English subtitles for clip: File:2012-04-21 President Obama's Weekly Address.ogv

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The President:
Hi.

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This week, I got the chance to
sit down with some impressive

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students at Lorain County
Community College in Ohio.

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One of them was a woman
named Andrea Ashley.

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Two years ago, Andrea lost
her job as an HR analyst.

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And today, she's getting
certified in the fast-growing

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field of electronic
medical records.

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Before enrolling at Lorain,
Andrea told me she was looking

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everywhere trying
to find a new job.

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But without a degree, she said
that nobody would hire her.

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Andrea's story isn't unique.

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I've met so many Americans
who are out there pounding the

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pavement looking for work
only to discover that they

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need new skills.

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And I've met a lot of employers
who are looking for workers,

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but can't find ones with the
skills they're looking for.

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So we should be doing everything
we can to put higher education

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within reach for
every American --

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because at a time when the
unemployment rate for Americans

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with at least a college degree
is about half the national

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average, it's never
been more important.

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But here's the thing: it's
also never been more expensive.

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Students who take out loans to
pay for college graduate owing

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an average of $25,000.

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For the first time, Americans
owe more debt on their student

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loans than they do on
their credit cards.

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And for many working families,
the idea of owing that much

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money means that higher
education is simply out of reach

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for their children.

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Now in America, higher
education cannot be a luxury.

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It's an economic imperative
that every family must be able

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to afford.

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That's why next week I'll be
visiting colleges across the

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country, talking to students
about how we can make higher

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education more affordable --
and what's at stake right now if

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Congress doesn't do
something about it.

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You see, if Congress
doesn't act,

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on July 1st interest rates on
some student loans will double.

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Nearly seven and half million
students will end up owing more

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on their loan payments.

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That would be a tremendous blow.

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And it's completely preventable.

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This issue didn't
come out of nowhere.

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For some time now, I've been
calling on Congress to take

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steps to make higher
education more affordable --

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to prevent these interest
rates from doubling,

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to extend the tuition tax credit
that has saved middle-class

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families millions of dollars,
and to double the number of

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work-study jobs over
the next five years.

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Instead, over the
past few years,

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Republicans in Congress have
voted against new ways to make

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college more affordable
for middle-class families,

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while voting for huge new tax
cuts for millionaires and

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billionaires -- tax cuts that
would have to be paid for by

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cutting things like education
and job-training programs that

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give students new opportunities
to work and succeed.

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We cannot just cut
our way to prosperity.

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Making it harder for our
young people to afford higher

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education and earn their degrees
is nothing more than cutting our

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own future off at the knees.

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Congress needs to keep interest
rates on student loans from

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doubling, and they
need to do it now.

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This is a question of values.

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We cannot let America become a
country where a shrinking number

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of people do really well, while
a growing number of people

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struggle to get by.

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We've got to build an economy
where everyone gets a fair shot,

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everyone does their fair share,
and everyone plays by the same

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set of rules.

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That's how the middle
class gets stronger.

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That's an economy
that's built to last.

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And I'm not only going to take
that case to college campuses

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next week -- I'm going to
take it to every part of the

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country this year.

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Thanks, and have
a great weekend.