Recruit 100,000 math and science teachers over the next 10 years.
This figure was included in Obama’s FY2013 budget. The program, as laid out by the White House, will "double key investments in science to educate the next generation of scientists and engineers, encourage private sector innovation, and prepare at least 100,000 math and science teachers over the next decade."
Train 2 million workers for real jobs at community colleges.
This figure was included in Obama’s FY2013 budget. “Join me in a national commitment to train 2 million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job,” Obama said in his State of the Union address this year. “My administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers -- places that teach people skills that local businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.”
National Security
Invest in the economy with the money we’re no longer spending on war.
The sentiment here isn’t necessarily new. The idea of war savings has been a part of President Obama’s agenda for a while now. In a weekly video address in May, Obama said that money saved from winding down the war in Afghanistan should be used in part to pay down the debt and, in part, to “strengthen the middle class” and “rebuild America.”
“Over the last decade, we have spent a trillion dollars on war, at a time of rising debt and hard economic times. Now, we must invest in America’s greatest resource –- our people. We must unleash innovation that creates new jobs and industries, while living within our means,” Obama said in 2011, when he addressed troop reductions and the way forward in Afghanistan.
Deficit
Reduce the deficit by more than $4 trillion over the next decade.
This figure was included in Obama’s FY2013 budget. This would require a deal with Congress. The White House and House Republicans have been at loggerheads over fiscal issues, so getting any deal for long-term deficit-reduction would be a big challenge.
Fawn Johnson contributed
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