Obama: Recovery Means Investing in Small Business, Infrastructure

President Barack Obama spoke to an audience this week in Cleveland, Ohio, about his plan to stimulate the economy by helping out the middle class and small businesses.

Obama’s talk comes on the wake of another speech in Cleveland made by Republican House Minority Leader John Boehner. He spoke about his party’s solutions to the economic crisis, which included extending the Bush-era tax cuts to the wealthy.

Regarding the Republican plan, Obama said, “Instead of setting our sights higher, they’re asking us to settle for a status quo of stagnant growth and eroding competitiveness and a shrinking middle class.”

Instead, Obama would like to extend the cuts for only the middle and lower class, as well as expand the Research and Experimentation Tax Credit. He would also like to pass a small-business jobs bill, which would eliminate capital gains taxes on investments in small firms and give them more access to credit so they can invest and grow.

Obama said a true recovery “means making the long-term investments in this country’s future that individuals and corporations can’t make on their own:  investments in education and clean energy, in basic research and technology and infrastructure.”

“That means making sure corporations live up to their responsibilities to treat consumers fairly and play by the same rules as everyone else,” he added. “Their responsibility is to look out for their workers, as well as their shareholders, and create jobs here at home.”