The difference: What 40 Dollars Means

The President: Anyone who knows what it's like to stretch
a budget knows that at the end of the week or at the end of the
month, $40 can make all the difference in the world.
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The response has been overwhelming.
We haven't seen anything like this before.
Over 30,000 people have written in so far,
as many as 2,000 every hour.
We're still hearing from folks.
Some of the folks who responded are on stage with me here today.
Matt: I got an email a couple days ago from the White House that
said we're interested in hearing about what you think
$40 means to you.
Cnyneathia: Sometimes I have to decide whether I am going to get
some food this week or how much gas I'm going to get.
So, I'm thinking $40 means a lot.
Traci: A lot of times I don't respond to emails but this
really stuck out to me because I know $40 just means so much.
Quinnisha: $40 means a lot to a classroom teacher.
It gives me the opportunity to give supplies to my students,
giving them pens, paper.
Da'Twan: Buying fresh groceries and, you know, fresh produce is
very important to me, and without that extra $40 --
well, it means a lot.
I'm a preschool teacher and a parent of three.
Traci: It means gas for me to go back and forth to work for
about a week.
It means a bill.
So $40 means maybe one less bill getting paid.
Matt: If you look at what $40 can buy.
Things like a gallon of milk, a loaf of bread,
a pound of cheese, you know, deli meat.
Those sorts of things, that's what $40 does.
And to a family, that's important.
Cnyneathia: $40 may not seem like a lot to some people,
but when you can make your dollar stretch, it's a big help.
It's a big help.
Quinnisha: I came to be here today via Twitter.
Someone from WhiteHouse.gov, via Twitter, sent me a direct
message and I received an email and -- telling me,
you're invited to come today to hear the President speak.
Traci: Coming to visit the White House and hearing
President Obama speak, today, was -- it was inspirational.
Da'Twan: Standing behind the President behind stage was -- it was crazy.
I thought that he spoke -- once he shook my hand and I started
hearing him talk and I felt like he understood where I
was coming from.