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Highest Jobless Rate Since 1984; Obama Previews Jobs Speech in Detroit; Study Drug or Dangerous Habit
Aired September 05, 2011 - 13:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
TED ROWLANDS, CNN ANCHOR: We begin this hour with the biggest fire in Texas. And believe me, that is saying something. This has been the worst fire season in Texas history, and this is the worst of more than 35 fires burning right now. It is just southeast of Austin in Bastrop County, 25,000 acres and 300 homes turned to cinders, a thousand other homes are threatened. Firefighters are attacking on the ground and from the air. And CNN's Chris Welch is in the thick of it. Chris, are they making any headway at all?
CHRIS WELCH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, not exactly. This is a very bad day for fighting a fire, to put it lightly. Officials here caution -- you know, they asked everybody to evacuate yesterday in these -- in these hardest hit areas. This fire continues to move south, moving through neighborhoods. Now, thankfully -- this is one thing I think we can be thankful for, it's moving into areas that are less populated. But 5,000 people have already evacuated and they expect that number to grow today.
I want to give a quick look at some of the plumes we've been looking at today. We've seen this smoke rise and fall as it goes through the thicker woods, as it goes through grass. We see less smoke, more as it goes through the woods. But you know what? We just -- we also got done, though, watching a press conference here just a short time ago where officials are basically, at this point, trying to -- trying to encourage residents to keep their spirits high.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
JUDGE RONNIE MCDONALD, BASTROP COUNTY, TEXAS: As a community in Bastrop, we've always come together, and saw this in INAUDIBLE community. I want to make sure that we're all praying for each other and continue to pray through this process, because this is something that goes beyond man.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
WELCH: So, there are residents who we talked to here at the shelter, there's about -- there's five official shelters set up throughout the state. Several others they guess, maybe dozens of pop up unofficial shelters to house these people who have been forced out of their homes. And the people who are here say we were forced out yesterday, we are just waiting here, we have no idea, at this point, whether house, whether our life, our belongings, you know a lot of these people are ranchers, whether their herds are still there -- Ted. ROWLANDS: And a lot of those people, Chris, correct me if I'm wrong, didn't have a lot of time to gather what they could to get out because this was moving so quickly.
WELCH: Right. As soon as they found that -- you know, I spoke to one woman who, yesterday, looked out in the sky and said, it kind of looks like a storm. And then the more they looked at it, you know, this may not be a storm and they started to call 911, numbers were busy, they finally got through and they said, you need to stop what you're doing, you need to hang up the phone, and you need to get out. So, they got their pets, they got in the car, and they got out of harm's way. And they are just waiting now to see what happens.
ROWLANDS: All right. Chris Welch, thank you. Joining us from Texas.
Well, they got the wind, if only those folks in Texas could have gotten some of the rain from Tropical Storm Lee. It is not a tropical storm anymore, of course, not even technically tropical, but it is still a ferocious rain maker more than a day after coming ashore in Louisiana. It's prompted a flash flood emergency in Mississippi and flood watches as far north as New England where it is already very wet.
Parts of the southeast could pick up six or more inches of rain today and tomorrow, which could mean more scenes like this. This is Jefferson Parish just a few -- just south of New Orleans after some 11 inches of rain made worst by a title surge from the south. My colleague, Ed Lavandera, is there.
ED LAVANDERA, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Ted, officials here in Jefferson Paris, south of New Orleans, are hoping that in the coming hours the winds will begin to shift. Instead of pushing towards the north, that they will shift and start pushing back towards the south. What will that mean for this area that has seen floodwaters creep in to communities here over the last couple of days? They hope that that means they will give the flood waters here a chance to recede and go back into the canals and waterways.
For now, the northern winds have been pushing the water out of the canals, out of the waterways and into these communities. And you see several hundred homes like this that have -- they have water literally on the doorstep, on the brink of going in and having many homes take on water.
There's only been a handful of homes that have gotten water inside of them so far, but here in the town of Crown Point and nearby Lafitte, there is a frantic effort going on to battle back and push back these floodwaters as long as possible as they wait for these winds to shift. They've been using massive sandbags and makeshift levees to control some of water that have been pushed -- that has been pushed out of the waterways and into these communities.
Of course, folks around here are very much used to this, but they know it's a struggle and a fight every time this happens, and it's also a costly fight. Jefferson parish spending more than $200,000 to fight back these floodwaters -- Ted. ROWLANDS: All right, thanks, Ed. CNN's Reynolds wolf is making his way through central Mississippi at this hour. We have him on the phone now, Reynolds, tell us what you're seeing now and what you expect to see.
REYNOLDS WOLF, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, what we've been seeing so far, Ted, we're making our way north on U.S. 49 on our way just south of Jackson, where there's been one community, actually where we had 28 families that were reportedly evacuated by the local fire department due to a flash flood. Now, flash flooding, of course by its nature, means plain and simple, that the waters really rise in a flash but they also move out quickly. So, there's a very good chance by the time we show up at his place, the waters will have receded but still a great deal of water damage.
The families have been evacuated from this area, they're currently in shelters at the time being. There is a chance they may be allowed back to their homes by this afternoon, perhaps later this evening, perhaps even tomorrow. But still there has been, of course, the possibility of more rainfall in the forecast so, yes, there may see more episodes of flash flooding. And not only in parts of Mississippi, but perhaps even into Alabama, and then later today and tonight, perhaps into Georgia, into Tennessee, and even the Carolinas.
But I can tell you that just firsthand as you make your way -- our way north on the Gulf Coast up towards Jackson, the rain has been intermittent at best. A few heavy downpours, the rain has greatly diminished, but as this system pulls away, the rain -- the rain certainly should be less of a threat as well will be flash flooding -- Ted.
ROWLANDS: All right. Thanks, Reynolds. Meteorologist Jacqui Jeras is watching the floods, watching the fires, and watching the storms that are still way out in the ocean. Jacqui, let's start here in the southeast. How much rain do you expect ahead for us?
JACQUI JERAS, AMS METEOROLOGIST: Well, we're talking about a good four to eight inches out there, Ted. And we're focusing now -- and you know, the rain pulling out of Mississippi and now really heavy across Alabama and Georgia, I think that's where the worst of it is going to be, but also one of the great concerns as this moves into the southern Appalachians, you get the terrain in there and that elevation, the rain comes down heavier and you also worry about the threat of mudslides.
We're tracking tornados at this hour, too. We've been seeing these outer bands moving through the panhandle on up into Alabama and then to Georgia. You can see the tornado watches which are effect. The first one here until 4:00 local time, and the second one here which includes the Atlanta metro area until 8:00 tonight, and those could get extended as these little bands come on through spin-ups. But we have had some minor damage so be aware that these things do happen with our tropical system.
Now, the flood watches and warnings are stretched all the way through the southeast, through the Appalachians, through the mid-Atlantic and even into the Northeast. We had that cold front which is impacting the northeast, and we're going to see the remnants of Lee ride up the coast. So, this is going to be with us really all week long.
How much rain? Let's talk a little bit more specifically. Our computer model forecast showing you there's the heavy of it -- the heaviest of it. Northern Alabama into Tennessee and then pushing up into the Virginias and then into the Northeast, the worst of it staying into the interior as well. Of course, this is a holiday, a lot of people trying to travel and we've got a lot of problems as a result of that. I'm actually a little surprised the northeastern airports are doing pretty good overall, Detroit, 45 minute arrival delays, 50 minutes in San Francisco for you, and Teterboro at 30 minutes, but do watch for those northeastern airports to have trouble later on.
We're also keeping an eye on Hurricane Katia, a cat-2 storm right now, maximum winds around 110 miles per hour. The latest forecast keep it away from the U.S., so at least we can breathe a little bit easier at this point on that one.
ROWLANDS: All right, thanks for some good news. Thanks, Jacqui.
We are waiting President Obama in Detroit. He is talking jobs and so are we. See the podium there live, coming up we'll take a closer look at rising unemployment among African-Americans, and who's responsible for turning it around?
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: In just a few minutes, President Obama will be taking to the podium in Detroit to talk about jobs and the lack of jobs in this country. We'll take you there live when he starts, but we wanted to take a moment to talk about some specific job numbers. Check this out, here's a breakdown of the August unemployment numbers by race. Among whites, the rates actually dropped to eight percent last month. Hispanic unemployment didn't change, it's at 11.3 percent, but for African-Americans, unemployment actually jumped nearly a full percentage point to 16.7 percent. Those are some tough numbers for the president in Detroit. And in Washington, Maxine Waters, a member of the Congressional black caucus has this advice for the president and his jobs speech in front of Congress later this week.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
REP. MAXINE WATERS (D), CONGRESSIONAL BLACK CAUCUS, CALIFORNIA: The president must be bold. I agree that he must have a jobs program, must create jobs, I'm talking about a program of a trillion dollars or more. We've got to put Americans to work, that's the only way to revitalize this economy. When people work and they earn money, they spend the money, and that is what gets the economy up and going. I don't think it can shrink from the threats of the right. I don't think you can have a program that simply gives more tax breaks to the very people who got us in this trouble in the first place.
(END VIDEO CLIP) ROWLANDS: The president has gotten a lot of criticism for the troubling job numbers, especially in the African-American community. Let's bring in Ryan Mac now, in New York, he's president of Optimum Capital Management. Ryan, is this the president's fault?
RYAN MACK, PRESIDENT, OPTIMUM CAPITAL MANAGEMENT: Well, I definitely wouldn't lay the blame at the foot of the president, I mean the president cannot legislate activity. You know, in the healthcare legislation, you found over $36 billion for additional bell grants for low income residents, but you can't force someone actually to go to college and get additional education. He found -- he pushed for additional $12 billion in additional funding for community colleges, only got $2 billion to pass but you can have someone who's out of work to force them to go down to local community college and get additional training to get back to work again.
So, there's only a certain amount of activity that individuals can do. What I would ask individuals like Maxine Waters is, what -- essentially, she's been over in our office for over 30 years, and unemployment and high unemployment rate has been a problem for over 30 years, especially in the black community. What has she done on the local level to make sure that her constituents are making sure that -- again, are getting back to work? This is not a Obama phenomenon, this has been a phenomenon that has been in existent for far too long, and again, maybe Obama should.
As an advocate of those who are impoverished myself, I'm always trying to push a president and make sure that he's more accountable, but I'm never trying to hold the president more accountable than I hold myself accountable. So, there has to be some kind of -- we have to get beyond the paralysis of analysis of what the president's doing to try to force ourselves to figure out what we can do. And quite frankly, we have -- we've done -- underutilized in terms of our financial literacy programs, in terms of things that we've tried to force, but we still spend money excessively.
We've got unutilization (ph) of community college, unutilization (ph) of different job training program, lots of things in terms of stimulus funds. Individuals have complained about the lack of stimulus funds that go to various businesses, but again, a lot of minority businesses were not -- quite frankly, not in the position to even receive various stimulus funds. So, you can't necessarily put that at the blame of the field of the president when we have to get our own houses in order to make sure that he can assist us better. So, I think it has a little bit -- a little bit of it on both sides. Again, I'm not against holding accountability, but what about ourselves and making sure that we're being held accountable?
ROWLANDS: Were you -- were you surprised by the extraordinarily high unemployment numbers that just came out?
MACK: Well, I was a little bit shocked somewhat, but look at black males. I mean, there's an under-discussed issue, I mean black males essentially. Unemployment rate of 18, that was up a full percent from 17 percent, but black males essentially have six time the level of incarceration rate. If we look at the current recession rate right now, we've seen that construction is at a dismal low.
Well, a lot of these individuals coming out of prison, if they have a felony, they're not able to get other jobs. So, what do they try to do? They try to get into construction, they can't get jobs in construction. We do a lot of work with (ph) those in our community to try to get them construction jobs, and that's a lot of the areas where they're trying to get construction jobs. I mean black youth right now, 39 percent, it ticked up almost five percentage points to 44 percent. So we have a lot of these different areas where individuals are finding themselves in harder positions because a lot of the inbred problems, lack of education, high incarceration, that exist within the black community that I think that we need to start addressing, but we can't put the entire thing on the president -- on the foot of Obama. I will hold him accountable, but we have to hold ourselves accountable as well.
ROWLANDS: Thirty seconds. One quick thing you would do if you were in charge to alleviate the problem in the African-American community in terms of jobs?
MACK: Well, first of all we have to start making sure that our businesses are starting to reach out to their communities more effectively and we have to start making sure that we improve our own credit scores and start learning how to read different pieces of debt that we get into before we sign them. Foreclosure disproportionately affected African-American communities. And then we have to start making sure that we start coming together as a community. None of us is as strong as all of us, but sometimes we still -- we're so busy competing against each other instead of completing each other and figure out what we can do together. This is a village mentality that's going to get out of this entire crisis.
ROWLANDS: All right, Ryan Mack, thanks for your time, in New York.
MACK: Thank you.
ROWLANDS: Jobs and the economy are the focus right now for President Obama while Vice President Joe Biden is in Cincinnati to talk to the AFL-CIO labor unions. The president, as you can see, is about to deliver his annual Labor Day speech in Detroit. This address is expected to be a little bit of a preview of his big jobs speech to Congress later this week. Let's go straight to Jessica Yellin, who is standing by waiting for the president to take the podium. She joins us from downtown Detroit.
Jessica, Detroit, motor city. The location here obviously key on Labor Bay.
JESSICA YELLIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ted. It really is.
You were talking about those jobs numbers. And this city suffering worst than most. Unemployment here is at -- well, in Michigan, it's at 10.9 percent. But here in Detroit, it's almost at 16 percent. Over 50 percent of the key working age adults in this town are among the long- term unemployed. Why does that matter so much? This is a state that the president won in 2008 by 17 points. And the latest of Michigan state polling shows that his approval rating in this state is at just 34 percent. Those are abysmal numbers, Ted. He has to get those numbers up if he hopes to win re-election. He has got to win this state. We will see the president here not just today, but a lot in the next year as he campaigns for re-election.
ROWLANDS: Any hint on what he'll talk about today, and specifically if there will be any sneak peek into what he'll deliver on Thursday in terms of his plan?
YELLIN: I know that in terms of the plan, we will hear him talk about the fact that he is going to press for measures that have had bipartisan support in the past. This is a big theme for the White House, that the kinds of initiatives he is proposing to increase job employment in this country have had the support of Republicans previously, so should again.
I know that we'll have him -- hear him talk about the importance of having a strong middle class for economic growth. That's a message that will both resonate with this strong union crowd, but also cannot be criticized by business interests more broadly.
And then we'll also hear him call on Congress to act. Again, you know, given the toxic environment in Washington these days, the amount of gridlock there, there's a great deal of frustration on both sides of Pennsylvania Avenue, the White House and on Capitol Hill, that not a lot is getting done. And we're going to hear the president push today and throughout the week for Congress to take responsibility and act. Of course, on the other side of The Hill, they'll blame the White House. It's a big back and forth we're getting a lot of.
Ted.
ROWLANDS: Yes, absolutely. All right, thanks, Jessica, live in Detroit waiting for the president.
We are waiting for President Obama to deliver his annual Labor Day speech. As you look at the podium there where he's expected to take the stage at any moment. The big push, jobs and the economy. In a couple of minutes, we'll take you live to Detroit to listen to the president. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: It is 21 minutes past the hour. Here are some of the top stories we're keeping an eye on.
You are looking at live pictures from Detroit where President Obama is expected to speak at any moment now. He will be addressing a local labor council about jobs and the economy during his annual Labor Day address. Today's address is seen as a precursor to his highly anticipated jobs speech on Thursday. We'll take the president's speech live in just a minute. The United States Postal Service may be close to default. The agency will not be able to pay a $5.5 billion payment to a retiree health care trust fund due this month. The postal officials assure us that if the agency defaults, mail payroll -- or payments to suppliers will not be disrupted. A congressional committee will hold a hearing about the situation tomorrow.
President Obama isn't the only one out talking about jobs today. GOP candidates are canvassing the country at a number of Labor Day events. A handful of the Republican presidential hopefuls are in Columbia, South Carolina, for the Palmetto Freedom Forum, which is being hosted by South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint. Mitt Romney, Michele Bachmann, Herman Cain, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul are all expected to go head to head tonight. But Texas Governor Rick Perry backed out of the forum this morning after appearing at a town hall in South Carolina. Perry is returning, instead, to Texas to deal with the wildfires, but may participate remotely.
Be sure to join our John King for live coverage of the presidential Freedom Forum in South Carolina. We'll bring it to you live starting at 3:00 p.m. Eastern.
We are awaiting President Obama's annual Labor Day speech in Detroit. This is a live picture from the podium in Detroit where he is expected to speak at any moment. The big push, of course, jobs and the economy. We'll take you there next when we come back.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: And we are awaiting the president to take the stage in Detroit, Michigan. We just heard or just saw Labor Secretary Hilda Solis addressing the crowd there as now we are hearing the announcement the president is about to take the stage. We're expecting the president to hint a little bit about what he'll talk about on Thursday in terms of his job proposal. Likely we won't get any details, but clearly the issue of jobs, et cetera, will continue to be at the forefront of whatever he does talk about. Now we're getting another introduction there. But we will take the president as soon as he takes the stage.
Well, moving on to something else, switching gears a little bit quickly while we wait for the president, Adderall. It is a drug that is becoming more and more popular among college students, even though they don't have ADD. Some students say it helps them focus and improves their grades. But doctors warn the drug can be extremely dangerous. Senior medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen reports.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN SENIOR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Jared Gabay doesn't have ADD, but he does take Adderall, a prescription drug that he buys from a friend. He says he loves what Adderall does to his report card.
COHEN (on camera): So Jerry writing a paper not on Adderall, what's going on in your head? JARED GABAY, STUDENT: I'm kind of on YouTube, kind of on FaceBook, listening to music.
COHEN: So when you take it, how does it -- how does it change you?
GABAY: I would say I'm more driven. I kind of don't focus on anything else.
COHEN: You're just focused on getting that paper done?
GABAY: Right on the paper. Nothing's going to distract me from doing it. Nothing's going to bother me. And it's going to get out and it's going to be good.
COHEN (voice-over): Jared's feeling good as he studies all night and into the morning, right up until he leaves for class.
GABAY: I feel very prepared. I've got a lot of formulas memorized. A lot of stuff that I crammed for. And I think I'm going to really rock this test out.
COHEN: Jared says lots of his friends take Adderall, like he does. A study at the University of Kentucky found half of juniors and seniors say they use stimulants like Adderall. The drug is so common among millennials, it's popping up on MTV.
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: (INAUDIBLE) up on my reading, websites, books, all this (INAUDIBLE).
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: How much Adderall did you have today?
UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A lot. It doesn't matter. OK, just listen.
COHEN: This has doctors like Raymond Kotwicki worried.
DR. RAY KOTWICKI, ASST. PROFESSOR OF PSYCHIATRY, EMORY UNIVERSITY: At the short term, those kind of stimulant medications can often feel good. In the long run, there are significant problems, both in terms of thinking and mood problems.
COHEN: Adderall can be addictive, cause seizures, hallucinations, aggressive behavior. But Jared says he's been taking it for two years and he's fine. He doesn't think he's doing anything wrong.
COHEN (on camera): Because after talking to lawyers, it appears you are breaking the law by doing this.
GABAY: I would see how it is -- you know, the law is there. But it's just kind of -- I consider it kind of an unwritten rule. You know, it's just -- you know, it's accepted.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
COHEN: College students just don't think that Adderall is a big deal. I a survey of students at the University of Kentucky, they said that they considered Adderall, an amphetamine, about as dangerous as an energy drink.
Back to you.
ROWLANDS: All right, thanks, Elizabeth. For more on this and other health stories, visit cnn.com/health.
We're waiting for President Obama to deliver his annual Labor Day speech in Detroit. This is a live picture from Detroit where he's expected to take the podium at any moment. When he does, we'll bring it to you. Stay with us.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
ROWLANDS: And the president is taking the stage in Detroit. Let's listen in.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: Oh, this is -- this is a...
Thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you, everybody!
It is good to...
(LAUGHTER)
OBAMA: Thank you, everybody. Thank you.
CROWD: Four more years! Four more years!
OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you.
CROWD: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
OBAMA: Thank you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you. Thank you, everybody.
All right.
I can -- I can -- I can tell Ghana (ph) got you fired up.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you, Ghana (ph), for that introduction.
Thank you all for having me. It is good to be back in Detroit.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) OBAMA: I am glad that I was able to bring a friend, a proud daughter of the Teamsters, your secretary of labor, Hilda Solis, in the house.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We are thrilled to be joined by so many other friends.
I want to acknowledge, first of all, two of the finest senators in the country, Carl Levin and Debbie Stabenow in the house.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Outstanding members of the congressional delegation, John Dingell, John Conyers, Sandy Levin, Gary Peters, and Hansen Clarke.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: The president of the Metropolitan Detroit Central Labor Counsel, our host, Saundra Williams, AFL-CIO president Rich Trumka, president of the Michigan AFL-CIO Mark Gaffney, and some proud sons and daughters of Michigan representing working people here and across the country, SEIU president Mary Kay Henry, Teamster president Jimmy Hoffa, UAW president Bob King, Utility Workers president Mike Langford.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We are proud of them and we're proud of your congressional delegation who are working every single day with your state and local elected officials to create jobs and economic growth and prosperity here in Michigan and all across the country.
I am honored, we are honored to spend this day with you and your families, the working men and women of America. This day belongs to you. You deserve a little R&R, a little barbecue, a little grilling, because you have been working hard.
You have been working hard to make ends meet. You have been working hard to build a better life for your kids. You have been working hard to build a better Detroit.
But that's not all I am going to talk to you about. I also want to talk about the work you have been doing for decades, work to make sure that folks get an honest day's pay for an honest day's work, work to make sure that families get a fair shake, the work you have done to help build the greatest middle class that the world has ever known.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I am talking about the work that got us a 40-hour workweek and weekends and paid leave and pensions and the minimum wage and health insurance and Social Security and Medicare, the cornerstones of middle-class security.
That's because of your work.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: If you want to know who helped lay these cornerstones of an American middle class, you just have to look for the union label.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's the bedrock this country is built on, hard work, responsibility, sacrifice, looking out for one another, giving everybody a shot, everybody a chance to share in America's prosperity, from the factory floor to the boardroom. That's what unions are all about.
And that's something that is worth keeping in mind today. We have come through a difficult decade in which those values were all too often given short shrift. We have gone through a decade where wealth was valued over work and greed was valued over responsibility, and the decks were too often stacked against ordinary folks in favor of the special interests.
And everywhere I went while I was running for this office, I met folks who felt their economic security slipping away, men and women who were fighting harder and harder just to stay afloat. And that was even before the economic crisis hit. And that just made things even harder.
So these are tough times for working Americans. They are even tougher for Americans who are looking for work. And a lot of them have been looking for work for a long time. A lot of folks have been working for -- looking for work for a long time here in Detroit and all across Michigan and all across the Midwest and all across the country.
So we have got a lot more work to do to recover fully from this recession. But I am not satisfied just to get back to where we were before the recession. We have got to fully restore the middle class in America.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And America cannot have a strong, growing economy without a strong, growing middle class and without a strong labor movement. That's the central challenge that we face in our country today. That's at the core of why I ran for president. That's what I have been fighting for since I have been president.
Everything we have done, it has been thinking about you. We said working folks deserved a break. So, within one month of me taking office, we signed into law the biggest middle-class tax cut in history, putting more money into your pockets.
We said working folks should not be taken advantage of, so we passed tough financial reforms that ended the days of taxpayer bailouts and stopped credit card companies with gouging you with hidden fees and unfair rate hikes, and set up a new consumer protection agency with one responsibility, sticking up for you.
We said that if you are going to work hard all day to provide a better life for your kids, then we are going to make sure that those kids get the best education possible. So we helped keep teachers on the job. We are reforming our public schools and we're investing in community colleges and job training programs.
And we ended wasteful giveaways that went to the big banks and used the savings to make college more affordable for millions of your kids. We said that every family in America should have affordable, accessible health care.
We said you shouldn't be discriminated against because you have got a preexisting condition. We said young adults without insurance should be able to stay on their parents' plan. We got that done for you.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And here is what else we said, Detroit. We said that American autoworkers could once again build the best cars in the world.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: So we stood by the auto industry. And we made some tough choices that were necessary to make IT succeed, and now the Big Three are turning a profit and hiring new workers and building the best cars in the world right here in Detroit, right here in the Midwest, right here in the United States of America.
I know it. I have seen it.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: I have been to GM's Hamtramck plant. I have been to Chrysler's Jefferson North plant. I have seen Detroit prove the cynics and the naysayers wrong.
We did not just stop there. We said American workers could manufacture the best products in the world. So, we invested in high- tech manufacturing and we invested in clean energy. And right now, there's an advanced battery industry taking root here in Michigan that barely existed before.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Half of the workers at one plant in Detroit were unemployed before a new battery company came to town. And we're growing our exports, so that more of the world buys products that are stamped with three simple words: "Made in America."
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: So that's what we're fighting for, Michigan.
We're fighting for jobs with good wages. We're fighting for health care when you get sick. We're fighting for a secure retirement even if you are not rich. We are fighting for the chance to give our kids a better life than we had. That's what we're doing to restore middle- class security and rebuild this economy the American way, based on balance and fairness and the same set of rules for everybody, from Wall Street to Main Street, an economy where hard work pays off and gaming the system doesn't pay off and everybody has got a shot at the American dream. That's what we're fighting for.
On Thursday, we are going to lay out a new way forward on jobs to grow the economy and put more Americans back to work right now. I don't want to give everything away right here, because I want you all to tune in on Thursday. But I will give you just a little bit.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We have got roads and bridges across this country that need rebuilding. We have got private companies with the equipment and the manpower to do the building. We have got more than one million unemployed construction workers ready to get dirty right now. There is work to be done and there are workers ready to do it. Labor is on board. Business is on board. We just need Congress to get on board.
Let's put America back to work.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Last year -- last year, we worked together, Republicans and Democrats, to pass a payroll tax cut. And because of that, this year, the average family has an extra $1,000 in their pocket because of it.
But that's going to expire in a few months if we don't come together to extend it. And I think putting money back in the pockets of working families is the best way to get demand rising, because that then means business is hiring, and that means the government -- that means that the economy is growing.
So I am going to propose ways to put America back to work that both parties can agree to, because I still believe both parties can work together to solve our problems. And given the urgency of this moment, given the hardship that many people are facing, folks have got to get together. But we're not going to wait for them.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We're going to see if we have got some straight shooters in Congress. We're going to see if congressional Republicans will put country before party.
We will give them a plan and then we will say, if you want to create jobs, then put our construction workers back to work rebuilding America. Do you want to help our companies succeed? Open up new markets for them to sell their products.
You want -- you say you are the party of tax cuts? Well, then prove you will fight just as hard for tax cuts for middle-class families as you do for oil companies and the most affluent Americans. Show us what you got.
The time for Washington games is over. The time for action is now -- no more manufactured crises,no more games. Now is not the time for the people you sent to Washington to worry about their jobs. Now is the time for them to worry about your jobs.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Now, let me say a word about labor in particular.
I know this is not going to be an easy time. I know it's not easy when there are some folks who have their sights trained on you. After al that unions have done to build and protect the middle class, you have got people trying to claim that you're responsible for the problems middle-class folks are facing.
You have got some Republicans saying you are the ones exploiting working families. Imagine that. Now, the fact is our economy is stronger when workers are getting paid good wages and good benefits. Our economy is stronger when we have got broad-based growth and broad- based prosperity.
That's what unions have always been about, shared prosperity. I was on the plane and flying over here, and Carl Levin was with me, and he showed me a speech that Harry Truman had given on Labor Day 63 years ago right here in Detroit, 63 years ago.
And just to go -- to show that things have not changed much, he talked about how, you know, Americans had voted in some folks into Congress who were not very friendly to labor. And he pointed out that some working folks and even some union members voted these folks in. And now they were learning their lesson.
And he pointed out that -- and I am quoting here -- the gains of labor were not accomplished at the expense of the rest of the nation. Labor's gains contributed to the nation's general prosperity.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: What was true back in 1948 is true in 2011. When working families are doing well, when they are getting a decent wage and they're getting decent benefits, that means they are good customers for businesses.
That means they can buy the cars that you build. That means that you can buy the food from the farmers. That means you can buy from Silicon Valley, that you are creating prosperity when you share in prosperity.
So when I hear some of these folks trying to take collective bargaining rights away, trying to pass so-called right-to-work laws for private sector workers that really mean the right to work for less and less and less, when I hear some of this talk, I know this is not about economics. This is about politics.
And I want everybody here to know, as long as I am in the White House, I am going to stand up for collective bargaining.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
CROWD: Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!
OBAMA: That's -- that's why we have reversed harmful decisions that were designed to undermine those rights. That's why we passed the Fair Pay Act to stop pay discrimination.
That's why we appointed people who are actually fulfilling their responsibilities to make sure that the offices and factories and mine workers that clock in each day, that they are actually safe on the job.
And we're going to keep at it, because having a voice on the job and a chance to organize and a chance to negotiate for a fair day's pay after a hard day's work, that's the right of every man and woman in America, not just the CEO in the corner office, but also the janitor who cleans that office after the CEO goes home. Everybody has got the same rights.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: And that's true for public employees as well.
Look, the recession had a terrible effect on state and local budgets. We all understand that. Unions have recognized that. They have already made tough concessions. In the private sector, we live in a more competitive global economy.
So unions like the UAW understand that workers have to work with management revamp business models, to innovate so we can sell our products around the world. We understand that the world is changing. Unions understand that the world is changing.
Unions understand they need to help drive the change, whether it's on the factory floor or in the classroom or in the government office. But what unions also know is that the values at the core of the union movement, those don't change. Those are the values that have made this country great.
That's what the folks trying to undermine your rights don't understand. When union workers agree to pay freezes and pay cuts, they're not doing it just to keep their jobs. They're doing it so that their fellow workers, their fellow Americans can keep their jobs.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: When teachers agree to reforms in how schools are run at the same time that they're digging into their pockets to buy school supplies for those kids, they do so because they believe every child can learn.
They do it because they know something that those who seek to divide us don't understand. We are all in this together. That's why those crowds came out to support you in Madison and in Columbus. We are one nation. We are one people. We will rise and we will fall together.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Anyone who doesn't believe it should come here to Detroit.
It's like the commercial says. This is a city that's been to heck and back. And while there are a lot of challenges here, I see a city that's coming back. You ask somebody here if times are tough, they will say, yes, it's tough, but we're tougher.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Look at what we're doing to overcome. Look at what we're doing to rebuild and reinvent and redefine what it means to live in this great city. Look at our parents who catch the first bus to work and our students who stay up late to earn a degree. Look at our workers on the line at Hamtramck and Jefferson North who are building the best cars in the world.
Look at our artists who are revamping our city and our young people who are thinking up new ways to make a difference that we never dreamed of. Look how we look out for one another. That's why we chose Detroit as one of the cities that we're helping revitalize in our Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: We're teaming up with everybody, mayors, local officials, you name it, boosting economic development, rebuilding your communities the best way, which is a way that involves you, because, despite all that's changed here and all the work that lies ahead, this is still a city where men clocked into factories.
This is the city that built the greatest middle class the world has ever known. This is the city where women rolled up their sleeves and helped build an arsenal for democracy to free the world. This is a city where the great American industry has come back to life and the industries of tomorrow are taking root.
This is a city where people, brave and bold, courageous and clever, are dreaming up ways to prove the skeptics wrong and write the next proud chapter in our history.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: That's why I wanted to be here with you today, because for every cynic and every naysayer running around talking about how our best days are behind us, for everybody who keeps going around saying, no, we can't, for everybody -- for everybody who can always find a reason why we can't rebuild America, I need Americans every day who, in the face of impossible odds, they have got a different belief.
They believe we can. You believe we can. Yes, times are tough, but we have been through tough times before. I don't know about you, but I'm not scared of tough times. I'm not scared of tough times, because I know we're going to be all marching together and walking together and working together and rebuilding together. And I know we don't quit.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE) OBAMA: I know we don't give up our dreams and settle for something less. We roll up our sleeves and we remember a fundamental truth of our history. We are strong when we are united.
We're firing all cylinders. The union movement is going to be at the center of it. And if all of you are committed to making sure that the person standing next to you and their kids and their grandkids, that everybody in this city and everybody in this country can unleash his or her potential, if you work hard and play by the rules, you will get a fair shake and get a fair shot.
That's the country I want for my kids. That's the country you want for your kids. That's the country we're going to build together.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
OBAMA: Thank you very much, Detroit. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.
(CHEERING AND APPLAUSE)
ROWLANDS: All right, the president of the United States finishing up his annual Labor Day address in Detroit. He talked about his plan a little bit that he plans to unveil on Thursday, saying that his ideas, his proposals will -- quote -- "contain things that both parties can agree to."
But then he went on to say, "We're not going to wait for them." He talked about construction jobs; roads and bridges need to be rebuilt. He also said the time for Washington games is over. He wants the middle-class tax cut extended. And he was very pro-union during this speech, multiple times talking about strengths of unions, talked about the crowds that came out in Madison, Wisconsin, protesting the collective bargaining law there that restricted collective bargaining rights in Wisconsin.
He said at one point, "As long as I'm in the White House, I will stand up for collective bargaining."
Of course, we will get more on Thursday and we will get some specifics when he unveils his jobs plan in front of a joint session of Congress.
Stay here with CNN for our continuing coverage leading up to the presidential Freedom Forum in South Carolina hosted by South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint. We will get a little bit of the other side. John King will bring it to you live at 3:00 Eastern time.
We will take a quick break. We will be right back.
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