English subtitles for clip: File:2015-04-11 President Obama's Weekly Address.webm
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1 00:00:09,943 --> 00:00:11,177 The Vice President: Ladies and Gentlemen, 2 00:00:11,177 --> 00:00:13,113 this is Joe Biden and I'm here filling in for President Obama, 3 00:00:13,113 --> 00:00:15,382 who is traveling abroad. 4 00:00:15,382 --> 00:00:18,817 And I'm here with a simple message: middle-class 5 00:00:18,818 --> 00:00:20,854 economics works. 6 00:00:20,854 --> 00:00:24,290 Our economy has gone from crisis to recovery to now to 7 00:00:24,290 --> 00:00:28,360 resurgence-with the longest streak of consecutive job 8 00:00:28,361 --> 00:00:32,399 growth ever recorded in the history of this country and 9 00:00:32,399 --> 00:00:34,901 more than all other advanced countries combined. 10 00:00:34,901 --> 00:00:38,238 But to make sure everyone is part of this resurgence, 11 00:00:38,238 --> 00:00:41,508 we need to build on what we know widens the path to the 12 00:00:41,508 --> 00:00:44,043 middle class-and you all know what it is, 13 00:00:44,043 --> 00:00:46,211 access to education. 14 00:00:46,212 --> 00:00:48,515 Folks, the source of our economic power and middle 15 00:00:48,515 --> 00:00:51,584 class strength in the 20th Century was the fact that we 16 00:00:51,584 --> 00:00:53,820 were among the first major nations in the world to 17 00:00:53,820 --> 00:00:57,557 provide twelve years of free education for our citizens. 18 00:00:57,557 --> 00:01:00,393 But in the 21st Century, other countries have already 19 00:01:00,393 --> 00:01:03,897 caught up and twelve years is simply no longer enough-a 20 00:01:03,897 --> 00:01:07,434 minimum of fourteen years is necessary for families to 21 00:01:07,434 --> 00:01:09,736 have a surer path to the middle class and for the 22 00:01:09,736 --> 00:01:12,405 United States to be able to out-compete the rest of 23 00:01:12,405 --> 00:01:13,406 the world. 24 00:01:13,406 --> 00:01:15,942 Consider that by the end of the decade, 25 00:01:15,942 --> 00:01:19,446 two out of three of all jobs will require an education 26 00:01:19,446 --> 00:01:23,048 beyond high school, from an 18-week certificate to a 27 00:01:23,049 --> 00:01:26,686 two-year associate's degree to a four-year bachelor's, 28 00:01:26,686 --> 00:01:28,822 or a PhD. 29 00:01:28,822 --> 00:01:31,991 And consider that folks with an associate's degree earn 30 00:01:31,991 --> 00:01:34,928 25% more than someone who graduated just from 31 00:01:34,928 --> 00:01:36,229 high school. 32 00:01:36,229 --> 00:01:38,898 And folks who graduate with a four-year degree make 33 00:01:38,898 --> 00:01:40,667 70% more. 34 00:01:40,667 --> 00:01:43,903 But today, the cost of higher education is too high 35 00:01:43,903 --> 00:01:46,773 for too many Americans. 36 00:01:46,773 --> 00:01:49,875 Too many folks are priced out of a piece of the 37 00:01:49,876 --> 00:01:50,877 middle-class dream. 38 00:01:50,877 --> 00:01:53,545 And that's why the President and I have a straightforward 39 00:01:53,546 --> 00:01:57,016 plan to remove that barrier and expand the pathway to 40 00:01:57,016 --> 00:01:59,786 the middle class-by bringing the cost of community 41 00:01:59,786 --> 00:02:03,823 colleges down-down to zero. 42 00:02:03,823 --> 00:02:06,892 Zero-for anyone willing to work for it and for the 43 00:02:06,893 --> 00:02:10,396 institutions that meet certain basic requirements. 44 00:02:10,395 --> 00:02:12,432 Our plan is no give-away. 45 00:02:12,432 --> 00:02:15,301 Students must keep up their grades and stay on track 46 00:02:15,301 --> 00:02:16,636 to graduate. 47 00:02:16,636 --> 00:02:19,506 States must contribute funding and hold community 48 00:02:19,506 --> 00:02:22,041 colleges accountable for the results. 49 00:02:22,041 --> 00:02:25,879 And community colleges must maintain high graduation and 50 00:02:25,879 --> 00:02:26,980 job placement rates. 51 00:02:26,980 --> 00:02:30,149 And here's a key point-community colleges 52 00:02:30,149 --> 00:02:32,352 will have to offer courses that are directly 53 00:02:32,352 --> 00:02:35,355 transferrable to a four-year degree. 54 00:02:35,355 --> 00:02:38,725 If two years of community college are free-and credits 55 00:02:38,725 --> 00:02:41,027 can transfer to a four-year university-that means the 56 00:02:41,027 --> 00:02:44,631 cost of a four-year degree will be cut in half for a 57 00:02:44,631 --> 00:02:46,799 lot of working families struggling to send their 58 00:02:46,799 --> 00:02:49,802 children to college, qualified children. 59 00:02:49,802 --> 00:02:52,405 And under our plan, students from low-income families 60 00:02:52,405 --> 00:02:54,774 will be able to keep the benefits that flow from 61 00:02:54,774 --> 00:02:56,776 other financial aid, like Pell grants, 62 00:02:56,776 --> 00:03:00,413 to cover childcare, housing, transportation-costs that 63 00:03:00,413 --> 00:03:03,883 often keep them from attending class and 64 00:03:03,883 --> 00:03:06,219 completing a degree in the first place. 65 00:03:06,219 --> 00:03:07,853 But here's another key point. 66 00:03:07,854 --> 00:03:10,657 Not every good-paying job will require a two-year or 67 00:03:10,657 --> 00:03:12,425 four-year degree. 68 00:03:12,425 --> 00:03:14,694 Some of these jobs will require just a training 69 00:03:14,694 --> 00:03:17,730 certificate that can be earned in just a few months. 70 00:03:17,730 --> 00:03:21,968 For example, you can go to an 18-week coding 71 00:03:21,968 --> 00:03:25,971 bootcamp-with no previous experience in computers-and 72 00:03:25,972 --> 00:03:29,976 become a computer programmer making up to $70,000 a year. 73 00:03:29,976 --> 00:03:32,679 There are other jobs in fields like advanced 74 00:03:32,679 --> 00:03:36,683 manufacturing and energy that pay $40,000, $50,000, 75 00:03:36,683 --> 00:03:41,521 $60,000 a year-jobs you can raise a family on. 76 00:03:41,521 --> 00:03:43,655 It's a simple fact that community colleges are the 77 00:03:43,656 --> 00:03:47,994 most flexible educational institutions we have. 78 00:03:47,994 --> 00:03:49,996 I've traveled all over this country, 79 00:03:49,996 --> 00:03:51,998 from New York to Iowa to California, 80 00:03:51,998 --> 00:03:54,267 to see how community colleges create partnerships 81 00:03:54,267 --> 00:03:57,704 with Fortune 500 companies and local businesses to 82 00:03:57,704 --> 00:04:01,007 generate jobs; support apprenticeships with 83 00:04:01,007 --> 00:04:03,943 organized labor, and prepare hardworking students for 84 00:04:03,943 --> 00:04:07,580 good-paying jobs in the areas in which they live. 85 00:04:07,580 --> 00:04:11,551 Making community colleges free is good for workers, 86 00:04:11,551 --> 00:04:14,821 it's good for companies, and it's good for our economy. 87 00:04:14,821 --> 00:04:18,625 Here's what we propose: Close loopholes for the 88 00:04:18,625 --> 00:04:20,892 wealthiest investors and levy a . 89 00:04:20,892 --> 00:04:25,732 07% fee on the biggest banks to discourage the kind of 90 00:04:25,732 --> 00:04:28,868 risky behavior that crashed our economy just a few 91 00:04:28,868 --> 00:04:30,603 years ago. 92 00:04:30,603 --> 00:04:34,374 Doing just that would pay for free community 93 00:04:34,374 --> 00:04:37,777 college-and provide a leg up for working families through 94 00:04:37,777 --> 00:04:41,781 tax credits to cover necessities like childcare. 95 00:04:41,781 --> 00:04:43,916 That's what middle-class economics is all 96 00:04:43,916 --> 00:04:47,620 about-giving folks a fair chance to get ahead. 97 00:04:47,620 --> 00:04:48,621 A fair tax code. 98 00:04:48,621 --> 00:04:49,621 No guarantees. 99 00:04:49,622 --> 00:04:51,824 Just a fair chance. 100 00:04:51,824 --> 00:04:55,094 It's simple folks, two years of community college should 101 00:04:55,094 --> 00:04:57,964 become as free and as universal as high school is 102 00:04:57,964 --> 00:05:01,801 today if we're to make this economic resurgence 103 00:05:01,801 --> 00:05:04,604 permanent and well into the 21st Century. 104 00:05:04,604 --> 00:05:06,938 So I want to thank you all for listening. 105 00:05:06,939 --> 00:05:09,676 I hope you have a great weekend and God bless you 106 00:05:09,676 --> 00:05:11,678 all and may God protect our troops.