Barack Obama

“ So I would hope in your philosophy about trying to kick-start the economy that the money gets directly to the people who are -- have homes that are foreclosed, the people that have lost jobs. To try to give to a bank and give a low interest rate, and the person whose home has been foreclosed on don't have a job, don't help anybody. ”

“ One of our biggest problems is that health care costs keep on going up even when everything else is going down. You know that in your own lives. The average family premium has doubled over the last eight years, even though your wages and your incomes haven't doubled.
If we keep on going down that path, health care is going to gobble up everything. So what I've said is, look, if we're going to be spending money anyway creating jobs, why not create jobs getting these medical records set up in a way that drives down health care costs over the long term. ”

“ So you can structure how they charge your electricity bill so that if you started installing a solar panel, that you would actually, as you point out, be able to sell some of that energy back when you're not using it. You get to put some money in your pocket, and the utilities are rewarded for encouraging you to do that. Right now they don't have enough incentive to do it because they're making money the more energy you use, whereas what we want to do is make -- give them incentives so that they are constantly telling you how you can save energy. ”

“ Well, my whole attitude is, if we're going to spend billions of dollars that creates jobs anyway, then why wouldn't we want to create jobs in things like clean energy that create a better economic future for us over the long term? ”

“ What are you going to do about enticing companies to stay here in the United States once we have them? A lot of local companies have gone overseas since I was born -- sorry. And the economy here in Elkhart was at a high, and it is going down because companies are enticed to leave. So like the gentleman said, they can live higher on the hog.
OBAMA: Well, look, I believe that the United States has the most productive workers. We've got the best universities and colleges. We've got the most dynamic, risk-taking economy and innovative economy of any in the world. So we can compete against anybody. ”

“ Economists from across the spectrum have warned that if we don't act immediately, millions of more jobs will be lost. The national unemployment rates will approach double digits not just here in Elkhart, all across the country. More people will lose their homes and their health care. And our nation will sink into a crisis that at some point we may be unable to reverse. ”

“ We can help make Indiana an energy-producing state, not just an energy-consuming state. (Applause.) The plan calls for weatherizing homes across Indiana; installing state-of-the-art equipment that help you control your energy costs; building new, high-speed broadband lines; reaching schools and small businesses in rural Indiana so they can connect and compete with their counterparts in any city of any country in the world. ”

“ We're going to try to make that part of our housing package so that -- remember I said, this recovery package and reinvestment package is just one leg of the stool. We've got to deal with the credit crisis. We've got to deal with housing. ”

“ If you don't have money, you can't spend it. And if you don't spend it, our economy will continue to decline.
Now, for that same reason, the plan includes badly needed tax relief for middle class workers and families. (Applause.) Folks all across the country are under siege. We need to give you more of the money you've earned so that you can spend it and pay your bills. Under our plan, families -- working families will get a thousand dollars, providing relief for nearly 2.5 million workers and their families here in Indiana. ”

“ Folks here in Elkhart and all across America need help right now. They can't afford to keep waiting for folks in Washington to get this done.
Even with this plan, the road ahead won't be easy. This crisis has been a long time in the making. We're not going to turn it around overnight. Recovery will likely be measured in years, not weeks or months. But we also know that our economy will be stronger for generations to come if we commit ourselves to the work that needs to be done -- commit ourselves today to the work that needs to be done. ”

“ Because we can put as much money as we want into schools -- if parents don't have an attitude that says, I'm going to make sure my child does my homework; that I'm meeting with the teacher to find out what's going on; if all of us aren't instilling a sense of excellence in our kids -- then they're not going to be able to compete. ”

“ The third thing that we should be doing is working with utilities all across America, including here in Indiana, to do what some utilities are already doing in California. And this is a really smart thing. What they do is, the utility is able to make money not just on how much energy it sells, but it's also able to make money on how much energy its customers save. ”

“ So we are going to be unveiling a series of plans to help not only homeowners who are at the brink of foreclosure, but there are a lot of homeowners who are making their mortgage payments every day, but they've seen the value of their homes decline so badly that now their mortgage is more than the value of their home -- which means that even when interest rates are low, it's very hard to refinance your home to take advantage of those low rates because a bank will say, well, you actually owe more than the home is worth. ”

“ But it's not just the jobs that will benefit Indiana and the rest of America. It's the work people will be doing -- rebuilding our roads, our bridges, our dams, our levees; roads like US 31 here in Indiana -- (applause) -- that Hoosiers can count on -- that connects small towns and rural communities to opportunities for economic growth. And I know that a new overpass downtown would make a big difference for businesses and families right here in Elkhart. ”

“ I know that all folks here are asking for is a chance to work hard and to have that work translate into a decent life for you and your family. (Applause.) So I know you're going to be doing your part. I think it's about time that government did its part, too. (Applause.) That's what this recovery plan is all about. That's why I hope it passes as soon as possible, so we can start creating jobs and helping families, and turning our economy around. (Applause.)
Thank you, Elkhart. ”

“ And being here in Elkhart, I am more confident than ever that we will get where we need to be, because I know people are struggling, but I also know that folks here are good workers and good neighbors -- (applause) -- who step up, who help each other out, who make sacrifices when times are tough. ”

“ When you give it to the wealthier families, they just put it away somewhere, and so it doesn't circulate in the economy. So tax cuts targeted to working families are the most effective means of stimulus that we can provide to the economy. ”

“ That's why in this recovery and reinvestment package, we put billions of dollars not only to make sure that school districts who are getting hammered are able to keep their teachers, but also we have money in the package to make sure that we are retraining our teachers around math and science, so that they are able to provide our young people what they need to compete in this new global economy, (applause) ; we have money to make -- create new labs, so that we have got science labs and the latest Internet connections into our schools so that they are part of this modern economy ”

“ We're going to help small businesses and medium-sized businesses get credit. And instead of just pumping that money directly into Wall Street, we're going to make sure that a lot of that money is going directly to consumers, and the money that does go into Wall Street is going to come with some strings attached. ”

“ But providing tax relief and college assistance, and helping folks who have lost their jobs, that's not enough. A real recovery plan helps create more jobs and put people back to work. And that's why between the investments our plan makes, and the tax relief for small business it provides, we'll create or save nearly 80,000 badly needed jobs for Indiana right here over the next couple of years. ”

“ And that is especially important for the Midwest, because if you think about it, the auto industry, RV industry, transportation industry is so important to us here in the Midwest. If we don't use this crisis as an opportunity to start retooling, then we will never catch up and be able to compete effectively against Japanese automakers, Korean automakers, and we will find ourselves continuing to slide. ”

“ What it says is -- to the various utilities, it says, you need to get 15 percent or 20 percent of your energy from renewable sources. And once you set that benchmark, then what happens is, is that people who are producing renewable energy -- solar or wind or hydrothermal -- what they're able to do then is count on a pretty solid market that they're going to be able to sell their energy to. ”

“ Now, understand, though, I think something that should also be mentioned is that we've set up an unprecedented set of ethics rules in my White House where we are not -- we are not -- everybody will acknowledge that we have set up the highest standard ever for lobbyists not working in the administration; people who work in my administration aren't going to be able to go out the revolving door and start working for some lobbying firm and lobbying the White House. ”

“ The plan also calls for immediate tax relief for 95 percent of American workers, so that you who are being pinched, even if you still have a job, with rising costs while your wages and incomes are flat-lined, you'll actually have a little bit of extra money at the end of the month to buy the necessities for you and your children. ”

“ So we may debate -- we can debate, you know, whether you'd rather have this tax cut versus that tax cut, or this project versus that project. Be clear, though, that there aren't a -- there aren't individual pork projects that members of Congress are putting into this bill. Regardless of what the critics say, there are no earmarks in this bill. That's part of the change that we're bringing to Washington, is making sure that this money is well spent to actually create jobs right here in Elkhart. ”

“ We're going to set up an independent board made up of Democrats and Republicans to review how the money is being spent, because we've got to make sure that it's not being wasted on somebody's special project that may not actually create help for people. ”

“ And I made sure they were honest mistakes beforehand. And one of the things I discovered is if you're not going to appoint anybody who's ever made a mistake in your life, then you're not going to have anybody taking your job. ”

“ The fourth thing -- and this is the thing that's going to take a little bit longer -- is we've got to improve basic science, research and development. When it comes to solar, when it comes to wind, the price has gone down, but generally speaking it's still a little more expensive than fossil fuels: coal, natural gas, and so forth. ”

“ I also want to just be very thrilled to be in the presence of you because we've been looking for a change. We are truly tired of the economics that we have been getting that has got us into the position that we're in. ”

“ I think it's very important for us to have high standards. I think we've got to do a better job, though, of assessing performance in schools. No Child Left Behind needs to be reworked in a more effective way. ”

“ Republicans and Democrats have acknowledged that there's a very high bar that we've set for ourselves. We have not been perfect, but we are changing the culture in Washington and it's going to take some time. ”

“ Some of the plan will go to the state government because, for example -- well, let me give you an example. Unemployment insurance is run through the state, not run through a city, and so that part of the plan will be going through the state. ”

“ Look -- and I think this is a legitimate criticism that people have made, because you can't expect one set of folks to not pay their taxes when everybody else is paying theirs. So I think that's a legitimate concern. ”

“ This is going to be a special website that we set up that gives you a report on where the money is going in your community, how it's being spent, how many jobs it's [sic] being created, so that all of you can be the eyes and ears. ”

“ People who had a question, raise their hand. We're going to try to call on people -- I'm going to try to go around the room. We may not get to every single question, so don't be mad at me. We've got a lot of people here. ”

“ What that's doing is, it's forcing a lot of people into foreclosure who potentially would be better off, and the bank would be better off and the community would be better off, if they're at least making some payments, but they're not able to make all the payments necessary. ”