Jobs and the Economy [Obama]
Author: Obama for America
- The President is taking aggressive steps to put Americans back to work and create an economy where hard work pays and responsibility is rewarded.
- For years before the economic crisis, middle-class security had been slipping away. Wages stagnated while health care costs soared.
- We've added back more than 4.2 million private sector jobs and seen 26 straight months of job growth—but there's more work to do.
- When President Obama took office, he both addressed the immediate economic crisis and laid the foundation for a U.S. economy that's built to last.
TWO YEARS OF JOB CREATION
March marked more than two straight years of private-sector job growth—including the first year-over-year gains in manufacturing jobs since 1997.
PUTTING AMERICA BACK TO WORK
When President Obama took office, the economy was losing more than 700,000 jobs per month. President Obama acted quickly to pass the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, which cut taxes for small businesses and 95 percent of working families. It also included emergency funding to support about 300,000 educator jobs, more than 4,600 law enforcement positions, and investments in the clean energy sector that supported 224,500 jobs through 2010. Through April 2012, the economy has added more than 4.2 million private sector jobs over 26 consecutive months of job growth.
President Obama knows we still have more work to do. That's why, in his State of the Union address, the President laid out a blueprint for an economy that's built to last—an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.
INVESTING IN AMERICAN MANUFACTURING AND INNOVATION
REVIVING THE MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY
RESCUING THE U.S. AUTO INDUSTRY
President Obama made the tough and politically unpopular decision to extend emergency rescue loans to the American auto industry, saving more than 1 million jobs and preventing the loss of over $96 billion in personal income—and the collapse of manufacturing in the Midwest. GM and Chrysler were required to cut labor costs and overhaul their business models in exchange for emergency loans, guaranteeing their accountability to taxpayers—and both repaid their outstanding loans years ahead of schedule.
Today, the Big Three (Chrysler, GM, and Ford) are all profitable for the first time in years, adding shifts and facilities across the country. The industry has added 230,000 jobs since June 2009, and GM is once again the top-selling automaker in the world—posting its largest-ever annual profit in 2011.
Auto IndustryAUTO INDUSTRY JOBS ON THE REBOUND
President Obama's decision to rescue the American auto industry has paid off, saving more than 1 million jobs and adding 230,000 new jobs since June 2009—the most growth in a decade.
Check out the interactive version for an in-depth look at the numbers that have put our automakers back on firm financial footing.
Auto IndustryMADE IN AMERICA
- President Obama created the National Export Initiative, an effort to help businesses compete in the global marketplace and double our nation's exports by 2015—a target we're on track to meet.
- To level the playing field for American businesses and workers, President Obama signed trade agreements with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama. Together, the agreements are estimated to increase exports by approximately $13 billion and support more than 70,000 American jobs.
SUPPORTING SMALL BUSINESS
Small businesses are the engine of job creation—responsible for two out of every three new jobs in the United States. That’s why President Obama has passed tax cuts for small businesses 18 times and streamlined the patent process, providing a new fast track option to cut wait times by two-thirds and help small business innovators move ideas from the lab to market.
The Affordable Care Act provides small business owners with better affordable health care options for employees, simpler administrative operating rules, and billions of dollars in tax relief.
REFORMING WALL STREET
President Obama passed the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act to hold Wall Street accountable, prevent future financial crises, and end the era of “too big to fail.” Wall Street reform ensures that if a financial company fails, it will be Wall Street that pays the price—not the American people—and sets ground rules for the riskiest financial speculation. President Obama also enacted a Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect consumers from unfair and deceptive practices, like over-the-limit charges and hidden costs.
Wall Street ReformPROTECTING CONSUMERS
Through Wall Street Reform, President Obama created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The agency defends consumers from unfair and abusive financial practices and makes sure that credit card companies and mortgage and payday lenders follow the rules. The President appointed Richard Cordray as director of the CFPB to serve as a watchdog with one job: to look out for the best interests of American consumers.
Wall Street Reform
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