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President Obama Speaks on Economic Mobility

Published on Dec 4, 2013 by The White House

President Obama discusses the twin challenges of growing income inequality and shrinking economic mobility and how they pose a fundamental threat to the American Dream.

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Remarks by the President on Economic Mobility

THEARC
Washington, D.C.

December 04, 2013
11:31 A.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you, everybody. Thank you so much. Please, please have a seat. Thank you so much. Well, thank you, Neera, for the wonderful introduction and sharing a story that resonated with me. There were a lot of parallels in my life and probably resonated with some of you.

Over the past 10 years, the Center for American Progress has done incredible work to shape the debate over expanding opportunity for all Americans. And I could not be more grateful to CAP not only for giving me a lot of good policy ideas, but also giving me a lot of staff. (Laughter.) My friend, John Podesta, ran my transition; my Chief of Staff, Denis McDonough, did a stint at CAP. So you guys are obviously doing a good job training folks.

I also want to thank all the members of Congress and my administration who are here today for the wonderful work that they do. I want to thank Mayor Gray and everyone here at THEARC for having me. This center, which I’ve been to quite a bit, have had a chance to see some of the great work that’s done here. And all the nonprofits that call THEARC home offer access to everything from education, to health care, to a safe shelter from the streets, which means that you’re harnessing the power of community to expand opportunity for folks here in D.C. And your work reflects a tradition that runs through our history -- a belief that we’re greater together than we are on our own. And that’s what I’ve come here to talk about today.

Over the last two months, Washington has been dominated by some pretty contentious debates -- I think that’s fair to say. And between a reckless shutdown by congressional Republicans in an effort to repeal the Affordable Care Act, and admittedly poor execution on my administration’s part in implementing the latest stage of the new law, nobody has acquitted themselves very well these past few months. So it’s not surprising that the American people’s frustrations with Washington are at an all-time high.

But we know that people’s frustrations run deeper than these most recent political battles. Their frustration is rooted in their own daily battles -- to make ends meet, to pay for college, buy a home, save for retirement. It’s rooted in the nagging sense that no matter how hard they work, the deck is stacked against them. And it’s rooted in the fear that their kids won’t be better off than they were. They may not follow the constant back-and-forth in Washington or all the policy details, but they experience in a very personal way the relentless, decades-long trend that I want to spend some time talking about today. And that is a dangerous and growing inequality and lack of upward mobility that has jeopardized middle-class America’s basic bargain -- that if you work hard, you have a chance to get ahead.

I believe this is the defining challenge of our time: Making sure our economy works for every working American. It’s why I ran for President. It was at the center of last year’s campaign. It drives everything I do in this office. And I know I’ve raised this issue before, and some will ask why I raise the issue again right now. I do it because the outcomes of the debates we’re having right now -- whether it’s health care, or the budget, or reforming our housing and financial systems -- all these things will have real, practical implications for every American. And I am convinced that the decisions we make on these issues over the next few years will determine whether or not our children will grow up in an America where opportunity is real.

Now, the premise that we’re all created equal is the opening line in the American story. And while we don’t promise equal outcomes, we have strived to deliver equal opportunity -- the idea that success doesn’t depend on being born into wealth or privilege, it depends on effort and merit. And with every chapter we’ve added to that story, we’ve worked hard to put those words into practice.

It was Abraham Lincoln, a self-described “poor man’s son,” who started a system of land grant colleges all over this country so that any poor man’s son could go learn something new.

When farms gave way to factories, a rich man’s son named Teddy Roosevelt fought for an eight-hour workday, protections for workers, and busted monopolies that kept prices high and wages low.

When millions lived in poverty, FDR fought for Social Security, and insurance for the unemployed, and a minimum wage.

When millions died without health insurance, LBJ fought for Medicare and Medicaid.

Together, we forged a New Deal, declared a War on Poverty in a great society. We built a ladder of opportunity to climb, and stretched out a safety net beneath so that if we fell, it wouldn’t be too far, and we could bounce back. And as a result, America built the largest middle class the world has ever known. And for the three decades after World War II, it was the engine of our prosperity.

Now, we can’t look at the past through rose-colored glasses. The economy didn’t always work for everyone. Racial discrimination locked millions out of poverty -- or out of opportunity. Women were too often confined to a handful of often poorly paid professions. And it was only through painstaking struggle that more women, and minorities, and Americans with disabilities began to win the right to more fairly and fully participate in the economy.

Nevertheless, during the post-World War II years, the economic ground felt stable and secure for most Americans, and the future looked brighter than the past. And for some, that meant following in your old man’s footsteps at the local plant, and you knew that a blue-collar job would let you buy a home, and a car, maybe a vacation once in a while, health care, a reliable pension. For others, it meant going to college -- in some cases, maybe the first in your family to go to college. And it meant graduating without taking on loads of debt, and being able to count on advancement through a vibrant job market.

Now, it’s true that those at the top, even in those years, claimed a much larger share of income than the rest: The top 10 percent consistently took home about one-third of our national income. But that kind of inequality took place in a dynamic market economy where everyone’s wages and incomes were growing. And because of upward mobility, the guy on the factory floor could picture his kid running the company some day.

But starting in the late ‘70s, this social compact began to unravel. Technology made it easier for companies to do more with less, eliminating certain job occupations. A more competitive world lets companies ship jobs anywhere. And as good manufacturing jobs automated or headed offshore, workers lost their leverage, jobs paid less and offered fewer benefits.

As values of community broke down, and competitive pressure increased, businesses lobbied Washington to weaken unions and the value of the minimum wage. As a trickle-down ideology became more prominent, taxes were slashed for the wealthiest, while investments in things that make us all richer, like schools and infrastructure, were allowed to wither. And for a certain period of time, we could ignore this weakening economic foundation, in part because more families were relying on two earners as women entered the workforce. We took on more debt financed by a juiced-up housing market. But when the music stopped, and the crisis hit, millions of families were stripped of whatever cushion they had left.

And the result is an economy that’s become profoundly unequal, and families that are more insecure. I’ll just give you a few statistics. Since 1979, when I graduated from high school, our productivity is up by more than 90 percent, but the income of the typical family has increased by less than eight percent. Since 1979, our economy has more than doubled in size, but most of that growth has flowed to a fortunate few.

The top 10 percent no longer takes in one-third of our income -- it now takes half. Whereas in the past, the average CEO made about 20 to 30 times the income of the average worker, today’s CEO now makes 273 times more. And meanwhile, a family in the top 1 percent has a net worth 288 times higher than the typical family, which is a record for this country.

So the basic bargain at the heart of our economy has frayed. In fact, this trend towards growing inequality is not unique to America’s market economy. Across the developed world, inequality has increased. Some of you may have seen just last week, the Pope himself spoke about this at eloquent length. “How can it be,” he wrote, “that it is not a news item when an elderly homeless person dies of exposure, but it is news when the stock market loses two points?”

But this increasing inequality is most pronounced in our country, and it challenges the very essence of who we are as a people. Understand we’ve never begrudged success in America. We aspire to it. We admire folks who start new businesses, create jobs, and invent the products that enrich our lives. And we expect them to be rewarded handsomely for it. In fact, we've often accepted more income inequality than many other nations for one big reason -- because we were convinced that America is a place where even if you’re born with nothing, with a little hard work you can improve your own situation over time and build something better to leave your kids. As Lincoln once said, “While we do not propose any war upon capital, we do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else.”

The problem is that alongside increased inequality, we’ve seen diminished levels of upward mobility in recent years. A child born in the top 20 percent has about a 2-in-3 chance of staying at or near the top. A child born into the bottom 20 percent has a less than 1-in-20 shot at making it to the top. He’s 10 times likelier to stay where he is. In fact, statistics show not only that our levels of income inequality rank near countries like Jamaica and Argentina, but that it is harder today for a child born here in America to improve her station in life than it is for children in most of our wealthy allies -- countries like Canada or Germany or France. They have greater mobility than we do, not less.

The idea that so many children are born into poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth is heartbreaking enough. But the idea that a child may never be able to escape that poverty because she lacks a decent education or health care, or a community that views her future as their own, that should offend all of us and it should compel us to action. We are a better country than this.

So let me repeat: The combined trends of increased inequality and decreasing mobility pose a fundamental threat to the American Dream, our way of life, and what we stand for around the globe. And it is not simply a moral claim that I’m making here. There are practical consequences to rising inequality and reduced mobility.

For one thing, these trends are bad for our economy. One study finds that growth is more fragile and recessions are more frequent in countries with greater inequality. And that makes sense. When families have less to spend, that means businesses have fewer customers, and households rack up greater mortgage and credit card debt; meanwhile, concentrated wealth at the top is less likely to result in the kind of broadly based consumer spending that drives our economy, and together with lax regulation, may contribute to risky speculative bubbles.

And rising inequality and declining mobility are also bad for our families and social cohesion -- not just because we tend to trust our institutions less, but studies show we actually tend to trust each other less when there’s greater inequality. And greater inequality is associated with less mobility between generations. That means it’s not just temporary; the effects last. It creates a vicious cycle. For example, by the time she turns three years old, a child born into a low-income home hears 30 million fewer words than a child from a well-off family, which means by the time she starts school she’s already behind, and that deficit can compound itself over time.

And finally, rising inequality and declining mobility are bad for our democracy. Ordinary folks can’t write massive campaign checks or hire high-priced lobbyists and lawyers to secure policies that tilt the playing field in their favor at everyone else’s expense. And so people get the bad taste that the system is rigged, and that increases cynicism and polarization, and it decreases the political participation that is a requisite part of our system of self-government.

So this is an issue that we have to tackle head on. And if, in fact, the majority of Americans agree that our number-one priority is to restore opportunity and broad-based growth for all Americans, the question is why has Washington consistently failed to act? And I think a big reason is the myths that have developed around the issue of inequality.

First, there is the myth that this is a problem restricted to a small share of predominantly minority poor -- that this isn’t a broad-based problem, this is a black problem or a Hispanic problem or a Native American problem. Now, it’s true that the painful legacy of discrimination means that African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans are far more likely to suffer from a lack of opportunity -- higher unemployment, higher poverty rates. It’s also true that women still make 77 cents on the dollar compared to men. So we’re going to need strong application of antidiscrimination laws. We’re going to need immigration reform that grows the economy and takes people out of the shadows. We’re going to need targeted initiatives to close those gaps. (Applause.)

But here’s an important point. The decades-long shifts in the economy have hurt all groups: poor and middle class; inner city and rural folks; men and women; and Americans of all races. And as a consequence, some of the social patterns that contribute to declining mobility that were once attributed to the urban poor -- that’s a particular problem for the inner city: single-parent households or drug abuse -- it turns out now we’re seeing that pop up everywhere.

A new study shows that disparities in education, mental health, obesity, absent fathers, isolation from church, isolation from community groups -- these gaps are now as much about growing up rich or poor as they are about anything else. The gap in test scores between poor kids and wealthy kids is now nearly twice what it is between white kids and black kids. Kids with working-class parents are 10 times likelier than kids with middle- or upper-class parents to go through a time when their parents have no income. So the fact is this: The opportunity gap in America is now as much about class as it is about race, and that gap is growing.

So if we’re going to take on growing inequality and try to improve upward mobility for all people, we’ve got to move beyond the false notion that this is an issue exclusively of minority concern. And we have to reject a politics that suggests any effort to address it in a meaningful way somehow pits the interests of a deserving middle class against those of an undeserving poor in search of handouts. (Applause.)

Second, we need to dispel the myth that the goals of growing the economy and reducing inequality are necessarily in conflict, when they should actually work in concert. We know from our history that our economy grows best from the middle out, when growth is more widely shared. And we know that beyond a certain level of inequality, growth actually slows altogether.

Third, we need to set aside the belief that government cannot do anything about reducing inequality. It’s true that government cannot prevent all the downsides of the technological change and global competition that are out there right now, and some of those forces are also some of the things that are helping us grow. And it’s also true that some programs in the past, like welfare before it was reformed, were sometimes poorly designed, created disincentives to work.

But we’ve also seen how government action time and again can make an enormous difference in increasing opportunity and bolstering ladders into the middle class. Investments in education, laws establishing collective bargaining, and a minimum wage -- these all contributed to rising standards of living for massive numbers of Americans. (Applause.) Likewise, when previous generations declared that every citizen of this country deserved a basic measure of security -- a floor through which they could not fall -- we helped millions of Americans live in dignity, and gave millions more the confidence to aspire to something better, by taking a risk on a great idea.

Without Social Security, nearly half of seniors would be living in poverty -- half. Today, fewer than 1 in 10 do. Before Medicare, only half of all seniors had some form of health insurance. Today, virtually all do. And because we’ve strengthened that safety net, and expanded pro-work and pro-family tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, a recent study found that the poverty rate has fallen by 40 percent since the 1960s. And these endeavors didn’t just make us a better country; they reaffirmed that we are a great country.

So we can make a difference on this. In fact, that’s our generation’s task -- to rebuild America’s economic and civic foundation to continue the expansion of opportunity for this generation and the next generation. (Applause.) And like Neera, I take this personally. I’m only here because this country educated my grandfather on the GI Bill. When my father left and my mom hit hard times trying to raise my sister and me while she was going to school, this country helped make sure we didn’t go hungry. When Michelle, the daughter of a shift worker at a water plant and a secretary, wanted to go to college, just like me, this country helped us afford it until we could pay it back.

So what drives me as a grandson, a son, a father -- as an American -- is to make sure that every striving, hardworking, optimistic kid in America has the same incredible chance that this country gave me. (Applause.) It has been the driving force between everything we’ve done these past five years. And over the course of the next year, and for the rest of my presidency, that’s where you should expect my administration to focus all our efforts. (Applause.)

Now, you'll be pleased to know this is not a State of the Union Address. (Laughter.) And many of the ideas that can make the biggest difference in expanding opportunity I’ve presented before. But let me offer a few key principles, just a roadmap that I believe should guide us in both our legislative agenda and our administrative efforts.

To begin with, we have to continue to relentlessly push a growth agenda. It may be true that in today’s economy, growth alone does not guarantee higher wages and incomes. We've seen that. But what's also true is we can’t tackle inequality if the economic pie is shrinking or stagnant. The fact is if you’re a progressive and you want to help the middle class and the working poor, you’ve still got to be concerned about competitiveness and productivity and business confidence that spurs private sector investment.

And that’s why from day one we’ve worked to get the economy growing and help our businesses hire. And thanks to their resilience and innovation, they’ve created nearly 8 million new jobs over the past 44 months. And now we’ve got to grow the economy even faster. And we've got to keep working to make America a magnet for good, middle-class jobs to replace the ones that we’ve lost in recent decades -- jobs in manufacturing and energy and infrastructure and technology.

And that means simplifying our corporate tax code in a way that closes wasteful loopholes and ends incentives to ship jobs overseas. (Applause.) And by broadening the base, we can actually lower rates to encourage more companies to hire here and use some of the money we save to create good jobs rebuilding our roads and our bridges and our airports, and all the infrastructure our businesses need.

It means a trade agenda that grows exports and works for the middle class. It means streamlining regulations that are outdated or unnecessary or too costly. And it means coming together around a responsible budget -- one that grows our economy faster right now and shrinks our long-term deficits, one that unwinds the harmful sequester cuts that haven't made a lot of sense -- (applause) -- and then frees up resources to invest in things like the scientific research that's always unleashed new innovation and new industries.

When it comes to our budget, we should not be stuck in a stale debate from two years ago or three years ago. A relentlessly growing deficit of opportunity is a bigger threat to our future than our rapidly shrinking fiscal deficit. (Applause.)

So that’s step one towards restoring mobility: making sure our economy is growing faster. Step two is making sure we empower more Americans with the skills and education they need to compete in a highly competitive global economy.

We know that education is the most important predictor of income today, so we launched a Race to the Top in our schools. We’re supporting states that have raised standards for teaching and learning. We’re pushing for redesigned high schools that graduate more kids with the technical training and apprenticeships, and in-demand, high-tech skills that can lead directly to a good job and a middle-class life.

We know it’s harder to find a job today without some higher education, so we’ve helped more students go to college with grants and loans that go farther than before. We’ve made it more practical to repay those loans. And today, more students are graduating from college than ever before. We’re also pursuing an aggressive strategy to promote innovation that reins in tuition costs. We’ve got lower costs so that young people are not burdened by enormous debt when they make the right decision to get higher education. And next week, Michelle and I will bring together college presidents and non-profits to lead a campaign to help more low-income students attend and succeed in college. (Applause.)

But while higher education may be the surest path to the middle class, it’s not the only one. So we should offer our people the best technical education in the world. That’s why we’ve worked to connect local businesses with community colleges, so that workers young and old can earn the new skills that earn them more money.

And I’ve also embraced an idea that I know all of you at the Center for American Progress have championed -- and, by the way, Republican governors in a couple of states have championed -- and that’s making high-quality preschool available to every child in America. (Applause.) We know that kids in these programs grow up likelier to get more education, earn higher wages, form more stable families of their own. It starts a virtuous cycle, not a vicious one. And we should invest in that. We should give all of our children that chance.

And as we empower our young people for future success, the third part of this middle-class economics is empowering our workers. It’s time to ensure our collective bargaining laws function as they’re supposed to -- (applause) -- so unions have a level playing field to organize for a better deal for workers and better wages for the middle class. It’s time to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act so that women will have more tools to fight pay discrimination. (Applause.) It’s time to pass the Employment Non-Discrimination Act so workers can’t be fired for who they are or who they love. (Applause.)

And even though we’re bringing manufacturing jobs back to America, we’re creating more good-paying jobs in education and health care and business services; we know that we’re going to have a greater and greater portion of our people in the service sector. And we know that there are airport workers, and fast-food workers, and nurse assistants, and retail salespeople who work their tails off and are still living at or barely above poverty. (Applause.) And that’s why it’s well past the time to raise a minimum wage that in real terms right now is below where it was when Harry Truman was in office. (Applause.)

This shouldn’t be an ideological question. It was Adam Smith, the father of free-market economics, who once said, “They who feed, clothe, and lodge the whole body of the people should have such a share of the produce of their own labor as to be themselves tolerably well fed, clothed, and lodged.” And for those of you who don’t speak old-English -- (laughter) -- let me translate. It means if you work hard, you should make a decent living. (Applause.) If you work hard, you should be able to support a family.

Now, we all know the arguments that have been used against a higher minimum wage. Some say it actually hurts low-wage workers -- businesses will be less likely to hire them. But there’s no solid evidence that a higher minimum wage costs jobs, and research shows it raises incomes for low-wage workers and boosts short-term economic growth. (Applause.)

Others argue that if we raise the minimum wage, companies will just pass those costs on to consumers. But a growing chorus of businesses, small and large, argue differently. And already, there are extraordinary companies in America that provide decent wages, salaries, and benefits, and training for their workers, and deliver a great product to consumers.

SAS in North Carolina offers childcare and sick leave. REI, a company my Secretary of the Interior used to run, offers retirement plans and strives to cultivate a good work balance. There are companies out there that do right by their workers. They recognize that paying a decent wage actually helps their bottom line, reduces turnover. It means workers have more money to spend, to save, maybe eventually start a business of their own.

A broad majority of Americans agree we should raise the minimum wage. That’s why, last month, voters in New Jersey decided to become the 20th state to raise theirs even higher. That’s why, yesterday, the D.C. Council voted to do it, too. I agree with those voters. (Applause.) I agree with those voters, and I’m going to keep pushing until we get a higher minimum wage for hard-working Americans across the entire country. It will be good for our economy. It will be good for our families. (Applause.)

Number four, as I alluded to earlier, we still need targeted programs for the communities and workers that have been hit hardest by economic change and the Great Recession. These communities are no longer limited to the inner city. They’re found in neighborhoods hammered by the housing crisis, manufacturing towns hit hard by years of plants packing up, landlocked rural areas where young folks oftentimes feel like they've got to leave just to find a job. There are communities that just aren’t generating enough jobs anymore.

So we’ve put forward new plans to help these communities and their residents, because we’ve watched cities like Pittsburgh or my hometown of Chicago revamp themselves. And if we give more cities the tools to do it -- not handouts, but a hand up -- cities like Detroit can do it, too. So in a few weeks, we’ll announce the first of these Promise Zones, urban and rural communities where we’re going to support local efforts focused on a national goal -- and that is a child’s course in life should not be determined by the zip code he’s born in, but by the strength of his work ethic and the scope of his dreams. (Applause.)

And we're also going to have to do more for the long-term unemployed. For people who have been out of work for more than six months, often through no fault of their own, life is a catch-22. Companies won’t give their résumé an honest look because they’ve been laid off so long -- but they’ve been laid off so long because companies won’t give their résumé an honest look. (Laughter.) And that’s why earlier this year, I challenged CEOs from some of America’s best companies to give these Americans a fair shot. And next month, many of them will join us at the White House for an announcement about this.

Fifth, we've got to revamp retirement to protect Americans in their golden years, to make sure another housing collapse doesn’t steal the savings in their homes. We've also got to strengthen our safety net for a new age, so it doesn’t just protect people who hit a run of bad luck from falling into poverty, but also propels them back out of poverty.

Today, nearly half of full-time workers and 80 percent of part-time workers don’t have a pension or retirement account at their job. About half of all households don’t have any retirement savings. So we’re going to have to do more to encourage private savings and shore up the promise of Social Security for future generations. And remember, these are promises we make to one another. We don’t do it to replace the free market, but we do it to reduce risk in our society by giving people the ability to take a chance and catch them if they fall. One study shows that more than half of Americans will experience poverty at some point during their adult lives. Think about that. This is not an isolated situation. More than half of Americans at some point in their lives will experience poverty.

That’s why we have nutrition assistance or the program known as SNAP, because it makes a difference for a mother who’s working, but is just having a hard time putting food on the table for her kids. That’s why we have unemployment insurance, because it makes a difference for a father who lost his job and is out there looking for a new one that he can keep a roof over his kids' heads. By the way, Christmastime is no time for Congress to tell more than 1 million of these Americans that they have lost their unemployment insurance, which is what will happen if Congress does not act before they leave on their holiday vacation. (Applause.)

The point is these programs are not typically hammocks for people to just lie back and relax. These programs are almost always temporary means for hardworking people to stay afloat while they try to find a new job or go into school to retrain themselves for the jobs that are out there, or sometimes just to cope with a bout of bad luck. Progressives should be open to reforms that actually strengthen these programs and make them more responsive to a 21st century economy. For example, we should be willing to look at fresh ideas to revamp unemployment and disability programs to encourage faster and higher rates of re-employment without cutting benefits. We shouldn't weaken fundamental protections built over generations, because given the constant churn in today’s economy and the disabilities that many of our friends and neighbors live with, they're needed more than ever. We should strengthen them and adapt them to new circumstances so they work even better.

But understand that these programs of social insurance benefit all of us, because we don't know when we might have a run of bad luck. (Applause.) We don't know when we might lose a job. Of course, for decades, there was one yawning gap in the safety net that did more than anything else to expose working families to the insecurities of today’s economy -- namely, our broken health care system.

That’s why we fought for the Affordable Care Act -- (applause) -- because 14,000 Americans lost their health insurance every single day, and even more died each year because they didn’t have health insurance at all. We did it because millions of families who thought they had coverage were driven into bankruptcy by out-of-pocket costs that they didn't realize would be there. Tens of millions of our fellow citizens couldn’t get any coverage at all. And Dr. King once said, "Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.”

Well, not anymore. (Applause.) Because in the three years since we passed this law, the share of Americans with insurance is up, the growth of health care costs are down to their slowest rate in 50 years. More people have insurance, and more have new benefits and protections -- 100 million Americans who have gained the right for free preventive care like mammograms and contraception; the more than 7 million Americans who have saved an average of $1,200 on their prescription medicine; every American who won’t go broke when they get sick because their insurance can’t limit their care anymore.

More people without insurance have gained insurance -- more than 3 million young Americans who have been able to stay on their parents’ plan, the more than half a million Americans and counting who are poised to get covered starting on January 1st, some for the very first time.

And it is these numbers -- not the ones in any poll -- that will ultimately determine the fate of this law. (Applause.) It's the measurable outcomes in reduced bankruptcies and reduced hours that have been lost because somebody couldn't make it to work, and healthier kids with better performance in schools, and young entrepreneurs who have the freedom to go out there and try a new idea -- those are the things that will ultimately reduce a major source of inequality and help ensure more Americans get the start that they need to succeed in the future.

I have acknowledged more than once that we didn’t roll out parts of this law as well as we should have. But the law is already working in major ways that benefit millions of Americans right now, even as we’ve begun to slow the rise in health care costs, which is good for family budgets, good for federal and state budgets, and good for the budgets of businesses small and large. So this law is going to work. And for the sake of our economic security, it needs to work. (Applause.)

And as people in states as different as California and Kentucky sign up every single day for health insurance, signing up in droves, they’re proving they want that economic security. If the Senate Republican leader still thinks he is going to be able to repeal this someday, he might want to check with the more than 60,000 people in his home state who are already set to finally have coverage that frees them from the fear of financial ruin, and lets them afford to take their kids to see a doctor. (Applause.)

So let me end by addressing the elephant in the room here, which is the seeming inability to get anything done in Washington these days. I realize we are not going to resolve all of our political debates over the best ways to reduce inequality and increase upward mobility this year, or next year, or in the next five years. But it is important that we have a serious debate about these issues. For the longer that current trends are allowed to continue, the more it will feed the cynicism and fear that many Americans are feeling right now -- that they’ll never be able to repay the debt they took on to go to college, they’ll never be able to save enough to retire, they’ll never see their own children land a good job that supports a family.

And that’s why, even as I will keep on offering my own ideas for expanding opportunity, I’ll also keep challenging and welcoming those who oppose my ideas to offer their own. If Republicans have concrete plans that will actually reduce inequality, build the middle class, provide more ladders of opportunity to the poor, let’s hear them. I want to know what they are. If you don’t think we should raise the minimum wage, let’s hear your idea to increase people’s earnings. If you don’t think every child should have access to preschool, tell us what you’d do differently to give them a better shot.

If you still don’t like Obamacare -- and I know you don’t -- (laughter) -- even though it’s built on market-based ideas of choice and competition in the private sector, then you should explain how, exactly, you’d cut costs, and cover more people, and make insurance more secure. You owe it to the American people to tell us what you are for, not just what you’re against. (Applause.) That way we can have a vigorous and meaningful debate. That’s what the American people deserve. That’s what the times demand. It’s not enough anymore to just say we should just get our government out of the way and let the unfettered market take care of it -- for our experience tells us that’s just not true. (Applause.)

Look, I’ve never believed that government can solve every problem or should -- and neither do you. We know that ultimately our strength is grounded in our people -- individuals out there, striving, working, making things happen. It depends on community, a rich and generous sense of community -- that’s at the core of what happens at THEARC here every day. You understand that turning back rising inequality and expanding opportunity requires parents taking responsibility for their kids, kids taking responsibility to work hard. It requires religious leaders who mobilize their congregations to rebuild neighborhoods block by block, requires civic organizations that can help train the unemployed, link them with businesses for the jobs of the future. It requires companies and CEOs to set an example by providing decent wages, and salaries, and benefits for their workers, and a shot for somebody who is down on his or her luck. We know that’s our strength -- our people, our communities, our businesses.

But government can’t stand on the sidelines in our efforts. Because government is us. It can and should reflect our deepest values and commitments. And if we refocus our energies on building an economy that grows for everybody, and gives every child in this country a fair chance at success, then I remain confident that the future still looks brighter than the past, and that the best days for this country we love are still ahead. (Applause.)

Thank you, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)

END
12:20 P.M. EST

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/04/remarks-president-economic-mobility

*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXjksBH9QZE [with comments]; http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/12/04/making-our-economy-work-every-working-american


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The Social Science Behind Obama's Economic-Mobility Speech

Obama laughs with political scientist Robert Putnam before awarding him the 2012 National Humanities Medal during a ceremony at the White House on July 10, 2013.
Robert Putnam, of Bowling Alone fame, has been arguing since 2012 for one approach the president took yesterday.
Dec 5 2013
In a speech Wednesday [above], President Obama sought to move past the old race-based discourse on poverty to an understanding of class stasis as a problem that transcends race. Though he's winning praise [ http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/12/04/obama-confronts-one-of-the-biggest-barriers-to-liberalism-white-people.html ] for strategic smarts, it's not just a political move: The underlying reality of American life really has changed, and certain socioeconomic experiences now transcend race, according to research from the Saguaro Seminar [ http://www.hks.harvard.edu/programs/saguaro/our-research/inequality-growing-youth-class-gap#aspenppt ] at Harvard's Kennedy School.
[...]
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2013/12/the-social-science-behind-obamas-economic-mobility-speech/282068/ [with comments]


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President Obama Speaks on the Affordable Care Act

Published on Dec 3, 2013 by The White House

President Obama says now that HealthCare.gov is working for the vast majority of users, we must refocus on what's truly at stake, which is ensuring Americans have the security of decent health insurance at a reasonable cost.

*

Remarks by the President on the Affordable Care Act

South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

December 03, 2013
2:45 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Thanks to Monica, thanks to everybody standing behind me, and thanks for everybody out there who cares deeply about this issue. Monica’s story is important because for all the day-to-day fights here in Washington around the Affordable Care Act, it’s stories like hers that should remind us why we took on this reform in the first place.

And for too long, few things left working families more vulnerable to the anxieties and insecurities of today’s economy than a broken health care system. So we took up the fight because we believe that, in America, nobody should have to worry about going broke just because somebody in their family or they get sick. We believe that nobody should have to choose between putting food on their kids’ table or taking them to see a doctor. We believe we’re a better country than a country where we allow, every day, 14,000 Americans to lose their health coverage; or where every year, tens of thousands of Americans died because they didn’t have health care; or where out-of-pocket costs drove millions of citizens into poverty in the wealthiest nation on Earth. We thought we were better than that, and that’s why we took this on. (Applause.)

And that’s what’s gotten lost a little bit over the last couple of months. And our focus, rightly, had to shift towards working 24/7 to fix the website, healthcare.gov, for the new marketplaces where people can buy affordable insurance plans. And today, the website is working well for the vast majority of users. More problems may pop up, as they always do when you’re launching something new. And when they do, we’ll fix those, too. But what we also know is that after just the first month, despite all the problems in the rollout, about half a million people across the country are poised to gain health care coverage through marketplaces and Medicaid beginning on January 1st -- some for the very first time. We know that -- half a million people. (Applause.) And that number is increasing every day and it is going to keep growing and growing and growing, because we know that there are 41 million people out there without health insurance. And we know there are a whole bunch of folks out there who are underinsured or don’t have a good deal. And we know the demand is there and we know that the product on these marketplaces is good and it provides choice and competition for people that allow them, in some cases for the very first time, to have the security that health insurance can provide.

The bottom line is this law is working and will work into the future. People want the financial stability of health insurance. And we’re going to keep on working to fix whatever problems come up in any startup, any launch of a project this big that has an impact on one-sixth of our economy, whatever comes up we’re going to just fix it because we know that the ultimate goal, the ultimate aim, is to make sure that people have basic security and the foundation for the good health that they need.

Now, we may never satisfy the law’s opponents. I think that’s fair to say. Some of them are rooting for this law to fail -- that’s not my opinion, by the way, they say it pretty explicitly. (Laughter.) Some have already convinced themselves that the law has failed, regardless of the evidence. But I would advise them to check with the people who are here today and the people that they represent all across the country whose lives have been changed for the better by the Affordable Care Act.

The other day I got a letter from Julia Walsh in California. Earlier this year, Julia was diagnosed with leukemia and lymphoma. “I have a lot of things to worry about,” she wrote. “But thanks to the [Affordable Care Act], there are lots of things I do not have to worry about, like…whether there will be a lifetime cap on benefits, [or] whether my treatment will bankrupt my family…I can’t begin to tell you how much that peace of mind means...” That’s what the Affordable Care Act means to Julia. She already had insurance, by the way, but because this law banned lifetime limits on the care you or your family can receive, she’s never going to have to choose between providing for her kids or getting herself well -- she can do both.

Sam Weir, a doctor in North Carolina, emailed me the other day. “The coming years will be challenging for all of us in family medicine,” he wrote. “But my colleagues and I draw strength from knowing that beginning with the new year the preventive care many of our current patients have been putting off will be covered and the patients we have not yet seen will finally be able to get the care that they have long needed.” That’s the difference that the Affordable Care Act will make for many of Dr. Weir’s patients. Because more than 100 million Americans with insurance have gained access to recommended preventive care like mammograms, or colonoscopies, or flu shots, or contraception to help them stay healthy -- at no out-of-pocket cost. (Applause.)

At the young age of 23, Justine Ula is battling cancer for the second time. And the other day, her mom, Joann, emailed me from Cleveland University Hospital where Justine is undergoing treatment. She told me she stopped by the pharmacy to pick up Justine’s medicine. If Justine were uninsured, it would have cost her $4,500. But she is insured -- because the Affordable Care Act has let her and three million other young people like Monica gain coverage by staying on their parents’ plan until they’re 26. (Applause.) And that means Justine’s mom, all she had to cover was the $25 co-pay.

Because of the Affordable Care Act, more than 7 million seniors and Americans with disabilities have saved an average of $1,200 on their prescription medicine. (Applause.) This year alone, 8.5 million families have actually gotten an average of $100 back from their insurance company -- you don’t hear that very often -- (laughter) -- because it spent too much on things like overhead, and not enough on their care. And, by the way, health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. So we’re actually bending the cost of health care overall, which benefits everybody. (Applause.)

So that’s what this law means to millions of Americans. And my main message today is: We’re not going back. We’re not going to betray Monica, or Julia, or Sam, or Justine, or Joann. (Applause.) I mean, that seems to be the only alternative that Obamacare’s critics have is, well, let’s just go back to the status quo -- because they sure haven’t presented an alternative. If you ask many of the opponents of this law what exactly they’d do differently, their answer seems to be, well, let’s go back to the way things used to be.

Just the other day, the Republican Leader in the Senate was asked what benefits people without health care might see from this law. And he refused to answer, even though there are dozens in this room and tens of thousands in his own state who are already on track to benefit from it. He just repeated “repeal” over and over and over again. And obviously we’ve heard that from a lot of folks on that side of the aisle.

Look, I’ve always said I will work with anybody to implement and improve this law effectively. If you’ve got good ideas, bring them to me. Let’s go. But we’re not repealing it as long as I’m President and I want everybody to be clear about that. (Applause.)

We will make it work for all Americans. If you don’t like this law -- (applause) -- so, if despite all the millions of people who are benefitting from it, you still think this law is a bad idea then you’ve got to tell us specifically what you’d do differently to cut costs, cover more people, make insurance more secure. You can’t just say that the system was working with 41 million people without health insurance. You can’t just say that the system is working when you’ve got a whole bunch of folks who thought they had decent insurance and then when they got sick, it turned out it wasn’t there for them or they were left with tens of thousands of dollars in out-of-pocket costs that were impossible for them to pay.

Right now, what that law is doing -- (baby talks.) Yes, you agree with me. (Laughter.) Right now, what this law is doing is helping folks and we’re just getting started with the exchanges, just getting started with the marketplaces. So we’re not going to walk away from it. If I’ve got to fight another three years to make sure this law works, then that’s what I’ll do. That’s what we’ll do. (Applause.)

But what’s important for everybody to remember is not only that the law has already helped millions of people but that there are millions more who stand to be helped. And we’ve got to make sure they know that. And I’ve said very clearly that our poor execution in the first couple months on the website clouded the fact that there are a whole bunch of people who stand to benefit. Now that the website is working for the vast majority of people, we need to make sure that folks refocus on what’s at stake here, which is the capacity for you or your families to be able to have the security of decent health insurance at a reasonable cost through choice and competition on this marketplace and tax credits that you may be eligible for that can save you hundreds of dollars in premium costs every month, potentially.

So we just need people to -- now that we are getting the technology fixed -- we need you to go back, take a look at what’s actually going on, because it can make a difference in your lives and the lives of your families. And maybe it won’t make a difference right now if you’re feeling healthy, but I promise you, if somebody in your family -- heaven forbid -- gets sick, you’ll see the difference. And it will make all the difference for you and your families.

So I’m going to need some help in spreading the word -- I’m going to need some help in spreading the word. I need you to spread the word about the law, about its benefits, about its protections, about how folks can sign up. Tell your friends. Tell your family. Do not let the initial problems with the website discourage you because it’s working better now and it’s just going to keep on working better over time. Every day I check to make sure that it’s working better. (Laughter.) And we’ve learned not to make wild promises about how perfectly smooth it’s going to be at all time, but if you really want health insurance through the marketplaces, you’re going to be able to get on and find the information that you need for your families at healthcare.gov.

So if you’ve already got health insurance or you’ve already taken advantage of the Affordable Care Act, you’ve got to tell your friends, you’ve got to tell your family. Tell your coworkers. Tell your neighbors. Let’s help our fellow Americans get covered. Let’s give every American a fighting chance in today’s economy.

Thank you so much, everybody. God bless you. God bless America. (Applause.)

END
2:59 P.M. EST

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/03/remarks-president-affordable-care-act

*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg_tQ3tAJMA [with comments]


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Thank You Ted Cruz - TV Ad by Conservative Campaign Committee

Published on Nov 20, 2013 by Conservative Campaign Committee

Support this campaign: https://secure.donationsafe.com/thankyoutedtv

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4d9m-7LXTzI [with comments]


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Right-wing doctors protest Obamacare by refusing to accept [any] insurance

12/06/13
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/right-wing-docs-blast-obamacare-socialism [with comments]

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Anti-Obamacare Doctors Drop Private Insurance To Fight 'Socialism'

December 6, 2013
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/dc/anti-obamacare-doctors-creeping-socialism [with the YouTube, at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrEBBA9hQjA (with comments), embedded, and comments]

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Sue Lowden Defends 'Chickens For Checkups' Proposal

06/27/10
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/27/sue-lowden-backs-down-fro_n_554105.html [with comments]

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(linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=93675334 and preceding and following


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You Can Also Blame Newt Gingrich for the Obamacare Website Screwup

To prevent another Healthcare.gov, Washington could use a digital brain trust. Too bad Newt Gingrich killed the one it had.
Dec. 6, 2013
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/office-technology-assessment-gingrich-obamacare [with comments]


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Exclusive: The Obamacare Error Rate Has Fallen Dramatically
Some perspective on the latest ACA freak-out
DECEMBER 6, 2013
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/115837/834-hysteria-why-obamacares-data-problem-real-fixable [with comments]


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President Obama Speaks at the White House Youth Summit

Published on Dec 4, 2013 by The White House

President Obama delivers remarks at the White House Youth Summit on the Affordable Care Act. The summit brought together over 160 national and local young leaders who have broad reach in their communities and can help get the word out to young Americans about enrolling in health coverage.

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Remarks by the President to ACA Youth Summit

South Court Auditorium
Eisenhower Executive Office Building

December 04, 2013
2:10 P.M. EST

THE PRESIDENT: Hey! (Applause.) Hello, everybody. Hello, hello. Good to see you. Everybody, sit down. Good afternoon. (Applause.) Welcome to the White House. This is a little bit of a rowdy bunch. (Laughter.)

Well, it is wonderful to be with all of you, and I couldn’t be more appreciative of all the stuff that you guys are doing all across the country in your communities, in your organizations. There was a time when I was a young invincible. (Laughter.) After five years in this office, people don’t call me that anymore. (Laughter.)

But I just wanted to drop by and say thank you for everything that you’ve done and will do to spread the word about the Affordable Care Act and what it means for young people. About a year ago, I got a letter from a woman in her twenties; she had just graduated from law school. And she wrote, “Thank you for making health care reform a priority. If you hadn’t, you probably would have fewer gray hairs right now.” (Laughter.) That’s a good point. But her story is a reminder that the law was worth a few gray hairs, because she was one of the 3.1 million young people that this law helped to cover because they could join their parents’ plan. And that means that when she was diagnosed with a potentially deadly autoimmune disorder, she got the care she needed -- medications, blood transfusions, ultimately lifesaving surgery.

She was able to stay in school, graduate first in her class, find a job in her field. And in the letter she wrote, “I’m grateful because the Affordable Care Act saved my life. It saved my family from bankruptcy, and it gave me a future.” So that’s what this law is about: health care that’s there for you when you need it; financial protection for you and your family if you get sick; the security of knowing that an illness or an accident is not going to completely derail your dreams.

And there are a lot of benefits that are especially important to young people. Insurance companies now have to provide free preventive care that will help you stay healthy. They’ll have to provide contraceptive care for women at no extra cost. If you wanted to take a chance and start your own business, or try multiple careers like many young people do, particularly in this economy, before you settle down you’re not going to have to wonder whether or not you can do that because you’re worried about coverage. When you do settle down and start a family, maternal care will be covered. If you’re a woman, you won’t be charged twice as much as men because you’re the one carrying the baby.

So this law is already making a difference for millions of young people, and it’s about to help millions more. About half a million people across the country already are poised to gain coverage on January 1st, some for the very first time. One recent article reported that a surprisingly large number of young people are signing up. And there's a good reason for that: The law works. Most young people without insurance can now get covered for under 100 bucks a month.

Now, I am not allowed, for security reasons, to have an iPhone. (Laughter.) I don’t know what your bills are. I have noticed that Sasha and Malia seem to spend a lot of time on it. (Laughter.) My suspicion is that for a lot of you, between your cable bill, your phone bill, you're spending more than 100 bucks a month. The idea that you wouldn’t want to make sure that you've got the health security and financial security that comes with health insurance for less than that price, you guys are smarter than that. And most young people are, as well.

The product is good. It's affordable. People want financial stability of health insurance. We're going to keep working through any glitches, problems that may come up. Obviously, the website when it was first launched, wasn't in tip-top shape, to say the least. But we have been, 24/7, going at it. And now, for the vast majority of users, it's working. And there will be other things that come up during the course of the next several months, because you're starting off a new program that has an impact on one-sixth of the economy. This is a "big deal," to quote Joe Biden. (Laughter.)

But we're just going to keep on working on it, and improving it, and refining it. And if we see a problem, we're going to fix it. But we're not repealing it -- not as long as I'm President -- (applause) -- particularly because the folks who are criticizing it don’t seem to have any ideas in terms of how to reduce costs; ensure millions of people get coverage for the first time; make sure that insurance is more secure. And those are things that the law is already doing.

And we're going to have to just make sure that people know about it. And that’s why I'm here, because I need your help; that’s why you're here, because you know I need your help. Believe it or not, there are actually organizations that are out there working to convince young people not to get insurance.

Now, think about that. That’s a really bizarre way to spend your money -- to try to convince people not to get health insurance, not to get free preventive care, not to make sure that they're able to survive an accident or an illness. If I had that much money I wouldn’t be spending it that way. And some of these ad campaigns are backed by well-funded special-interest groups -- I assume they've got great health care.

And just remember and remind your friends and your peers -- imagine what happens if you get sick, what happens with the massive bills. The people who are running those ads, they're not going to pay for your illness. You're going to pay for it or your family is going to pay for it. And that's hard to imagine.

Look, I do remember what it's like being 27 or 28, and aside from the occasional basketball injury, most of the time I kind of felt like I had nothing to worry about. Of course, that's what most people think until they have something to worry about. But at that point, oftentimes it's too late. And sometimes in this debate, what we've heard are people saying, well, I don't need this, I don't want this; why are you impinging on my freedom to do whatever I want.

And part of what I say to folks when they tell me that is if you get sick and you get to the hospital, and you don't have any coverage, then somebody else is also going to be paying for it. It may be your family that can afford it, or it may be everybody else who does have health insurance and is acting responsibly, and is essentially subsidizing for your care. And that's not what I think most young people want. They want to be independent, and this is part of feeling and being financially, and from a health perspective, secure.

So I'm going to need you all to spread the word about how the Affordable Care Act really works, what its benefits are, what its protections are and, most importantly, how people can sign up. I know people call this law Obamacare. And that's okay -- (laughter) -- because I do care. (Laughter and applause.) I do. I care about you. I care about families. I care about Americans. (Applause.)

But no matter how much I care, the truth is, is that for your friends and your family, the most important source of information is not going to be me, it's going to be you. They are going to trust you. If you're taking them on a website, walking them through it saying, look at the price you're able to get, look at the benefits you're able to get. That's what's going to be making a difference.

So if you're a student body president, set up a conference on campus. If you work at a nonprofit, open your doors and use your email list to help people learn the facts. If you've got a radio show, spread the word on air. If you're a bartender, have a happy hour -- (laughter) -- and also probably get health insurance, because a lot of bartenders don't have it. Post something on your Facebook or Instagram. You can tweet using the hashtag #getcovered. But do whatever it takes to make sure people have the information they need to make the decision that's right for them.

If you're in a state that has its own state exchange, they're probably doing a lot of activities and you should plug into those as well. If you're in a state that so far has not decided to set up a state exchange, then obviously we can make sure that you have all the information you need to succeed. But the bottom line is I'm going to need you, and the country needs you. And a lot of your friends and peers, they may not know that they need you, but if something happens somewhere down the road where they really need to get to a hospital or a doctor, the fact that you have talked to them and gotten them involved is going to make all the difference in the world.

And finally, let me just make a broader point to all the young people here. This whole exercise obviously has huge implications for this country’s future, because if we can start bringing down health care costs, make sure people are covered, give people financial security, that’s good for the economy, it’s good for businesses, it’s good for the federal budget.

But I hope you haven’t been discouraged by how hard it’s been, because stuff that’s worth it is always hard. The Civil Rights Movement was hard. Getting women the right to vote -- that was hard. Making sure that workers had the right to organize -- that was hard. It’s never been easy for us to change how we do business in this country and particularly to address needs that a lot of people aren’t worried about on a day-to-day constant basis but then suddenly are desperately worried about it when a mishap happens.

So this has been the case for Social Security, for Medicare, for all the great social progress that we’ve made in this country. And I wanted to say all that just because my hope is not only that you work hard to help folks get signed up today and tomorrow and next week, but I look around the room and I see a lot of leaders who are going to be leading the charge well into the future on a whole range of issues. Don’t get discouraged. Be persistent. You may get a few gray hairs as a consequence -- (laughter) -- but I think at the end of the day you’ll think it’s worth it.

Thank you, guys. (Applause.)

END
2:23 P.M. EST

http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/04/remarks-president-aca-youth-summit

*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gqLNlC32w40 [with comments]; http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2013/12/04/white-house-youth-summit-making-sure-people-have-information-they-need-getcovered


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Halloween Horror 2013 - Get The Door, Chad - Creepy Uncle Sam

Published on Oct 25, 2013 by MyGenOpportunity

Empower yourself by opting out of Obamacare.
Visit http://optout.org for more information

Good news: you are not required to purchase health insurance through an Obamacare exchange! There are cheaper, better options for young people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQvfwW5zflY [with comments]

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Opt Out - Not A Game - Creepy Uncle Sam

Published on Dec 5, 2013 by MyGenOpportunity

Empower yourself by opting out of Obamacare.
Visit http://optout.org for more information

Good news: you are not required to purchase health insurance through an Obamacare exchange! There are cheaper, better options for young people.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxth5wDNH30 [with comments]

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(linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=92205081 and preceding and following


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Controversial Toronto mayor slams O-Care

By Justin Sink - 12/05/13 11:46 AM EST

Controversial Toronto Mayor Rob Ford slammed President Obama's signature healthcare law during an appearance on a Washington, D.C., sports radio talk show Thursday.

"I don’t believe in all this public-funded health care because we gotta pay for it," Ford told WJFK's "The Sports Junkies."

Ford said that in Canada, the country "can't afford" their universal health coverage.

“What you guys are doing down there, I just, I can’t get my head around it because it’s costing a fortune, and I don’t know where you guys are going to find the money, except the taxpayers pockets," he continued.

“And I think people are taxed to death, and I don’t mind two-tier healthcare; if you want healthcare, you pay for it. I understand that. And we have general healthcare up here, or OHIP we call it, but, you know, it’s gonna cost a fortune for you guys to put in this ObamaCare, and I just don’t see how the people are going to be able to afford it, to tell you the truth.”

Ford added that he personally liked Obama but that he did not "like his politics."

The embattled Canadian mayor admitted last month that he had purchased and smoked crack cocaine. On Wednesday, police documents said Ford offered $5,000 and a car for a video that reportedly shows the mayor smoking the crack.

During his appearance on the show, Ford denied the police findings.

"No. 1, that’s an outright lie," Ford said. "And No. 2, you can talk to my lawyers about it. But I'm here to talk football, guys."

The Toronto mayor said he also differed with Obama on the controversy over the Washington Redskins' team name. He said both the Washington franchise and baseball's Cleveland Indians should keep their names.

"What are we going to call them next, the Cleveland Aboriginals?" he said.

In an interview with The Associated Press earlier this year, Obama said he'd "think about changing" the team name if he owned the franchise.

©2013 Capitol Hill Publishing Corp., a subsidiary of News Communications, Inc.

http://thehill.com/homenews/administration/192185-controversial-toronto-mayor-slams-obamacare [with embedded video report, and comments]

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(linked in) http://investorshub.advfn.com/boards/read_msg.aspx?message_id=93752972 and preceding and following


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President Obama on Hardball FULL Interview 12/5/13

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsvkVvEqaPY [with comments] [also at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2C_pnKmQGk (with comments)]


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George and Laura Bush for the Holidays
http://www.hulu.com/watch/568425 [via/embedded at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/12/06/george-w-bush-christmas-ornaments-kimmel_n_4399481.html (with comments)]