Remarks by the President at the AARP

AARP
Washington, D.C.

**Please see below for a correction, marked with an asterisk.

2:05 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Applause.)  It is great to be back here -- not just to pick up my AARP card.  (Laughter.)  I want to thank Jo Ann and everybody at AARP for the work you do every single day on behalf of seniors.  I am especially grateful to all of you for the work you're doing to help us prepare for the White House Conference on Aging, which will be coming up later this year and will cover a whole host of issues, including protecting one of the most critical components of middle-class life, and that's a secure and dignified retirement.  And that’s what we're here to talk about today. 

I want to thank some other people who care passionately about this issue:  My energetic, tireless Secretary of Labor, Tom Perez.  (Applause.)  A couple of outstanding Senators, Cory Booker from New Jersey -- (applause) -- and Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts.  (Applause.)  And Congressmen John Delaney is here -- proud of the work he is doing.  (Applause.)  

So six years after the financial crisis that shook a lot of people’s faith in a secure retirement, the good news is our economy is steadily growing and creating new jobs.  Last year was the best year for job growth since the 1990s.  And all told, over the past five years, the private sector has created nearly *2 12 million new jobs.  And since I took office, the stock market has more than doubled, which means that 401ks for millions of families have been replenished.

America is poised -- as long as Washington doesn’t screw it up, as long as we keep the progress going with policies that help and don't hinder the middle class, no stalemates, no standoffs, no self-inflicted wounds or manufactured crisis -- if we stay away from those things, then the projections are that the economy can do very well again this year.

But we're going to have to choose whether we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well, or whether we build an economy where everybody who works hard can get ahead, and have some semblance of security in this ever-changing world?

Because while we’ve come a long way, we’ve got a lot more work to do to make sure that the recovery reaches every single American out there and not just those at the top.  That’s what I've been calling middle-class economics -- the idea that this country does best when everybody does their fair share, and everybody gets a fair shot and everybody is playing by the same set of rules. 

And that last part -- everybody playing by the same set of rules -- is why we passed historic Wall Street reform that put in place smarter, tougher, common-sense rules of the road to protect consumers and to end taxpayer-funded bailouts.  And by the way, I know that there have been times where folks questioned whether or not Wall Street reform works.  If you look at how the banking system has responded, if you look at what’s happened on Wall Street, when you look at how the markets gauge what we've done, reform has been meaningful.  It has been effective. 

That's why we passed a Credit Card Bill of Rights that gives consumers a simpler credit card bill -- no more hidden fees, no more shifting deadlines, no more sudden changes of terms, or “any time, any reason” rate hikes.  It’s why we created a new consumer watchdog agency that protects hardworking Americans from everything from predatory mortgage practices to payday loans that can destroy people’s finances.  And I want to thank our outstanding CFPB Director Rich Cordray and his team -- (applause) -- they are working day in, day out to protect working families, and when families are taken advantage of, they’ve been working hard to get them their hard-earned money back.

Today, we’re going to build on these consumer protections for the middle class by taking a new action to protect hardworking families’ retirement security.  Because, in America, after a lifetime of hard work, you should be able to retire with dignity and a sense of security.

And in today’s economy, that's gotten tougher.  Most workers don’t have a traditional pension.  A Social Security check often isn't enough on its own.  And while the stock market is doing well right now, that doesn't help folks who don't have retirement accounts.  As a consequence, too few Americans at or near retirement have saved enough to have peace of mind. 

So, in addition to keeping Social Security strong -- and we will keep it strong as long as I am President.  That is going to be a priority for me.  (Applause.)  In addition to keeping Social Security strong, I’ve proposed ways to make it easy and automatic for workers to save for retirement through their employer, including offering tax incentives to small businesses that offer retirement plans.  And these proposals, it's estimated, would expand workplace savings opportunities to 30 million more workers.  We’ve also proposed paying for them by closing tax loopholes for the wealthy.

At the same time, we’ve got to make sure that Americans who are doing the responsible thing by preparing for retirement are getting a fair share of the returns on those savings.  That's what I want to focus on today.  If you are working hard, if you're putting away money, if you're sacrificing that new car or that vacation so that you can build a nest egg for later, you should have the peace of mind of knowing that the advice you’re getting for investing those dollars is sound, that your investments are protected, that you're not being taken advantage of. 

And the challenge we've got is right now, there are no uniform rules of the road that require retirement advisors to act in the best interests of their clients -- and that’s hurting millions of working and middle-class families.  There are a lot of very fine financial advisors out there, but there are also financial advisors who receive backdoor payments or hidden fees for steering people into bad retirement investments that have high fees and low returns.  So what happens is these payments, these inducements incentivize the broker to make recommendations that generate the best returns for them, but not necessarily the best returns for you.

They might persuade investors, individuals with savings, to roll over their existing savings out of a low-fee plan and into a high-cost plan.  They might even recommend investments with worse returns simply because they get paid to recommend those products. And one study by professors at Harvard and MIT had researchers send people to pose as middle-class investors seeking investment advice from advisors.  In 284 client visits, advisors recommended higher-fee funds about half the time.  The lowest-fee funds were recommended only 21 times. 

So think about what that means.  You’ve done the right thing.  You’ve worked hard.  You’ve saved what you could.  You're responsibly trying to prepare for retirement, but because of bad advice, because of skewed incentives, because of lack of protection, you could end up in a situation where you lose some of your hard-earned money simply because your advisor isn’t required to put your interests first.  And the truth is most people don’t even realize that’s happening.
  
We read a story in the paper about Merlin and Elaine Toffel, a retired couple from near my hometown of Chicago -- Lindenhurst, Illinois.  They had worked their whole lives so they could rest easy in their golden years.  They got bad advice to invest in expensive annuities that made it hard for them to access their money.  Suddenly, they were short on cash -- which is exactly what they had tried to avoid by saving and acting responsibly all those years.  They were taken advantage of by an advisor of an institution where they had been longtime clients and it was an institution they trusted.  And Merlin now lives in a nursing home and he and Elaine aren’t here today.  As they get older, their children are trying to help them get all this sorted out.  And that's just one family.  They’re not alone. 

On average, conflicts of interest in retirement advice results in annual losses of 1 percentage point for affected persons.  I know 1 percent may not sound like a lot, but the whole concept of compounding interest -- it adds up.  It can cut your savings by more than a quarter over the course of 35 years  -- cut your savings by more than 25 percent.  So, instead of $10,000 in savings growing to more than $38,000, it will grow to just over $27,500.  That's a big spread.  And all told, bad advice that results from conflicts of interest costs middle-class and working families about $17 billion a year -- $17 billion every year.

So you can put a number on how this affects us.  But it affects something else.  It offends our basic values of honesty and fair play.  The values that say, in America, responsibility is rewarded and not exploited. 

I want to emphasize once again, there are a whole lot of financial advisors out there who do put their clients’ interests first.  There are a lot of hardworking men and women in this field and got into this field to help people.  They’re folks like financial advisor Sheryl Garrett, from Arkansas, who says, “The role” -- is Sheryl here?  There she is.  Sheryl, stand up just so we know where you are.  (Applause.)  We're proud of Sheryl.  So I'm quoting you, Sheryl.  Sheryl says, “The role of a financial advisor is one of the most important jobs.  But there is a segment of the industry today that operates like the gunslingers of the Wild West.  We don’t have the rules and regulations to protect those who we’re supposed to be serving.”

Couldn't have said it better myself, which is why I quoted you.  (Laughter.)  Sheryl is right.  The rules governing retirement investments were written 40 years ago, at a time when most workers with a retirement plan had traditional pensions, and IRAs were brand new, and 401ks didn’t even exist.  So it's not surprising that the rules that existed 40 years ago haven't caught up to the realities of most families today.  Now, outdated regulations, legal loopholes, fine print -- all that stuff today makes it harder for savers to know who they can trust.  Financial advisors absolutely deserve fair compensation for helping people save for retirement and helping people figure out how to manage their investments.  But they shouldn’t be able to take advantage of their clients.  The system makes it harder, in fact, for those financial advisors like Sheryl who are trying to do the right thing, because if she’s making really good advice but somebody who is competing with her is selling snake oil, she’s losing business.  And ultimately, those clients are going to lose money.  
So, today, I’m calling on the Department of Labor to update the rules and requirements that retirement advisors put the best interests of their clients above their own financial interests.  It's a very simple principle:  You want to give financial advice, you’ve got to put your client’s interests first.  You can't have a conflict of interest. 

And this is especially important for middle-class families, who can't afford to lose even a penny of the hard-earned savings that they’ve put away.  These folks aren’t asking for any special help or special consideration.  They just want to be treated with fairness and respect.  And that’s what this new rule would do.  And for outstanding advisors out there, it levels the playing field so that they can do what they know is the right thing to do -- putting their clients first. 

Now, here’s one last element of it I've got to emphasize.  Just because we put forward a new rule doesn’t mean that it becomes law.  There are a lot of financial advisors who support these basic safeguards to prevent abuse, but there are also some special interests that are going to fight it with everything they’ve got, saying that these costs will skyrocket or services are going to be lost. 

But it turns out that we can actually look at the evidence.  These industry doomsday predictions have not come true in other countries that have taken even more aggressive action on this issue than we're proposing.  And if your business model rests on taking advantage, bilking hardworking Americans out of their retirement money, then you shouldn’t be in business. (Applause.) That's pretty straightforward. 

So we welcome different perspectives and ideas on how to move forward.  That's what the comment period for the rule is all about.  What I won’t accept is the notion that there’s nothing we can do to make sure that hardworking, responsible Americans who scrimp and save somehow end up losing some of those savings to less than scrupulous practices.  We should be able to make sure that folks are treated fairly, and give every possible assistance we can so that they can retire with security and dignity. 

So we’re going to keep on pushing for this rule.  It’s the right thing to do for our workers.  It’s the right thing to do for our country.  We are thrilled that AARP is supporting this, but AARP is not alone.  We've got all kinds of organizations that are stepping up -- consumer advocates, civil rights organizations, labor organizations.  We've got a great coalition of people who understand that the strength of our economy rests on whether hardworking families can feel more secure, knowing that if they do the right thing, they can get ahead.  And that’s what I’m going to keep fighting for -- an economy where not only everybody is sharing in America’s success, but they’re also contributing to America’s success.  This is a important component in that basic promise that makes America the greatest country on Earth.

So thank you so much, everybody.  God bless you.  God bless America.  (Applause.) 

END
2:28 P.M. EST

Remarks by the President at National Governors Association Dinner

State Dining Room

7:17 P.M. EST

     THE PRESIDENT:  It’s wonderful to see you all here tonight. Harry Truman once called the presidency an “enlarged governorship.”  (Laughter.)  Of course, a few of you are hoping that he was right.  (Laughter.)  But Michelle and I are thrilled to host our nation’s governors and your loved ones here tonight. If it’s your first visit, then welcome to the White House.  We promise a good time.  The only thing we can’t conjure up from the past is Governor Schwarzenegger on the dance floor.  (Laughter.) And he was something.

We are grateful that the weather held up after yesterday's storm.  And we've been thinking about you governors from New England, and everything that your citizens have been through this winter.  I want to make sure we're working with each other to get what you need.  It is a good thing that you are not coming on a snowstorm like there was during the dinner of 1987.  Hours into the dinner, the food was gone.  Everybody was standing around. The snow seemed to keep falling harder and harder.  And President Reagan looked out the window and turned to the First Lady and said, “Honey, do we have enough cots?”  (Laughter.)  To which Nancy replied, “We have a few spare bedrooms.” 

But it looks like the weather has cleared up enough that there will not be a pajama party here in the Blue Room tonight.  (Laughter.)  We are looking forward, though, to spending time with one another in fellowship and good food and good entertainment, and, undoubtedly, we'll find that we have more in common than sometimes is assumed.  And hopefully, that will inform the business that we do together tomorrow.

Our economy keeps improving.  And I hope that we can seize on that momentum to keep improving the circumstances for every one of our citizens -- keep building a country where every citizen can look around and see cause for optimism about the future, not only for themselves but also for their children and their grandchildren; feel good about their own prospects and the country’s prospects.

Within this room, we're not going to agree on everything, but I am committed to working with each and every one of you over the next two years to keep making progress.  And we’ll talk more about that tomorrow.  Tonight, I just want to express my appreciation to all of you, all of the hard work that you bring to bear.  And I want to say thank you to the spouses as well, because I know that's a particularly difficult job, trying to keep us in line.

So let me propose a toast -- to our citizens, to our spouses, to our families, and to what Thomas Jefferson once described as our country’s precious blessings, “its soil, its climate, its equality, liberty, laws, people and manners…which no other people on Earth enjoy.”

Cheers.

AUDIENCE:  Cheers. 

                      END                  7:20 P.M. EST     

Remarks by the First Lady at the Black History Month "Celebrating Women of the Civil Rights Movement" Panel

East Room

4:00 P.M. EST

     MRS. OBAMA:  Good afternoon.

     AUDIENCE:  Good afternoon.

     MRS. OBAMA:  It is so good to be here with you all.  This is good stuff, right? 

     AUDIENCE:  Yes!

     MRS. OBAMA:  Well, let me begin by thanking Allyson for that very kind introduction.  (Applause.)  It is young women like Allyson and so many in this room -- that’s what keeps us going, right?  Because we are all here because of you.  And you are going to do some great things -- you’re already doing some great things.  She’s 18, doesn’t she make you feel old?  (Applause.)  Like you’re slacking?  (Laughter.)  No matter what -- I wasn’t doing what you were doing at 18, so you are way ahead of the game, okay?   

     I also want to thank Vanessa De Luca and everyone from Essence for co-hosting this event with us today.  And of course, I want to recognize our incredible panel.  This is a good-looking panel, too.  (Laughter.)  Thank you all for joining us as we celebrate Black History Month and the women of the Civil Rights Movement.  (Phone rings.)  Is that for me?  (Laughter.)  I know.  See, I’m going to talk about you so you have a story to tell.  (Laughter.)  Now who’s calling?  Let’s find out!  (Laughter.) 

     AUDIENCE MEMBER:  You’ve got to pass --

     MRS. OBAMA:  There you go, there you go.  (Laughter.)  But we have an impressive group on stage with us today -- women whose impact spans multiple generations.  Folks who have played such an important role in our progress toward the mountaintop, even though their stories aren’t always in the spotlight. 

     We’ve got Janaye Ingram, the National Executive Director of the National Action Network.  (Applause.)  We have Chanelle Hardy, the Senior Vice President for Policy at the Urban League.  (Applause.)  We have Sherrilyn Ifill, the President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund.  (Applause.)  We also have the legendary reporter and trailblazer, my dance partner, Charlayne Hunter-Gault.  (Applause.)  See, this is Charlayne -- the first thing she said to me is, “I want that skirt!”  (Laughter.)  I said, “Okay, after I finish.”  (Laughter.)  And finally, we have Carlotta Walls Lanier, the youngest member of the Little Rock Nine.  (Applause.) And Carlotta is still looking good.  See, that’s another thing, young ladies -- you take care of yourself, you look like this panel up here.  (Laughter.) 

     So once again, let’s give these extraordinary ladies a round of applause.  (Applause.)  These women represent many different facets and eras of the movement.  They come from many different professional backgrounds –- media, law, activism, so much more.  But there is something that connects each of their stories, a common thread that animates their lives, and that is their hunger for and belief in the power of education.  Because at some point in their journeys, these women understood that if they were going to reach their potential, if they were going to make a difference not just for themselves but for this country, they would have to get a good education. 

     Every woman on this stage graduated from college, and some of them did it at tremendous risk to themselves and to their families.  Take Carlotta.  Back in the ’50s and ’60s, the Jim Crow laws mandating segregated schools and buses and water fountains were being overturned throughout the South.  And in 1957, Carlotta and eight other students enrolled in an all-white high school.  They were known as the Little Rock Nine -- and Carlotta was just 14.  Fourteen years old. 

     When they showed up for their first day of class, they were met with an angry mob of people who shouted at them and wouldn’t let them in the building.  The Governor of Arkansas even sent in the National Guard to stop them from integrating that school.  It became a national story, and eventually President Eisenhower had to call in the military to protect the Little Rock Nine on their way to school.  And once these young people made it inside the building, they were bullied, spat on, physically abused by their classmates.

     But Carlotta and the other students kept showing up.  They kept studying, kept working hard.  And three years later, Carlotta earned her high school diploma.  And she stayed hungry for her education and went on to graduate from college, start her own company.  And today she serves as President of the Little Rock Nine Foundation, which gives scholarships to young people to help them reach their goals.  (Applause.)  

     And Carlotta is not the only woman on this stage who had to risk her safety just to get an education.  Charlayne has a similar story.  She was the first African American woman to attend the University of Georgia.  Her first night on campus, she heard a chant:  “Two, four, six, eight, we don’t want to integrate.”  Clever.  (Laughter.)  Another night, more than a thousand students and community members gathered outside her dorm shouting racial slurs, throwing bottles and bricks at her window.  Charlayne was suspended by the school and sent home because of concerns for her safety. 

     But two weeks later, Charlayne went back to campus.  She withstood everyday bigotry and slurs from classmates and even professors.  But Charlayne dreamed of being a journalist, and she refused to let anything get in the way of earning her degree.  And that degree propelled her on to an incredible career at NPR, PBS, at CNN, at the New York Times -- yeah.  (Applause.) 

     I could go on and on because these are just two of countless stories about how folks who came before us stayed hungry for their education and paved the way for those who came after them, including me and so in this room.  And today, thanks to their sacrifice, there are no angry mobs gathering outside our schools.  Nobody needs a military escort to get to class.  But that doesn’t mean that our children don’t still face struggles when it comes to education. 

     Too many of our young people attend crumbling schools that don’t have the technology, or the college-prep classes, or the college counseling they need to complete their education past high school.  And too many of our young people can’t even envision a better future for themselves, or if they do, they aren’t connecting their dreams to the education they’ll need. 

     So today, too many of the opportunities that these women fought for are going unrealized -- today.  And while we should be proud that the high school graduation rate for black students is improving, it is still lower than just about any other group in this country.  And while college graduation rates have risen for nearly every group -– including African American women –- the rate for African American men has flatlined.  And we all know that when students fall behind in school, they fall behind in life.  They are more likely to fall into unemployment and poverty and incarceration.

     So like many of you, I believe that education is the single-most important civil rights issue that we face today.  Because in the end, if we really want to solve issues like mass incarceration, poverty, racial profiling, voting rights, and the kinds of challenges that shocked so many of us over the past year, then we simply cannot afford to lose out on the potential of even one young person.  We cannot allow even one more young person to fall through the cracks. 

     Because who knows where the next great leader is going to come from, right?  Who knows what mind will produce the next bold idea that will change the world?  And I know the promise is out there, because I’ve seen it with my own eyes. 

     I’ve seen it in the mentees from the White House Leadership and Mentoring Initiative, some of whom are here today, my girls -- hi.  (Applause.)  I’ve seen it in the young people who come to the White House for events like this.  I’ve seen it in a student like Darius Wesley, who told me his story last year. 

     When Darius was a freshman in high school on the South Side of Chicago, his mother suffered a debilitating stroke, and he had to move in with a relative all the way across town.  And as a result, every morning, Darius had to wake up at 4:00 a.m. to get on two buses and an L just to get to school.  His commute was almost three hours; obviously, it wore him out.  His grades started to slip.  Eventually, he had to transfer schools and move in with a friend. 

     But this young man kept his eye on the prize.  He took AP classes, made the honor roll, graduated from high school, and today this young man is majoring in business as the first person in his family to attend college.  (Applause.) 

     There are stories like that all over the country.  There are millions of Darius’ all over the country.  That’s the hunger that I’m talking about.  That’s what drove the women on this stage.  That’s the kind of determination that we have to reignite all across the country. 

     And that’s all on us.  It’s on us to lift up our young people as parents and preachers, as neighbors, as teachers.  It’s on us as advocates and policymakers to do everything we can to give our kids the resources they need.  But here’s the thing -- it is also on the young people themselves to summon that hunger every single day. 

     So to all the young people here today who are listening, I just want you to take these stories to heart.  Listen to them.  And I want you to translate the victories that these women won into habits in your own lives.  That means going to class every day -- every day.  No matter what obstacles life may throw your way, go to school.  Go to the bad school that you have.  Go to school.  (Laughter.)  It means reaching higher and understanding that completing your education past high school is an absolute necessity today to achieve your dreams.  You have to graduate and go beyond. 

     And when you’re old enough, it means voting -– not just for President, not just for the guy you like, but for mayor and school board and dogcatcher -- I don’t care.  You all have to vote.  (Applause.)  And then, when you’re struggling –- that’s all we talk about, is struggling, right -- when you are struggling -- because you will; all of us do -- we still do -- if you’re worried that you’re not going to make it on to college or you don’t know how you’re going to afford it, then just don’t be afraid to ask for help.  Ask for help. 

     You are not alone.  Talk to somebody -- your teachers, your parents, school counselors, anyone.  Because there are so many folks all around who want to help you reach your potential.  And you can be that person for somebody else, too.  You’re not too young.  If you’ve got a friend who’s not coming to school, who isn’t trying their best, talk to them.  Urge them to reach higher for themselves so that they can join you on a college campus one day.  Then all of you can fulfill your potential and help carry forward the dreams of all those who have come before you.

     That’s my hope for all of you, all our young people -- not just during Black History Month -- (laughter) -- but every moment of every single day that you are breathing on this Earth.  Because I have seen your boundless promise.  I’ve seen it.  And I believe in you.  Everyone in this room believes in our young people.  And we love you all.  You have the power to create a better future for yourselves and for our country. 

     So just do the work, you got it?  (Applause.)  So I want to thank our panel, once again, for being here.  It is truly an honor and a gift to have you in this house.

     And with that, I’m going to turn it over to Vanessa, who’s going to kick things off.  I’m going to leave you all to behave yourselves.  (Laughter.)  And I want all the young people to ask questions -- you know my crew.  This is my crew.  They’re supposed to be asking a lot of questions.  Don’t be shy.  When you’re in a room like this, you take advantage.  You raise your hand.  You use your voice.  Everyone here loves you. 

     And with that, Vanessa, it is all yours.  (Applause.)  

                             END                  4:15 P.M. EST

Remarks by the President at DNC Winter Meeting

Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill
Washington, D.C.

11:10 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT:  Hello, Democrats!  (Applause.)  It’s good to see all of you.  Good to see you.  This looks like a rowdy crowd. (Applause.)  I think Donna got you all -- you know, you always got to watch out for Donna.  She’ll get you in trouble.

Everybody, have a seat.  Have a seat.  Have a seat. 

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  We love you, Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  Oh, I love you back.  (Applause.)  It’s good to see you.

I want to thank Debbie Wasserman-Schultz for being an outstanding chair of our party.  (Applause.)  She is a great partner.  I want to thank our CEO, Amy Dacey, for the hard work she is doing day in and day out.  (Applause.)  To the governors, and the legislators, and the mayors, state party leaders, DNC members, officers -- and whoever else is here -- (laughter) --  young Democrats -- (applause) -- I’m thrilled to be with you.

Most importantly, thank you to every American in all 50 states who helps our party thrive at the grassroots level every single day.  (Applause.)  Because that’s part of who we are -- grassroots.

It’s been about a year since our last meeting -- and as I had indicated, as I had predicted, it was a breakthrough year for America.  Last year, our economy created more than three million new jobs -- the single best year for job growth since the 1990s. (Applause.)  Over the past five years, as Debbie said, the longest stretch of private-sector job creation in American history, businesses adding nearly 12 million new jobs.  And in perhaps the single most hopeful sign for middle-class families in a very long time, wages are beginning to rise again.

So America is coming back.  (Applause.)  We’ve risen from recession.  We have the capacity to write our own future.  We’re better positioned than any other nation on Earth.  And all that is thanks to the hard work and sacrifice of the American people who we serve.  But it’s also thanks to the values and the policies at the core of this party that all of you have fought for.

As Democrats, we believe in giving every child a world-class education.  (Applause.)  And today, our younger students have earned the highest math and reading scores on record.  Our high school graduation rate is at an all-time high.  More Americans are graduating from college than ever before.  (Applause.)

As Democrats, we believe in reducing our dependence on foreign oil and protecting our planet.  Today, America is number one in oil; number one in gas; number one in wind power.  Every three weeks, we bring online as much solar power as we did in the entire year of 2008.  And thanks to lower gas prices and higher fuel standards, the typical family should save about 750 bucks at the pump.  (Applause.)

As Democrats, we believe in sensible rules that can prevent financial crisis and shield families from ruin and encourage fair competition.  And today, we’ve got new tools to stop taxpayer-funded bailouts, a new consumer watchdog to protect families from predatory lending, a new law to protect families from getting ripped off by credit card companies.  We’ve extended the security and fundamental right to affordable, accessible health care to more than 10 million uninsured Americans.  (Applause.)  And we are counting -- each and every day, folks are signing up and benefitting because of what we fought for.  (Applause.)  Because of what we fought for.  (Applause.)  Because of what you fought for. 

Now, sometimes, because the news cycle is so quick, we forget how all this came about and the debates that we had last year, or two years, or four years, or six years ago.  I just want everybody to remember that at every step as we made policies, as we made this progress, we were told by our good friends, the Republicans, that our actions would crush jobs, and explode deficits, and destroy the country.  I mean, I want everybody to do a fact-check -- (laughter) -- and go back to 2009, 2010, ’11, ’12, ’13 -- just go back and look at the statements that were made each year by these folks about all these policies.  Because apparently they don’t remember. (Laughter.) 

But the facts are before us.  The economy kept growing.  The stock market has more than doubled, restoring the 401(k)s of millions of people.  Our deficits are down by two-thirds.  (Applause.)  I always find it curious that when a Democrat is President, deficits go down; a Republican is President and then deficits are going up, and yet they try to take on the mantle of fiscal probity.  (Applause.) 

Our auto industry is firing on all cylinders.  None of this is an accident.  It’s not an accident that America is creating jobs faster than at any time since the last time a Democrat was President.  (Applause.)  It’s not an accident that our manufacturers are creating jobs for the first time since the last time a Democrat was President.  (Applause.)  It’s not an accident that health care inflation is running at the lowest rate in almost 50 years, and that our deficits are falling faster than they have in 60 years.
AUDIENCE MEMBER:  I love you, Obama!

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  (Laughter.) 

It’s because we believe in middle-class economics.  We believe in the idea that this country does best when everybody gets a fair shot, everybody is doing their fair share, everybody has to play by the same rules.  Not top-down economics. Not trickle-down economics.  If we were actually to look at the evidence, it’s pretty clear whose theory of how to grow the economy and make sure American people are prospering, which theory works.  We know their ideas don’t work.  We remember.  Middle-class economics -- that works.  Expanding opportunity -- that works.  (Applause.)

Now, I say all this not to be complacent, but precisely because we’ve got more work to do.  Our job is not done.  We still have a lot of progress to make to ensure that prosperity reaches everybody who goes to work early, or studying late into the night, who’s scrimping and saving from every paycheck to try to send their kids to college, or try to retire with dignity and respect.

Everybody who has the privilege of serving the American people has to ask him or herself a fundamental question:  Are we going to accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well, or will we build an economy that generates rising incomes and opportunities for everybody who’s willing to work hard, everybody who’s willing to make an effort?  (Applause.)  That’s the question that we face at this moment. 

And now that their grand predictions of doom and gloom, and death panels and Armageddon haven’t come true -- (laughter) -- the sky hasn’t fallen, Chicken Little is quiet -- (laughter) -- the new plan, apparently, of congressional Republicans -- and this is progress -- the new plan is to rebrand themselves as the party of the middle class.  I’m not making this up.  (Laughter.)

Our Republican Leader in the Senate, as he was coming in, after having tried to block every single thing that we have done to strengthen the economy, starts looking at the job numbers and says, you know, it’s getting better because we just got elected  -- (laughter) -- and people are feeling more optimistic.  Which  --  (laughter) -- okay.  I didn’t know that’s how the economy worked.  But maybe?  (Laughter.)  We’ll call some economists. 

We have a Republican Congresswoman who said she couldn’t agree with me more that we need to be helping working moms and dads.  That’s good.  That’s progress.  One Republican Senator wrote a policy memo saying that Republicans “must define themselves as the party of the American worker and the party of higher wages.”  That’s good.  (Laughter.)  I’m glad they feel that way.  Rand Paul said -- Rand is an interesting guy, and Rand -- (laughter.)  No, he is.  And Rand Paul said the Republican Party needs to show up on the South Side of Chicago and shout at the top of its lungs that, “the GOP is the ticket to the middle class.”  I think that’s encouraging that he wants to go to the South Side of Chicago.  (Laughter.)  No, I want parties to compete everywhere.  I think that’s a good thing.

And I was just home on the South Side of Chicago yesterday. (Applause.)  And I guarantee you that Senator Paul would be welcomed there.  We are a friendly bunch.  (Laughter.)  I mean, it’s a little strange if people show up and just start shouting at the top of their lungs -- (laughter) -- but we’re friendly and it would be okay.  (Laughter.)  But I will say this.  So I am encouraged that they're speaking about middle class and speaking about wages.  But there is this old saying that you can't just talk the talk.  Donna, you got to do what? 

MS. BRAZILE:  Walk the walk.

THE PRESIDENT:  You got to walk the walk.  (Applause.)  We’ve been walking the walk.  And if Republicans are serious about taking on the specific challenges that face the middle class, if they are prepared to walk the walk, we should welcome them.  I’ll welcome their ideas.  There’s nothing I’d like more than an opposition party that is willing to engage with us and work with us on these issues. 

Maybe they’ve got different ideas but genuine ideas about how young people can go to college, or how we can make sure that workers are getting raises when the CEO of the company has seen their compensation go up 50 percent or 100 percent.  If they’ve got concrete ideas on these issues, I want to hear them.  I’ve been saying to them since I came into office.  But, so far, at least, the rhetoric has not matched the reality.

If you want to help working moms and dads, you can't just dismiss things like child care and paid leave.  (Applause.)  Work with us to treat them like the economic priorities that working families know they are.  (Applause.)

If you want to be the party of higher wages, come on, join the dozens of cities and states, the companies like The Gap, and now Wal-Mart, raising wages, not just because it’s the right thing to do, but because it’s good for business.  Don’t stand in the way.  You've got votes in Congress.  You got votes in the House.  You got votes in the Senate.  Work with us.  Join the rest of the country.  Give America a raise!  Let’s go.  Let’s go. (Applause.)  Let’s go!  I’m ready.  (Applause.)  I'm ready!

If you are serious, if you’re really troubled with income inequality, then you can’t put forward proposals that give more tax breaks to the folks who are doing the best and millionaires and billionaires, and then propose more cuts to the very programs that help working Americans get ahead. 

If you want to be the party that’s paving the way for people to get into the middle class, a good way to start is stop trying to strip health insurance for millions of Americans -- (applause) -- and preventive and contraceptive care for millions of women.  (Applause.)  And stop trying to deport millions of striving young kids who just want to earn their shot at the American Dream like the rest of us.  Help us fix a broken immigration system.  (Applause.)  There are a lot of ways to help the middle class.

So, look, I think the shift in rhetoric that they’re engaging in is good if it actually leads them to take different actions.  If it doesn’t, then it’s just spin.  If it doesn’t, if you’re just trying to repackage the same top-down economics and use the words “middle class” attached to it, if you’re just going to keep on cutting taxes at the top and not raise minimum wages for folks who are struggling, then it’s just spin.  You’re trying to bamboozle folks.

And looking backward is not the answer.  We’ve got to look forward, all of us as Americans.  And, Democrats, we’ve got to be the party that recognizes and responds to what Americans really face in a 21st-century economy.  Our brand of middle-class economics is very specific.  We detail it:  Here’s what we’re going to do.  We can show you how it’s going to help middle-class families and folks striving to get into the middle class.  We want to offer young people a stronger start.  We want to work to make sure that families have more security in a world of constant change.  And so we list out how we’re going to help folks afford college.  We specify how we’re going to provide health insurance to folks who don’t have it.  We talk about how we can help the young family buy a home, or the family entering into middle age, a retirement that they can count on. 

And that means we have to stop treating things like child care and paid leave as side issues, or women’s issues.  (Applause.)  We’ve got to treat them as economic priorities.  (Applause.)  It means we’ve got to stand up for unions.  (Applause.)  It means that we’ve got to make sure that women are earning what men do for doing the same job.  (Applause.)  It means we support a fair living wage.  We’re very specific about how we want to help ordinary folks.  (Applause.) 

When we talk about helping people earn higher wages and better skills, we put forward specific programs:  Here’s more opportunities for job training.  Here are apprenticeship programs that give workers the chance to earn higher paying jobs even if they don’t have a higher education.  (Applause.)  Here’s how we are going to help Americans burdened with student loans reduce their monthly payments.  (Applause.)  Here’s how we’re going to make community college free for every responsible student who wants to improve their lot in life.  (Applause.)

Here’s our program.  What’s yours?  Tell us how you’re helping middle-class families, because we’ve got an agenda and we know it works.  (Applause.)  Don’t just talk about it.  (Applause.)  

We know middle-class economics means we’ve got to have the most competitive economy in the world.  So we’re very clear:  Here’s how we’re going to help businesses churn out good jobs for Americans to fill.  And that means working to build a modern transportation and communications system.  It means helping more companies sell goods overseas with strong new trade agreements that aren’t just free, but fair, and level the playing field for American workers.  It means investing in the research and technology that unleashes new jobs and new industries right here in America.  We’re very clear and specific -- it's right there -- about how we can do it.  And we know it works because we’ve seen it work before. 

We know middle-class economics means getting rid of special interest giveaways in our tax code for folks who don’t need them, so we can actually give tax breaks to middle-class families who do need them.  (Applause.)  We know that if we close loopholes that reward companies that stash profits overseas, we can reward companies that invest here in America.  (Applause.)  We know that if we close loopholes that allow the top 1 percent to avoid paying taxes on their accumulated wealth, we can use that money to help more middle-class families pay for child care and send their kids to college, and that will help the entire economy grow.  (Applause.)  We need a tax code that helps working Americans trying to get a leg up in this new economy, and that’s worth fighting for.  (Applause.)   

So we don’t just talk the talk, we’re walking the walk every day.  I’m telling you, Democrats, we should never worry about fighting for these issues, because they are not only right, the American people stand right beside us on most of those issues.  Sometimes that gets lost with all the money that’s being spent by outside forces and the distortions and confusion.  But when you actually look at do Americans agree with our policies, do they think these policies would help them -- and when there’s a fair presentation of the policies the other side is offering, the American people are with us every time. 

But maybe we’ll bring them around.  And I think there are actually places where we can work together -- like reforming America’s criminal justice system so it protects and serves all of us and it is fair.  (Applause.)  And I’m looking forward to working with them.  But until they start wanting to walk and not just talk, we’re going to keep offering the American people something better.  We’re going to offer the American people a vision that believes in opportunity not just for a few but for everybody. 

We’ve got to be the party that believes nobody should be treated like a second-class person regardless of what you look like or where you come from or who you love.  (Applause.)  We’ve got to be the party that doesn’t just recognize the threat of climate change but actually does something about it for the sake of our kids.  (Applause.)  We’re the party that’s willing to make tough decisions. 

We’ve got to be the party that practices a better kind of politics, not just in Washington but in every community in America, and that appeals to the basic decency of the American people; that sees our differences as a source of strength; that give young people a sense of purpose and possibility, and asks them to participate in our great democracy; that appeals not to fear, but to hope.  (Applause.) 

Because this is not just about us in this room.  This is not just a sports contest.  This is not just about who’s up and down at any given point.  It’s not about notches on a belt.  It’s not about ideological battles, or proving how smart you are.  It’s not about the back-and-forth of politics.  It’s about doing things that make people’s lives better.  It’s about doing things that make us confident that America will continue on this upward trajectory that began so many years ago.  It’s about making this nation we love more perfect.  (Applause.)

We are Democrats.  We don’t just want people to share in America’s success; we want to see everybody contributing to America’s success, and building a smarter and stronger economy, forging a better and kinder society, and writing the next great chapter in this great country’s amazing story.  That’s what we’re doing together, still moving forward. 

Thank you, Democrats.  God bless you.  God bless America.  Let’s get to work.  (Applause.) 

END 
11:34 A.M. EST