"Let's redesign our high schools so that our students graduate with skills that employers are looking for right now. "And because taxpayers can't continue to subsidise the soaring cost of higher education, I've called on Congress to take affordability and value into account when determining which colleges receive certain types of federal aid," Obama said. Arguing that no one in America should work full-time and raise their children in poverty, he called for raising the minimum wage. "And it's time to harness the talents and ingenuity of hardworking immigrants by finally passing comprehensive immigration reform - securing our borders, establishing a responsible path to earned citizenship, and attracting the highly-skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will help create jobs," Obama said. "These steps will help grow our economy and rebuild a rising, thriving middle class. And we can do it while shrinking our deficits. We don't have to choose between the two - we just have to make smart choices," he said. The US President said over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce the deficit by more than USD 2.5 trillion. This, Obama said, "...Puts us more than halfway towards the goal of USD 4 trillion in deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilise our finances. Now we need to finish the job".
