{"id":128251,"date":"2021-09-05T20:20:12","date_gmt":"2021-09-06T03:20:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=128251"},"modified":"2021-09-05T20:20:12","modified_gmt":"2021-09-06T03:20:12","slug":"president-biden-on-the-august-jobs-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/?p=128251","title":{"rendered":"President Biden on the August Jobs Report"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good morning.  I\u2019m sorry I\u2019m a few minutes late.  We\u2019re getting ready to head down to Louisiana and I had a few things I had to do.  Look, we \u2014 as we head into Labor Day weekend, we have more evidence of the progress of our economy from last year\u2019s economic calamity.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/V5N7_xFf1r8\" title=\"YouTube video player\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Today, we learned the economy created 235 new \u2014 thousand \u2014 new jobs in August.  And the unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent, the lowest it has been in 18 months.<\/p>\n<p>But despite the impact of the Delta variant \u2014 and I\u2019ll talk a little more about that in a minute \u2014 what we\u2019re seeing is an economic recovery that is durable and strong.<\/p>\n<p>The Biden plan is working.  We\u2019re getting results.  America is on the move again.  And today\u2019s revision of previous month job gains, with the revision of the July numbers \u2014 this report means that we have been adding an average of 750,000 jobs per month, on average, during the past three months.<\/p>\n<p>And in the three months before I became President?  Well, we were adding 60,000 jobs a month.<\/p>\n<p>The total job creation in the first seven months<br \/>\nof my administration is nearly double \u2014 double any prior first-year President. <\/p>\n<p>While I know some wanted to see a larger number today, and so did I, what we\u2019ve seen this year is a continued growth, month after month, in job creation.  It\u2019s not just that I\u2019ve added more jobs than any first-year President \u2014 in the first year of any President \u2014 it\u2019s that we\u2019ve added jobs in every single one of my first seven job reports.  And wages are going up.<\/p>\n<p>Some more jobs \u2014 some \u2014 some mo- \u2014 some months are fewer, some months more, but always adding jobs.<\/p>\n<p>This is the kind of growth that makes our economy stronger and consistent progress, and not boom or bust.<\/p>\n<p>Our economy grew the first half of this year at the fastest rate in about 40 years.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re the only developed country in the world \u2014 I\u2019ll say that again \u2014 we\u2019re the only developed country in the world whose economy is now bigger than it was before the pandemic.<\/p>\n<p>Because of the groundwork we laid with the American Rescue Plan, our vaccination \u2014 and our vaccination strategy, we\u2019re seeing an economy and a job market that can weather the ups and downs of the Delta variant and anything else that comes our way.<\/p>\n<p>You know, we have a lot more work to do, as I will discuss shortly.  But the facts speak for themselves.  Think of where this country stood on the day I was sworn in as President, and compare it to where we are today.<\/p>\n<p>The number of people filing new claims for unemployment each week is down 57 percent.  Down 57 percent.<\/p>\n<p>Child poverty is down nearly 50 percent.  We\u2019re no longer seeing long lines of people waiting for boxes of food to be put in their trunk after waiting for hours, or sometimes up to two hours.<\/p>\n<p>The unemployment rate is down, from 6.3 percent to 5.2.  And I believe it\u2019s going to continue to go down. <\/p>\n<p>And it\u2019s no wonder that last week\u2019s Gallup poll found that 72 percent of Americans think that now is a good time to find a quality job.  At this time last year, that number was 30 percent.  And that\u2019s the mark of an economy where regular people can see a place for themselves in the economy.<\/p>\n<p>You know, the holidays we celebrate this weekend \u2014 the holiday, Labor Day, is about honoring the dignity of work, honoring the American worker.  And that\u2019s what our economic strategy is all about as well.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s about growing our economy from the bottom up and the middle out, providing some extra breathing room for families \u2014  and my dad would just say, \u201cJust a little breathing room\u201d \u2014 creating an environment where employers have truly com- \u2014 have to compete \u2014 compete for workers by providing higher wages and better benefits.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s what\u2019s happening.  Wages are up, especially for working-class Americans.<\/p>\n<p>Even so, even with the progress we\u2019ve made, we\u2019re not where we need to be in our economic recovery.  There are two critical tasks ahead this month to get us closer to our goal and to take the next steps in our recovery.<\/p>\n<p>The first: We need to make more progress in fighting the Delta variant of COVID-19.  This is a continuing pandemic of the unvaccinated.  Since becoming President, I\u2019ve ramped up testing, secured enough vaccine for every single American, and gotten 175 million Americans fully vaccinated.  <\/p>\n<p>Still \u2014 still, too many have not gotten vaccinated.  And it\u2019s creating a lot of unease in our economy and around our kitchen tables. <\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s report shows that the steps we\u2019ve taken, passing the Rescue Plan and vaccinating 175 million people, make our economy capable of growing and adding jobs even in the face of this continuing Delta surge.  A strength in our economy very different from the way things were last winter.<\/p>\n<p>There\u2019s no question the Delta variant is why today\u2019s jobs report isn\u2019t stronger.  I know people were looking, and I was hoping, for a higher number.<\/p>\n<p>But next week, I\u2019ll lay out the next steps that are going to \u2014 we\u2019re going to need to combat the Delta variant, to address some of those fears and concerns.<\/p>\n<p>I want to talk about how we\u2019ll further protect our schools, our businesses, our economy, and our families from the threat of Delta.  As we continue to fight the Delta variant, the American Rescue Plan we passed continues to support families, businesses, and communities.  Even as some of the benefits that were provided are set to expire next week, states have the option to extend those benefits and the federal resources from the Rescue Plan to do so.  Not more federal taxes, state taxes, but they have the federal money to be able to do that. <\/p>\n<p>States continue to have access to a wide array of support, like help for schools that are reopening, help for childcare centers to make them available and affordable, and other resources to help our economy get back to normal.<\/p>\n<p>The measures we\u2019ve taken so far have brought America out of an economic freefall, steadied us, and enabled us to grow our economy even as we combat \u2014 continue to combat COVID. <\/p>\n<p>We are adding jobs, not losing them. <\/p>\n<p>The fight against COVID today is far different from the fight we were waging last winter.<\/p>\n<p>The second thing that has to happen in September is for the Congress \u2014 the House and Senate \u2014 to finish the job of passing my economic agenda so that we can keep up the historic momentum we\u2019ve been building these last seven months.  It\u2019s about investing in America\u2019s future, not about short-term stimulus; that\u2019s not what we\u2019re talking about. <\/p>\n<p>These are long-term prosperity we\u2019re talking about \u2014 about lowering the cost of living for families, creating millions of good-paying jobs for hardworking Americans.  It\u2019s about reducing bottlenecks in our economy, reducing long-term price pressures.  It\u2019s about helping more people to work by helping ease the burden that parents bear, especially mothers, keeping them out of the job market. <\/p>\n<p>Both the Senate and the House have taken important steps forward to pass my bipartisan infrastructure plan.  This bill is going to end years of gridlock.  We used to \u2014 remember when we had \u2014 we always had \u2014 you know, the whole notion we had, I guess, was every week was going to be infrastructure week?<\/p>\n<p>Well, both literally and figuratively, it\u2019s going to change things on our streets across the country and, figuratively, as it relates to Washington. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to create millions of good-paying jobs.  We\u2019re going to ease inflationary pressure and allow us to win the competition of the 21st century in a global economy where the competition has become more intense.<\/p>\n<p>Look, it\u2019s historic investment in roads, in rail, in transit and bridges, in clean energy, in clean water, universal broadband.  It\u2019s going to modernize our energy grid.  You need not go any further than look what\u2019s happening across the country now in terms of the energy grids.  It\u2019s about resilience.  Make our roads and highways safer.  Make us more resilient to the kinds of devastating impacts from extreme weather we\u2019re seeing in so many parts of the country.<\/p>\n<p>And, look, this is about good-paying jobs for ordinary people, blue-collar workers.  Jobs at prevailing wage \u2014 not $15 an hour, or $20 or $30.  But for the carpenters and pipe-fitters, plumbers, electrical workers, and so many other Americans, about 90 percent of the jobs we\u2019ll create with this plan won\u2019t require a college degree.  It will fundamentally transform the lives of millions of people.  It\u2019s going to transform America and propel us into the future, just as we did when we built the transcontinental railroad or we electrified the country \u2014 the TVA.<\/p>\n<p>Look, at the same time, the House and Senate have to advance my Build Back Better agenda.  That bill contains critical investments in childcare to make it easier for families to be able to go to work and assure their child is being taken care of, and home care for seniors.  The polling data shows: Among your generation \u2014 all of you out here \u2014 your greatest concern is caring for your elderly parent, even more than your child. <\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s about paid leave \u2014 allowing people with a new child or a sick spouse at home to take care of them without risking losing their paycheck \u2014 not indefinitely, but for a time period they can actually make a difference.<\/p>\n<p>Universal pre-K and community college \u2014 making us significantly better educated and increasing our competitive edge globally, around the world, over time.<\/p>\n<p>And we\u2019ll combat climate change by building our clean energy future, creating \u2014 the experts point out \u2014 millions of jobs and building windmills and solar panels all around the country, and transferring that energy \u2014 transmitting it to parts that don\u2019t have that capacity.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to bring down the cost of prescription drugs by allowing Medicare to finally be able to negotiate drug prices with producers.  Look \u2014 and so much more. <\/p>\n<p>Here\u2019s the thing you need to know: We\u2019re going to deliver these investments without raising taxes one cent on anyone making less than $400,000 a year.<\/p>\n<p>How are we going to do that?  We\u2019re going to do it by leveling the playing field; by just having a fair system where we ask the largest corporations and the wealthiest Americans to begin to pay their fair share, not more. <\/p>\n<p>They can still make millions of dollars.  The super wealthy are still going to be able to have three homes.  It\u2019s not going to affect anything. <\/p>\n<p>The fact of the matter is, though, it\u2019s about time they begin to pay their fair share.<\/p>\n<p>For example \u2014 you\u2019ve heard me say it before and I\u2019ll say it again, but it\u2019s the best example to make clear to people a very complicated notion: Fifty-five of the largest corporations in America last year paid zero \u2014 zero in federal taxes.<\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t care what your position is.  It just seems to me it\u2019s time they start to pay their fair share like everybody else.  Just pay a little bit here, and it comes out to billions of dollars if they pay it.<\/p>\n<p>The irony of ironies is: During the recession and the pandemic \u2014 you\u2019ve heard me say this before; I apologize for repeating it \u2014 when the vast majority of Americans were struggling just to hang on, the number of billionaires in America actually grew.<\/p>\n<p>(Laughs.)  Now, I want to hold here for just a second.  If \u2014 you know, there have been so many records the stock market has hit under my presidency.  Imagine if the other guy was here: \u201cWe\u2019re doing great.  It\u2019s wonderful.  The stock market is surging.  It\u2019s gone up higher under me than anybody.\u201d  But that doesn\u2019t \u2014 that doesn\u2019t mean that it\u2019s the best for the economy. <\/p>\n<p>Look, the stock market has set 40 record highs just this year.  They can afford to pay just a little bit more.<br \/>\nBut, folks, right now, the House and Senate are working on my plan to generate a fairer tax system and close loopholes that big corporations and the super-wealthy use to pay less.<\/p>\n<p>To give you one example, there\u2019s a group of experts \u2014 left, right, and center \u2014 who estimate that, right now, we lose more than $100 billion a year in tax revenue owed from the top 1 percent of taxpayers alone \u2014 not because of low tax rates, but because wealthy people aren\u2019t paying the taxes they owe. <\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to change that so they pay taxes just like typical hardworking Americans do right now.  We\u2019re going to use the money we collect from the tax cuts for \u2014 to give tax cuts to middle-class families, to make it easier to raise kids, to take care of your aging parents, and so much more.<\/p>\n<p>But what\u2019s going on in Congress?  Not a single Republican supports this plan.  They support the bipartisan plan, but not this plan.  Not one. <\/p>\n<p>And some big corporations are spending millions of dollars in \u2014 legitimately \u2014 I mean, they \u2014 they\u2019re lobbying \u2014 to try to escape their obligation to pay the taxes they owe, leaving working families to pay a larger share of the burden.<\/p>\n<p>Somebody has got to pay.  And when those who can afford to pay aren\u2019t paying anywhere near their fair share, it means you all pay more.<\/p>\n<p>You know \u2014 and this has worked in the past, with significant lobbying efforts, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s going to work with me.<\/p>\n<p>For those big corporations that don\u2019t want things to change, my message is this: It\u2019s time for working families \u2014 the folks who built this country \u2014 to have their taxes cut.<\/p>\n<p>And those corporate interests doing everything they can<br \/>\nto find allies in Congress to keep that from happening, let me be \u2014 as the old expression goes \u2014 perfectly clear: I\u2019m going to take them on.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019re going to pass these measures.  We\u2019re going to build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down.<\/p>\n<p>And when corporations and the wealthiest start to pay their fair share, it\u2019s going to put millions of people \u2014 according to all the estimates \u2014 millions of people to work in jobs that are going to help them punch their ticket to the middle class and stay in the middle class.  And everyone will do better, including corporate America. <\/p>\n<p>Look, just think about it: Throughout our history, when the middle class has done well, when it prospers, has there ever been a time the wealthy and corporate America doesn\u2019t do well?  I can\u2019t think of one.<\/p>\n<p>Our country needs these investments.  I\u2019m not asking anything other than some fairness being injected into the system.  Like I said, to hold here, the fact is that, you know, the very wealthy will \u2014 they\u2019re still going to have three homes or four homes, if they want.  It\u2019s not going to change what schools they can send their kids to.  It\u2019s not going to change their standard of living.  But just pay a fair share. <\/p>\n<p>Corporate America \u2014 it\u2019s going to continue to do very well.  I\u2019ve seen no evidence to suggest that it\u2019s going to cost jobs or cost \u2014 I mean, you know, it\u2019s just \u2014 and now we need Congress to finish the job, to come through for the American people and ensure that the economy continues to gain strength and stability as we move forward.<\/p>\n<p>Now, finally, the third thing we need to do, all of us, is to stick together.  We have to put ourselves on track to accomplish extraordinary things: a strong, inclusive, historic economic growth; landmark investments to create even more good jobs and deliver breathing room to millions of families; a giant step forward in the fight against climate change \u2014 the crisis made more evident than ever by the death and destruction caused by extreme weather just these past few days.<\/p>\n<p>My agenda, I believe, is one that every American, if they understand it, they can get behind.  And because of the work we\u2019ve all put in \u2014 not just here in Washington, but in communities across the country \u2014 every one of those goals is now within our reach.<\/p>\n<p>Coming together has always been part of the DNA of Americans.  And if we can summon that instinct within us to unite as one people, one nation, there is nothing beyond our capacity.<\/p>\n<p>So, let\u2019s keep going.  Let\u2019s stick together.  And let\u2019s remember who we are.  You\u2019ve heard me say it time and again: We\u2019re the United States of America.  And the rest of the world is looking to us to \u2014 because we\u2019re \u2014 we are the most prosperous nation in the world right now.  We\u2019re growing.  And there\u2019s a fairness to what we\u2019re doing.  A fairness.<\/p>\n<p>We\u2019ll still have millionaires.  We\u2019ll still have billionaires.  We\u2019ll still have corporations that do incredibly well and CEOs that make a lot of money.  But everybody has to start paying their fair share. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you very much. <\/p>\n<p>Q    Mr. President, on abortion rights in Texas, sir.<\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  Pardon me?<\/p>\n<p>Q    One question on abortion rights in Texas, sir.  What would be your message to women in Texas?  And what can your administration do to protect abortion rights on the federal level? <\/p>\n<p>THE PRESIDENT:  I\u2019m late for going down.  I\u2019m going to talk about these things from Louisiana.  But I have been \u2014 continue to be a strong supporter of Roe v. Wade.  Number one.<\/p>\n<p>And the most pernicious thing about the Texas law: It sort of creates a vigilante system where people get rewards to go out to \u2014 anyway. <\/p>\n<p>And it just seems \u2014 I know this sounds ridiculous \u2014 almost un-American, what we\u2019re talking about \u2014 not to debate about \u2014<\/p>\n<p>And I under- \u2014 I respect people who think that \u2014 who don\u2019t support Roe v. Wade; I respect their views.  I respect them \u2014 they \u2014 those who believe life begins at the moment of conception and all.  I respect that.  Don\u2019t agree, but I respect that.  I\u2019m not going to impose that on people. <\/p>\n<p>But what I was told \u2014 and I must tell you, I am not certain \u2014 I was told that there are possibilities within the existing law to have the Justice Department look and see whether there are things that can be done that can limit the independent action of individuals in enforcing a federal sys- \u2014 a state law. <\/p>\n<p>I don\u2019t know enough to give you an answer yet.  I\u2019ve asked that to be checked. <\/p>\n<p>Thank you all very much.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC&#8230;Good morning. I\u2019m sorry I\u2019m a few minutes late. We\u2019re getting ready to head down to Louisiana and I had a few things I had to do. Look, we \u2014 as we head into Labor Day weekend, we have more evidence of the progress of our economy from last year\u2019s economic calamity. Today, we [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":128252,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_cbd_carousel_blocks":"[]","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,5,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-128251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-government","category-news","last_archivepost"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/09\/Chrome-Legacy-Window-952021-81245-PM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=128251"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128251\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":128253,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/128251\/revisions\/128253"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/128252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=128251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=128251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/new.thepinetree.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=128251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}