US Presidency
2013

For people who have been out of work for more than six months, often through no fault of their own, life is a catch-22. Companies won't give their reĚsumeĚ an honest look because they've been laid off so long but they've been laid off so long because companies won't give their reĚsumeĚ an honest look. And that's why earlier this year, I challenged CEOs from some of America's best companies to give these Americans a fair shot. And next month, many of them will join us at the White House for an announcement about this. Fifth, we've got to revamp retirement to protect Americans in their golden years, to make sure another housing collapse doesn't steal the savings in their homes. We've also got to strengthen our safety net for a new age, so it doesn't just protect people who hit a run of bad luck from falling into poverty, but also propels them back out of poverty. Today, nearly half of full-time workers and 80 percent of part-time workers don't have a pension or retirement account at their job.