Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) Speaks in Chillicothe, Ohio

Just as we make lending more available, we need to relieve the tax burden on small businesses to help create jobs. That's why I've proposed eliminating all capital gains taxes on investments in small businesses and start-ups. And today, I'm proposing an additional temporary business tax incentive through next year to encourage new investments. Because it's time to protect the jobs we have and to create the jobs of tomorrow by unlocking the drive, and ingenuity, and innovation of the American people. That's what I'll do as President of the United States.

Bottom-up growth also depends on a tax code that doesn't just work for the folks at the top. You've heard a lot about taxes in this campaign. Well, here's the truth -- my opponent and I are both offering tax cuts. The difference is, he wants to give $200 billion in tax cuts to the biggest corporations in America, and he wants to give the average Fortune 500 CEO a $700,000 tax cut. But he gives nothing at all to over 100 million Americans.

I have a different set of priorities. I'll give a middle-class tax cut to 95% of all workers. And if you make less than $250,000 a year -- which includes 98 percent of small business owners -- you won't see your taxes increase one single dime. Not your payroll taxes, not your income taxes, not your capital gains taxes -- nothing. Because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.

We know that it's time to create the good-paying jobs of tomorrow. Ohio is hurting. 12,000 jobs have been lost this year. You've got 7.4 percent unemployment. Wages are flat-lining. But it doesn't have to be this way. That's why I'm going to stop giving tax breaks to companies that ship jobs overseas, and start rebuilding the middle class by helping companies create jobs here in Ohio. I will be a President who puts you first, Ohio. Because I believe in the American people and what we can do together. And if we want to turn this economy around and lead the world in the 21st century, we have to create the high-wage jobs of tomorrow right here in America.

If I am President, I will invest $15 billion a year in renewable sources of energy to create five million new, green jobs over the next decade -- jobs that pay well and can't be outsourced; jobs building solar panels and wind turbines and fuel-efficient cars; jobs that will help us end our dependence on oil from Middle East dictators. I'll also put two million more Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling roads, schools, and bridges -- because it is time to build an American infrastructure for the 21st century. We will work with the Building Trades to expand apprenticeship programs so young workers can develop their skills. And if people ask how we're going to pay for this, you tell them that if we can spend $10 billion a month in Iraq, we can spend some money to rebuild America.

If I am President, I will finally fix our broken health care system. This issue is personal for me. My mother died of ovarian cancer at the age of 53, and I'll never forget how she spent the final months of her life lying in a hospital bed, fighting with her insurance company because they claimed that her cancer was a pre- existing condition and didn't want to pay for treatment. If I am President, I will make sure those insurance companies can never do that again.

My health care plan will make sure insurance companies can't discriminate against those who are sick and need care most. If you have health insurance, the only thing that will change under my plan is that we will lower premiums. And if you don't have health insurance, you'll be able to get the same kind of health insurance that Members of Congress get for themselves. We'll invest in preventative care and new technology to finally lower the cost of health care for families, businesses, and the entire economy. That's the change we need.