President Obama's Weekly Address 1/24/15: Middle-Class Economics

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President shared his plan, outlined in his State of the Union address earlier this week, to give hardworking families the support they need to make ends meet by focusing on policies that benefit the middle class and those working to reach the middle class. Through common sense proposals like closing loopholes that benefit the wealthy and providing tax relief to the middle class, making two years of community college free for responsible students, strengthening paid leave policies and access to quality child care for working families, and raising the minimum wage, we can ensure that everyone benefits from, and contributes to, America’s success. Middle-class economics is working, and we have laid a new foundation, but there is still progress to be made, and the President said he is eager to get to work.

President Obama's Weekly Address 11/8/14: It’s Time to Help Women and Working Families

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President highlighted the progress our economy is making, and the commonsense policies that could make it even stronger by ensuring that everyone who works hard has the opportunity to get ahead, especially women and working families. This commitment has been a core part of the President’s Year of Action and a priority since the start of his administration, which is why he has put forth a range of policies that would help women and working families get ahead, from raising the minimum wage, to ensuring equal pay for equal work, to increasing access to high-quality child care and paid family leave. This week’s address follows remarks the President delivered on Friday at Rhode Island College, where he discussed the importance of harnessing our economy’s momentum by making policy choices that will help women and all working parents fully participate in and contribute to our economy.

President Obama's Weekly Address 6/21/14: Bringing our Workplace Policies into the 21st Century

WASHINGTON, DC — In this week’s address, the President previewed Monday’s first-ever White House Summit on Working Families where he will bring together businesses leaders and workers to discuss the challenges that working parents face every day and lift up solutions that are good for these families and American businesses. Many working families can’t afford basic needs like childcare or receive simple benefits such as paid family leave that are common in most countries around the world. When hardworking Americans are forced to choose between work and family, America lags behind in a global economy. To stay competitive and economically successful, America needs to bring our workplace policies into the 21st century.

In addition to the address, the White House is also releasing a new report by the Council of Economic Advisers that examines economic benefits that paid family leave policies can have for workers and employers. A copy of that report can be found here.