Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
Miami, Florida
March 5, 2011

I’m talking with you from Miami, Florida, where I’m visiting Miami Central High School, a school that’s turning itself around on behalf of its kids.  And I came here with Jeb Bush, former governor of this state, because he and I share the view that education isn’t a partisan¹（党派的） issue – it’s an American issue.

But in a larger sense, this is a moment when we’ve all got to do what the students and teachers are doing here.  We’ve got to step up our game.

Our top priority right now has to be creating new jobs and opportunities in a fiercely competitive world.  And this week, we received very good news on that front.  We learned that the unemployment rate has fallen to its lowest level in nearly two years as our economy added another 222,000 private sector² jobs last month.

Now, we have a lot more work to do, not just for the Americans who still don’t have a job, but for the millions more who still don’t have the right job or all the work they need to live out the American Dream.  But the progress we’re seeing says something about the determination and ingenuity³ of our people and our businesses.  What’s also helping⁴ to fuel this economic growth are the tax cuts that Democrats⁵ and Republicans came together to pass in December and I signed into law – tax cuts that are already making Americans’ paychecks bigger and allowing businesses to write off their investments, freeing up more money for job creation.

Just as both parties cooperated on tax relief that is now fueling job growth, we need to come together around a budget that cuts spending without slowing our economic momentum⁶.  We need a government that lives within its means without sacrificing job-creating investments in education, innovation, and infrastructure⁷.

The budget I sent to Congress makes these investments, but it also includes a 5-year spending freeze, and it will reduce our deficits⁸ by $1 trillion over the next decade.  In fact, the cuts I’ve proposed would bring annual domestic spending to its lowest share of the economy under any president in more than 50 years.

Over the last few weeks, Members of Congress have been debating their own proposals.  And I was pleased that Democrats and Republicans in Congress came together a few days ago and passed a plan to cut spending and keep the government running for two more weeks.  Still, we can’t do business two weeks at a time.  It’s not responsible, and it threatens the progress our economy has been making.  We’ve got to keep that momentum going.

We need to come together, Democrats and Republicans, around a long-term budget that sacrifices wasteful⁹ spending without sacrificing the job-creating investments in our future.  My administration has already put forward specific cuts that meet congressional Republicans halfway¹⁰.  And I’m prepared to do more. But we’ll only finish the job together – by sitting at the same table, working out our differences, and finding common ground.  That’s why I’ve asked Vice¹¹ President Biden and members of my Administration to meet with leaders of Congress going forward.

Getting our fiscal¹²（会计的，财政的） house in order can’t just be something we use as cover to do away with things we dislike politically.  And it can’t just be about how much we cut.  It’s got to be about how we cut and how we invest.  We’ve got to be smart about it.  Because if we cut back on the kids I’ve met here and their education, for example, we’d be risking the future of an entire generation of Americans.  And there’s nothing responsible about that.

We’ve got to come together to put America back on a fiscally¹³ sustainable course – and make sure that when it comes to the economy of the 21st century, our children and our country are better-prepared than anyone else in the world to take it on.  Our future depends on it.  That’s not a Democratic or a Republican challenge – that’s an American challenge.  And I’m confident it’s one we’ll meet.  Thanks for listening.