Pivot

After announcing that he'd signed the bill that lifted the debt ceiling, and reinterating why revenues, especially from the wealthiest taxpayers and corporations, were essential in the next round of deficit reduction, President Obama talked about jobs.

In a Rose Garden statement, the President renewed his call for Congress to pass pending legislation that will stimulate job creation, including an infrastructure bank.  He urged that middle class tax cuts be continued, and unemployment insurance be extended.  He said he would have more proposals for Congress when they return from recess.

After repeating that the manufactured crisis caused by Republicans was entirely unnecessary and itself hurt the economy, he ended his statement with this blunt assessment:

"So, we’ve seen in the past few days that Washington has the ability to focus when there’s a timer ticking down, and when there’s a looming disaster. It shouldn’t take the risk of default -– the risk of economic catastrophe -– to get folks in this town to work together and do their jobs. Because there’s already a quiet crisis going on in the lives of a lot of families, in a lot of communities, all across the country. They’re looking for work, and they have been for a while; or they’re making do with fewer hours or fewer customers; or they’re just trying to make ends meet. That ought to compel Washington to cooperate. That ought to compel Washington to compromise, and it ought to compel Washington to act. That ought to be enough to get all of us in this town to do the jobs we were sent here to do. We’ve got to do everything in our power to grow this economy and put America back to work."