President Barack Obama turned his focus Wednesday to the pocketbook issues that Americans consistently rank as a top concern, arguing that the dream of upward economic mobility is breaking down and the growing income gap is a “defining challenge of our time.”
“The basic bargain at the heart of our economy has frayed,” the president said in remarks at a nonprofit community center a short drive from the White House in one of Washington’s most impoverished neighborhoods.
The president vowed to focus the last three years of his presidency on addressing the discrepancy and a rapidly growing deficit of opportunity that he said is a bigger threat than the fiscal deficit.
Obama’s remarks on the economy come as he seeks to move past the health care woes that have consumed his presidency in recent months. He acknowledged his administration’s “poor execution” in rolling out the flawed website that was supposed to be an easy portal for purchasing insurance, while blaming Republicans for a “reckless” shutdown of the government.
“Nobody has acquitted themselves very well these past few months. So it’s not surprising that the American people’s frustrations with Washington are at an all-time high,” Obama said. But he added that Americans’ frustrations also run high to try to meet ends meet, no matter how hard they work.
The speech comes amid growing national and international attention to economic disparities — from the writings of Pope Francis to the protests of fast-food workers in the U.S. The president cited the pope’s question of how it isn’t news when an elderly homeless person dies from exposure, but news when stock market loses two points.
Obama said increasing income inequality is more pronounced in the United States than other countries. He said Americans should be offended that a child born into poverty has such a hard time escaping it. “It should compel us to action. We’re a better country than this,” the president said.
Obama did not propose any new policy initiatives in the speech, sponsored by the Center for American Progress, a think tank with close ties to the White House. But he reiterated his call for an increase in the minimum wage and other measures he’s been backing to help lower income Americans.
(AP)
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4 Responses
Wait a minute. Who was the president for the last 3 years? In fact the inequality gap has grown 4 times faster in the past 3 years than ever before. So who’s to blame? Oh I forget, it must be Bush.
George Will on President Obama: America has had some great presidents, many mediocre ones and a few bad ones. But we’ve never had one like Barack Obama. He’s the first who thinks the job is beneath him. He’s the first who turns political give-and-take into a crisis by refusing to negotiate with Congress. He’s the first who thinks the way to more power is to inflict pain on ordinary people. The move to barricade the World War II memorial reveals the mentality of a tin-pot dictator. The limited government shutdown did not need to affect the memorial because it is open 24 hours, without gates and often without guards. But to turn public opinion in his favor, Obama’s goons trucked in barricades to keep out World War II vets and other visitors. By one estimate, the barricades and workers cost $100,000. The same punish-the-people attitude led to shutdowns of other parks and historic sites that get no federal funding. “We’ve been told to make life as difficult for people as we can. It’s disgusting,” a Park Service ranger told The Washington Times. The ranger cited the order to close the parking lot at George Washington’s home in Mount Vernon so visitors couldn’t use it. The cheap trick captured the contrast between a revered president and the current one. I’ve been saying for a while that there is no bottom to Obama. He’s not just ruthless. He’s without scruples and honor. Now the shutdown has ended, it will bring only a temporary respite from the crisis atmosphere in Washington. When it comes to his countrymen, Obama always chooses conflict over cooperation. Meanwhile, Jimmy Carter can rest easy. We have a new worst president.
1. He’s been president for FIVE VERY VERY LONG YEARS!
Personally I’m so sick of hearing his voice complaining and lying all the time, I turn off radio when he comes on.
The problem is that if a supermodel, athlete, or singer can pocket hundreds of millions a corporate exec is certainly worth that money. The root of the solution lies in a change of public attitudes.