Obama: ‘We Need to Finish the Work’ of Social Security, Medicare, ObamaCare

OBAMA: “And I’m going to keep fighting to make family leave and workplace flexibility available to every American, no matter where they work. It’s the right thing to do. (Applause) Every study shows that the kind of workplace flexibility we’re talking about isn’t just good for the employees; ultimately, it ends up being good for the employers, because you get more loyal, more productive employees with less turnover. And it’s the right thing to do. And with the technologies that we have today, there’s no reason why we can’t make this happen. So this year, we mark the 80th anniversary of Social Security. We mark the 50th anniversary of Medicare. We’ve grown so accustomed to these programs being a part of American life -- these bedrock, foundation stones of our society -- sometimes it’s easy to forget how revolutionary they were at the time. They were hard to get done. When FDR tried to pass Social Security, critics called it ‘socialism.’ When President Kennedy and President Johnson -- and the Dingells -- worked to create Medicare, cynics raised the alarm about government takeover of health care. And now we’ve got signs saying, ‘Get your government hands off of my Medicare.’ (Laughter) 

The point is change has always been hard.  Detractors always are trying to maximize people’s fear of the unknown. But ultimately, hope triumphs over fear. We choose to do big things here in America. Like I said a couple weeks back -- three generations ago, we chose to end the era where seniors were left to languish in poverty. Two generations ago, we chose to end an age when Americans in their golden years didn’t have the guarantee of health care. This generation, we chose to go even further, and now health care in America is more affordable and available than ever before. In this anniversary of those incredible achievements, we need to recommit ourselves to finishing the work that earlier generations began-- make sure this is a country that remains one where no matter who you are or where you started off, you’re treated with dignity, your hard work is rewarded, your contributions are valued, you have a shot to achieve your dreams whatever your age. That’s the America we’re all working for. And I’m proud to work alongside you. Thank you so much. Congratulations. Have a wonderful conference.” (Applause)