President Obama Urges Congress Forward for the Sake of Middle Class Paychecks

This morning the President met with his Export Council to continue work on his goal of doubling our exports for goods and services over five years and creating millions of jobs in the process.  But as he continues to pursure this medium-term goal, he took a moment in his opening remarks to make clear there is a much more urgent and time-senstive matter at hand:

Now, everyone in this room is committed to promoting a strong and growing economy -- one that’s creating jobs, fostering a thriving middle class, and extending opportunity for all who are willing to work for it.

And as we meet here, there is an important debate I think most of you are aware of on Capitol Hill that will determine, in part, whether our economy moves forward or backward.  The bipartisan framework that we’ve forged on taxes will not only protect working Americans from seeing a major tax increase on January 1st; it will provide businesses incentives to invest, grow and hire.  And every economist that I’ve talked to or that I’ve read over the last couple of days acknowledges that this agreement would boost economic growth in the coming years and has the potential to create millions of jobs.  The average American family will start 2011 knowing that there will be more money to pay the bills each month, more money to pay for tuition, more money to raise their children.

But if this framework fails, the reverse is true.  Americans would see it in smaller paychecks that would have the effect of fewer jobs. 

So as we meet here today to talk about one important facet of our economic strategy for the future, I urge members of Congress to move forward on this essential priority.

A chart from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, via Ezra Klein, demonstrates just how much of this package goes to middle class and working families: