4 Takeaways From Obama’s Big Speech on the Economy
Obama laid out a broad plan to create new jobs and train American workers: Obama said he will push initiatives to help manufacturers bring jobs back to America, and “continue to focus on strategies to create good jobs in wind, solar, and natural gas that are lowering energy costs and dangerous carbon pollution.”
The president also emphasized the importance of education and job training in bolstering the American workforce. He said he would continue to push for universal preschool, and added that “federal agencies are moving on my plan to connect 99 percent of America’s students to high-speed internet over the next five years.” He also reminded the audience that Congress is closing in on a plan to lower student loan interest rates.
The president will circumvent Congress if he has to: In the face of an obstinate Congress, Obama said that he would reach out to the American people in speeches over the coming weeks to win them over to his side and get them to pressure their representatives. “Over the next several weeks, in towns across this country, I will engage the American people in this debate,” he promised. Obama vowed to use his own executive authority, too, to push the economy forward, and said he’d also “pick up the phone and call CEOs, and philanthropists, and college presidents—anybody who can help—and enlist them in our efforts.”