Speaking in an address that lasted just a little more than 30 minutes before a audience at the Chattanooga, Tenn., Amazon fulfillment plant, President Barack Obama laid out what he called a framework and a national strategy “to make sure that every single person who’s willing to work hard in this county has a chance to succeed in the 21st-century economy.”
Speaking on Tuesday, Obama called that national strategy a better bargain for the middle class. The president also assailed the Republican Party for its obstructionist ways during his early attempts to pass legislation such as the American Jobs Act.
The president highlighted five ways to create more “good jobs”: Rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure; investing in the manufacturing sector so that companies will keep jobs in America as well as offering tax credits to communities hard-hit by plant closings; building on a innovative manufacturing pilot program that connects universities, federal agencies and businesses to develop centers of high-tech industries; investing in energy sources such as wind, solar and natural gas; exporting more; and challenging the private sector to do more to hire the 4 million long-term unemployed.
Additionally, Obama called on American firms to improve the quality of jobs for their workers, including offering training programs, healthcare, retirement plans and paying better wages.
The president also talked about simplifying the corporate tax code and using the money generated for a significant investment increasing middle-class jobs.
