U.S. President Barack Obama says with the right policies, the U.S. economy can continue to grow so everyone who works hard can get ahead.
In his weekly address Saturday, Obama said the $4 trillion spending proposal he sent to Congress Monday is built on middle-class economics. He said his proposed 2016 budget could help families afford childcare, health care, college, paid leave at work, home ownership and savings for retirement, and could return thousands of dollars to a working family’s pockets each year.
The president said he will work with anyone, Republican or Democrat, who is willing to "give working families more security in a time of constant economic change."
In his address, Obama highlighted the U.S. economy’s progress, with more than 3.1 million jobs created in 2014 and a net gain of 267,000 jobs last month.
The president's budget blueprint calls for higher taxes on the wealthy, an end to mandated spending cuts and more money to help the country's financially strapped middle class.
While many Democrats have embraced the proposed budget, it has generated strong objections from Republican lawmakers, with many saying the proposals are too costly. Republicans also repeatedly have rejected the president's call for higher taxes on the wealthy.
They have instead sought entitlement reforms to government pensions for older Americans and health care programs, in a push to rein in costs that are growing with the aging U.S. population.
