THE WHITE HOUSE

Office of the Press Secretary

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EMBARGOED UNTIL 6:00 AM ET, SATURDAY, August 3, 2013

VIDEO MESSAGE FROM THE WHITE HOUSE: Cecilia Muñoz Discusses the President’s Economic Vision for the Middle Class

In this week’s message, Director of the Domestic Policy Council Cecilia Muñoz discussed the President’s vision for rebuilding an economy that puts the middle class and those fighting to join it as a top priority. This week during a speech in Tennessee, the President laid out new ideas to create American jobs and help the middle class. The President will continue to deliver speeches across the country to talk about the progress we’ve made together on jobs and the economy, the challenges that remain, and the path forward. To learn more about the President’s plan, click HERE.

The audio of the address and video of the message is available online HERE.

Remarks by Cecilia Munoz

Message from the White House

August 3, 2013

Hi, everybody.  This week, the President went down to an Amazon warehouse in Tennessee to talk more about what the Administration will do to secure a better bargain for the middle class – to make sure that anyone who works hard can get ahead.

Over the past four and a half years, we’ve fought our way back from the worst recession of our lifetimes and begun to lay a foundation for stronger, more durable economic growth.  Today, our businesses have created 7.3 million new jobs over the last 41 months.  Latinos will continue to drive the growth of the labor force in the coming decades and so how the Hispanic community recovers from this recession is of great importance to our economy.

But as any middle-class family will tell you, we’re not where we need to be yet. Reversing this trend must be Washington’s highest priority.  But too often over the past two years, Washington has taken its eye off the ball. 

That’s why the President’s laid out his ideas for how we can build on the cornerstones of what it means to be middle class in America.  A good education.  A home of your own.  Health care when you get sick. The Affordable Care Act will provide 10.2 million uninsured Latinos the opportunity to get affordable health insurance coverage.  A secure retirement.  And the most important cornerstone of all: a good job.

When it comes to creating more good jobs that pay decent wages, the problem is not a lack of ideas.  Plenty of independent economists, business owners and people from both parties agree on what we have to do.  The President has already proposed many of these ideas and has put forward a strategy for breaking through the Washington gridlock – a “grand bargain” for the middle class.

The President will continue to lay out his ideas to give the middle class a better shot in the 21^st century.  Reversing the long erosion of middle-class security in this country won’t be easy.  But if Washington is willing to set aside politics and focus on what really matters – we can grow our economy and give the middle class a better bargain.  And the President and the Administration will work tirelessly to make this country a place where everyone who works hard can get ahead.

Thanks, and have a great weekend.

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