I knew that there was a reason that the day the President won the election was one of the most moving moments of my considerably long life:
"A belief that we are all connected; & that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves. & so we’ve built a strong military to keep us secure, & public schools & universities to educate our citizens. We’ve laid down railroads & highways to facilitate travel & commerce. We’ve supported the work of scientists & researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, & led to countless new jobs & entire industries. Each of us has benefited from these investments, & we are a more prosperous country as a result.
Part of this American belief that we are all connected also expresses itself in a conviction that each one of us deserves some basic measure of security. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, hard times or bad luck, a crippling illness or a layoff, may strike any one of us. 'There but for the grace of God go I,' we say to ourselves, & so we contribute to programs like Medicare & Social Security, which guarantee us health care & a measure of basic income after a lifetime of hard work; unemployment insurance, which protects us against unexpected job loss; & Medicaid, which provides care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, poor children, & those with disabilities. We are a better country because of these commitments. I’ll go further – we would not be a great country without those commitments.
These are the kind of cuts that tell us we can’t afford the America we believe in. & they paint a vision of our future that’s deeply pessimistic. It’s a vision that says if our roads crumble & our bridges collapse, we can’t afford to fix them. If there are bright young Americans who have the drive & the will but not the money to go to college, we can’t afford to send them. Go to China and you’ll see businesses opening research labs & solar facilities. South Korean children are outpacing our kids in math & science. Brazil is investing billions in new infrastructure & can run half their cars not on high-priced gasoline, but biofuels. & yet, we are presented with a vision that says the United States of America – the greatest nation on Earth – can’t afford any of this.
Think about it. In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. & that’s who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that’s paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs? That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m President.
The America I know is generous & compassionate; a land of opportunity & optimism. We take responsibility for ourselves & each other; for the country we want & the future we share. We are the nation that built a railroad across a continent & brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. We sent a generation to college on the GI bill & saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security & Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research & technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives.
This is who we are. This is the America I know. We don’t have to choose between a future of spiraling debt & one where we forfeit investments in our people & our country. To meet our fiscal challenge, we will need to make reforms. We will all need to make sacrifices. But we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. & as long as I’m President, we won’t."
"A belief that we are all connected; & that there are some things we can only do together, as a nation. We believe, in the words of our first Republican president, Abraham Lincoln, that through government, we should do together what we cannot do as well for ourselves. & so we’ve built a strong military to keep us secure, & public schools & universities to educate our citizens. We’ve laid down railroads & highways to facilitate travel & commerce. We’ve supported the work of scientists & researchers whose discoveries have saved lives, unleashed repeated technological revolutions, & led to countless new jobs & entire industries. Each of us has benefited from these investments, & we are a more prosperous country as a result.
Part of this American belief that we are all connected also expresses itself in a conviction that each one of us deserves some basic measure of security. We recognize that no matter how responsibly we live our lives, hard times or bad luck, a crippling illness or a layoff, may strike any one of us. 'There but for the grace of God go I,' we say to ourselves, & so we contribute to programs like Medicare & Social Security, which guarantee us health care & a measure of basic income after a lifetime of hard work; unemployment insurance, which protects us against unexpected job loss; & Medicaid, which provides care for millions of seniors in nursing homes, poor children, & those with disabilities. We are a better country because of these commitments. I’ll go further – we would not be a great country without those commitments.
These are the kind of cuts that tell us we can’t afford the America we believe in. & they paint a vision of our future that’s deeply pessimistic. It’s a vision that says if our roads crumble & our bridges collapse, we can’t afford to fix them. If there are bright young Americans who have the drive & the will but not the money to go to college, we can’t afford to send them. Go to China and you’ll see businesses opening research labs & solar facilities. South Korean children are outpacing our kids in math & science. Brazil is investing billions in new infrastructure & can run half their cars not on high-priced gasoline, but biofuels. & yet, we are presented with a vision that says the United States of America – the greatest nation on Earth – can’t afford any of this.
Think about it. In the last decade, the average income of the bottom 90% of all working Americans actually declined. The top 1% saw their income rise by an average of more than a quarter of a million dollars each. & that’s who needs to pay less taxes? They want to give people like me a two hundred thousand dollar tax cut that’s paid for by asking thirty three seniors to each pay six thousand dollars more in health costs? That’s not right, and it’s not going to happen as long as I’m President.
The America I know is generous & compassionate; a land of opportunity & optimism. We take responsibility for ourselves & each other; for the country we want & the future we share. We are the nation that built a railroad across a continent & brought light to communities shrouded in darkness. We sent a generation to college on the GI bill & saved millions of seniors from poverty with Social Security & Medicare. We have led the world in scientific research & technological breakthroughs that have transformed millions of lives.
This is who we are. This is the America I know. We don’t have to choose between a future of spiraling debt & one where we forfeit investments in our people & our country. To meet our fiscal challenge, we will need to make reforms. We will all need to make sacrifices. But we do not have to sacrifice the America we believe in. & as long as I’m President, we won’t."
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