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Videos (May 2012) «
Obama for America
Obama for America
"President
Obama
on Creating an Economy Built to Last" +
4:51 web video from May 21, 2012.
TEXT:
President
Obama
on Creating an Economy Built to Last
President Obama:
Well,
first of all I think Cory Booker is an
outstanding mayor. He's doing great work in Newark and obviously
helping to turn that city around. And I think it's important to
recognize that this issue is not a, quote, distraction. This is part of
the debate that we're going to be having in this election campaign
about how do we create an economy where everybody from top to bottom,
folks on Wall Street and folks on Main Street, have a shot at success,
and if they're working hard and they're acting responsibly, that
they're able to live out the American dream.
Now, I think my
view of private equity is that it is -- it is set up to maximize
profits and that's a healthy part of the free market. That's - that's
part of the role of a lot of business people. That's not unique to
private equity, and as I think my representatives have said repeatedly,
and I will say today, I think there are folks who do good work in that
area, and there are times where they identify the capacity for the
economy to create new jobs or new industries. But understand that their
priority is to maximize profits. And that's not always going to be good
for communities or businesses or workers.
And the reason this
is relevant to the campaign is because my opponent, Governor Romney,
his main calling card for why he thinks he should be president is his
business experience. He's not going out there touting his experience in
Massachusetts. He's saying,' I'm a business guy and I know how to fix
it,' and this is his business.
And when you're president, as
opposed to the head of a private equity firm, then your job is not
simply to maximize profits. Your job is to figure out how everybody in
the country has a fair shot. Your job is to think about those workers
who get laid off and how are we paying them for their retraining? Your
job is to think about how those communities can start creating new
clusters so that they can attract new businesses. Your job as president
is to think about how do we set up a equitable tax system so that
everybody's paying their fair share that allows us then to invest in
science and technology and infrastructure, all of which are going to
help us grow.
And so, if your main argument for how to grow
the economy is, 'I knew how to make a lot of money for investors,' then
you're missing what this job is about. It doesn't - it doesn't mean you
weren't good at private equity, but that's not what my job is as
president.
My job is to take into account everybody, not just
some. My job is to make sure that the country is growing not just now,
but ten years from now and twenty years from now. And so, to repeat,
this is not a distraction. This is what this campaign's going to be
about, is: what is a strategy for us to move this country forward, in a
way where everybody can succeed? And that means I've got to think about
those workers in that video just as much as I'm thinking about folks
who have been much more successful."
Reporter: [inaudible]
President Obama: What
I would say is, is that Mr. Romney is responsible for the proposals
he's putting forward for how he says he's going to fix the economy, and
if the main basis for him suggesting he can do a better job, is his
track record as the head of a private equity firm, then both the
upsides and the downsides are worth examining.
Notes: President Obama responding to questions during a press conference at the 2012 Chicago NATO Summit.