奥巴马竞选演讲稿 The Change We Need
This is a defining moment in our history. We face the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression -- 760,000 workers
have lost their jobs this year. Businesses and families can't get credit. Home values are falling, and pensions are
disappearing. Wages are lower than they've been in a decade, at a time when the costs of health care and college have never
been higher.
At a moment like this, we can't afford four more years of spending increases, poorly designed tax cuts, or the complete
lack of regulatory oversight that even former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan now believes was a mistake. America
needs a new direction. That's why I'm running for president of the United States.
Tomorrow, you can give this country the change we need.
My opponent, Senator McCain, has served his country honorably. He can even point to a few moments in the past where he
has broken from his party. But over the past eight years, he's voted with President Bush 90% of the time. And when it comes
to the economy, he still can't tell the American people one major thing he'd do differently from George Bush.
It's not change to come up with a tax plan that doesn't give a penny of relief to more than 100 million middle-class
Americans -- a plan that even the National Review and other conservative organizations complain does far too little to
benefit the middle class. It's not change to add more than $5 trillion to the deficits we've run up in recent years. It's not
change to come up with a plan to address our housing crisis that puts another $300 billion of taxpayer money at risk -- a
plan that the editorial board of this newspaper said 'raises more questions than it answers.'
If there's one thing we've learned from this economic crisis, it's that we are all in this together. From CEOs to
shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans
prosper, the more America prospers.
That's why we've had titans of industry who've made it their mission to pay well enough that their employees could afford
the products they made -- businessmen like Warren Buffett, whose support I'm proud to have. That's why our economy hasn't
just been the world's greatest wealth creator -- it's been the world's greatest job generator. It's been the tide that has
lifted the boats of the largest middle class in history.
To rebuild that middle class, I'll give a tax break to 95% of workers and their families. If you work, pay taxes, and
make less than $200,000, you'll get a tax cut. If you make more than $250,000, you'll still pay taxes at a lower rate than in
the 1990s -- and capital gains and dividend taxes one-third lower than they were under President Reagan.
We'll create two million new jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure and laying broadband lines that reach every
corner of the country. I'll invest $15 billion a year over the next decade in renewable energy, creating five million new,
green jobs that pay well, can't be outsourced, and can help end our dependence on Middle East oil.
When it comes to health care, we don't have to choose between a government-run system and the unaffordable one we have
now. My opponent's plan would make you pay taxes on your health-care benefits for the first time in history. My plan will
make health care affordable and accessible for every American. If you already have health insurance, the only change you'll
see under my plan is lower premiums. If you don't, you'll be able to get the same kind of plan that members of Congress get
for themselves.
To give every child a world-class education so they can compete in this global economy for the jobs of the 21st century,
