices are starting to climb again. Car sales are at a five-year high.
Manufacturing is roaring back. Our businesses created 2.2 million jobs
last year. And we just learned that our economy created more jobs over
the last few months than economists originally thought.
But this week, we also received the first estimate of America’s economic
growth over the last few months. And it reminded us that bad decisions
in Washington can get in the way of our economic progress.
We all agree that it’s critical to cut unnecessary spending. But we
can’t just cut our way to prosperity. It hasn’t worked in the past, and
it won’t work today. It could slow down our recovery. It could weaken
our economy. And it could cost us jobs – now, and in the future.
What we need instead is a balanced approach; an approach that says let’s
cut what we can’t afford but let’s make the investments we can’t afford
to live without. Investments in education and infrastructure, research
and development – the things that will help America compete for the best
jobs and new industries.
Already, Republicans and Democrats have worked together to reduce our
deficits by $2.5 trillion. That’s a good start. But to get the rest of
the way, we need a balanced set of reforms.
For
example, we need to lower the cost of health care in programs like
Medicare that are the biggest drivers of our deficit, without just
passing the burden off to seniors. And these reforms must go
hand-in-hand with eliminating excess spending in our tax code, so that
the wealthiest individuals and biggest corporations can’t take advantage
of loopholes and deductions that aren’t available to most Americans.
2013 can be a year of solid growth, more jobs, and higher wages. But
that will only happen if we put a stop to self-inflicted wounds in
Washington. Everyone in Washington needs to focus not on politics but on
what’s right for the country; on what’s right for you and your families.
That’s how we’ll get our economy growing faster. That’s how we’ll
strengthen our middle class. And that’s how we’ll build a country that
rewards the effort and determination of every single American.
