Spending Time in School

Paul Sullivan looks at how the affluent are supporting education in his Wealth Matters column this week and finds that they are giving more than money - they're also giving their time.

He spoke to several affluent people involved in educational philanthropy who said that their volunteer work kept them involved. One, Charles Bendit, co-founder of a real estate firm, said he was able to make a difference at a Bronx elementary school by using his contacts in the business world.

Supporting education, of course, is not the sole province of the affluent. There are many ways to help a local school, from offering after-school tutoring assistance to volunteering in a classroom. Money does not have to enter into it.

Tell us about your efforts to help a local school or alma mater. Your experience may offer inspiration for others.

Spending Time in School

Paul Sullivan looks at how the affluent are supporting education in his Wealth Matters column this week and finds that they are giving more than money - they're also giving their time.

He spoke to several affluent people involved in educational philanthropy who said that their volunteer work kept them involved. One, Charles Bendit, co-founder of a real estate firm, said he was able to make a difference at a Bronx elementary school by using his contacts in the business world.

Supporting education, of course, is not the sole province of the affluent. There are many ways to help a local school, from offering after-school tutoring assistance to volunteering in a classroom. Money does not have to enter into it.

Tell us about your efforts to help a local school or alma mater. Your experience may offer inspiration for others.

Massachusetts Governor to Dine at the White House Friday

The auditions for President Obama's second-term cabinet are under way, with Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts and his wife heading to Washington on Friday for dinner with Mr. Obama and his wife, Michelle.

A White House official confirmed the “social” evening, on Friday, after reports surfaced in Boston. Mr. Patrick's office said in a statement that “after breaking ground for the Fore River Bridge on the Quincy/Weymouth line this afternoon, Governor Patrick will fly to D.C. With Mrs. Patrick to have a social dinner tonight with the president at the White House. ”

Mr. Patrick is believed to be a possible contender for the job of attorney general if Eric H. Holder Jr. steps down.

Transcript and Video of Obama\'s Remarks on the Deficit

Transcript of President Obama's Remarks on the Deficit

Addressing Taxes and the Deficit: President Obama made his first public remarks since his election night victory speech.

The following is the full transcript of President Obama's remarks from the White House on Friday. (Courtesy of Federal News Service).

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very much, everybody. Everybody, please have a seat. Thank you!

Well, good afternoon, everybody.

AUDIENCE MEMBERS: Good afternoon.

AUDIENCE MEMBER: (Off mic.) (Laughter.)

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Now that those of us on the campaign trail have had a chance to get a little sleep -- (laughter) -- it's time to get back to work, and there is plenty of work to do.

As I said on Tuesday night, the American people voted for action, not politics as usual. You elected us to focus on your jobs, not ours. And in that spirit, I've invited leaders of both parties to the White House next week so we can start to build consensus around the challenges that we can only solve together. And I also intend to bring in business and labor and civic leaders from all across the country here to Washington to get their ideas and input as well.

You know, at a time when our economy's still recovering from the Great Recession, our top priority has to be jobs and growth. That's the focus of the plan -- (applause) -- that I talked about during the campaign. It's a plan to reward small businesses and manufacturers that create jobs here, not overseas. It's a plan to give people the chance to get the education and training that businesses are looking for right now. It's a plan to make sure this country is a global leader in research and technology and clean energy, which will attract new companies and high-wage jobs to America. It's a plan to put folks back to work, including our veterans, rebuilding our roads and our bridges and other infrastructure. And it's a plan to reduce our deficit in a balanced and responsible way.

Our work is made that much more urgent because at the end of this year we face a series of deadlines that require us to make major decisions about how to pay our deficit down, decisions that will have a huge impact on the economy and the middle class, both now and in the future.

Last year I worked with Democrats and Republicans to cut a trillion dollars worth of spending that we just couldn't afford. I intend to work with both parties to do more, and that includes making reforms that will bring down the cost of health care so we can strengthen programs like Medicaid and Medicare for the long haul.

But as I've said before, we can't just cut our way to prosperity. If we're serious about reducing the deficit, we have to combine spending cuts with revenue. And that means asking the wealthiest Americans to pay a little more in taxes. That's how we did it -- (applause) -- that's how we did it in the 1990s when Bill Clinton was president. That's how we can reduce the deficit while still making the investments we need to build a strong middle class and a strong economy. That's the only way we can still afford to train our workers or help our kids pay for college or make sure that good jobs in clean energy or high-tech manufacturing don't end up in countries like China.

Now, already, I've put forward a detailed plan that allows us to make these investments while reducing our deficit by $4 trillion over the next decade. I want to be clear: I'm not wedded to every detail of my plan. I'm open to compromise. I'm open to new ideas. I'm committed to solving our fiscal challenges.

But I refuse to accept any approach that isn't balanced. I am not going to ask students and seniors and middle-class families to pay down the entire deficit while people like me making over $250,000 aren't asked to pay a dime more in taxes.

I'm not going to do that. (Applause.)

And I just want to point out, this was a central question during the election. It was debated over and over again. And on Tuesday night, we found out that the majority of Americans agree with my approach. And that includes Democrats, independents and a lot of Republicans across the country, as well as independent economists and budget experts. That's how you reduce the deficit, with a balanced approach.

Boehner Digs In On Opposition to Tax Hikes for Wealthy

Speaker John A. Boehner of Ohio dug in Friday on his opposition to raising tax rates on the rich, claiming his own mandate with the re-election of a House Republican majority but expressing confidence that any deal he can reach with President Obama can get through the conservative House.

“When the president and I have been able to come to an agreement, there has been no problem getting it passed here in the House,” he told reporters. Some House Republicans have already warne him against cutting a deal without seeking their approval first.

Any agreement to avert a fiscal crisis in January when hundreds of billions of dollars in automatic tax increases and spending cuts kick in now revolves around the definition of tax increases. Mr. Boehner is holding the line against any increase in tax rates, even for the richest Americans that currently are in the 35 percent tax bracket. But he is leaving open the possibility of a reformed tax code that does raise more r evenue than the existing code.

“It's clear that there are a lot of special interest loopholes in the tax code, both corporate and personal,” he said. “It's also clear that there are all kinds of deductions, some of which make sense, others don't. And by lowering rates and cleaning up the tax code, we know we're going to get more economic growth.”

Democrats say they will not accept a deal that just counts on economic growth to produce more revenues. Taxes on the rich must go up, they say. Otherwise spending cuts and changes to programs like Medicare will be borne completely by the poor and middle class. Because President Obama won re-election on a clear platform that called for higher taxes on the rich, Democrats believe they have a mandate to push their position.

But Mr. Boehner said he has a mandate as well.

“There's a Republican majority here in the House,” he said. “The American people re-elected a Republ ican majority, and I'm proud of the fact that our team in a very difficult year was able to maintain our majority.”

That majority is a fractious one. Representative John Fleming, Republican of Louisiana, conceded that some moderate Republicans are ready to give in to Mr. Obama on tax increases for the rich, but he said conservatives are not.

“A majority of Americans thought it was just fine to raise taxes on higher income people, but that's more of an emotional response, more 'I'm in pain, I want someone else to pay,'” he conceded in an interview. But, he added, “how does that solve America's problems? That's counterproductive to go down that road.”

Follow Jonathan Weisman on Twitter at @jonathanweisman.

Report Your Hurricane Sandy Home Insurance Claim Experience Here

In this weekend's Your Money column, I offer a preview of the types of resistance that homeowner's insurance companies may put up to the large claims they will be dealing with in the wake of Hurricane Sandy.

I'd like to use this post to round up the actual experience of policyholders in the coming weeks and months. Please let us know the extent of your damage and what sort of adjuster came out to take a look at it. How long is it taking to get a full estimate or settlement offer from the insurance company? Are you negotiating? Or are you using a public adjuster to represent you? Or did you get a big check fairly quickly and are happy with the result?

I plan to write more about this in the coming months and will answer questions in the comments section when I can.

Obama Chokes Up as He Thanks His Campaign Staff

President Obama is typically a cool customer. But his emotion got the better of him the morning after his re-election victory as he thanked his campaign staff, and the tears starting flowing.

“What you guys have done means that the work that I'm doing is important, and I'm really proud of that,” he said, tears streaming down both cheeks. “I'm really proud of all of you.”

The room broke out in applause, forcing Mr. Obama to pause for a few moments. The scene was captured on video by the campaign and posted online. It has now been viewed almost 1.5 million times.

During four years in office, Mr. Obama has rarely shown himself to be an emotional person. His demeanor - even during tough, emotional times - is to remain in control, somber and resolute. It's a far cry from his chief adversary in Congress, the House speaker Jo hn A. Boehner, who is known for frequently crying during emotional interviews or speeches.

Perhaps, then, are Mr. Obama's tears a sign of a new opportunity for bipartisan cooperation?

Follow Michael D. Shear on Twitter at @shearm.

Friday Reading: Tips on Using Squash in Your Pumpkin Pie

A variety of consumer-focused articles appears daily in The New York Times and on our blogs. Each weekday morning, we gather them together here so you can quickly scan the news that could hit you in your wallet.

• After the election, states scramble over the health law. (National)
• New York imposes gas rationing to ease shortages. (N.Y./Region)
• Priceline.com plans to buy Kayak for $1.8 billion. (Dealbook)
• Getting back more than a warm feeling. (Giving)
• Tax breaks on gifts are soon to end. (Giving)
• Submerged older cars may be salvageable. (Wheels)
• More tips (from readers) on choosing passwords. (Bits)
• Why studies that compare treatments lack impact. (Well)
• The squash you should use in your pumpkin pie. (Diner's Journal)

The Early Word: Health Care

In Today's Times:

• President Obama's re-election all but guarantees the future of his health care law, sending many states scrambling to comply with an important deadline. The next challenge? Making it work, Abby Goodnough and Robert Pear report.

• In the wake of Mitt Romney's loss, his aides have begun considering what the restless chief executive will do next. Michael Barbaro takes a look at the potential paths, including writing a book or taking a leadership role in the Mormon Church.

• Acting on the postelection sense of urgency to strike a deal averting the so-called fiscal cliff, lawmakers said Thursday that they were already moving on the issue, which could come to a climax early next year when major tax increases and spending cuts go into effect in the absence of an agreement, Jonathan Weisman reports.

• Iran fired on a military surveillance drone flying over the Persian Gulf last week, igniting a strong protes t to the Iranian government and raising questions about the administration's failure to disclose the incident, Thom Shanker and Rick Gladstone report.

• The government is coming dangerously close to being unable to finance its deficits, with the Treasury Department expecting the United States will hit its “debt ceiling” near the end of the year. In addition to the so-called fiscal cliff, Congress will have to face this issue soon, Annie Lowrey reports.

Washington Happenings:

• Mr. Obama and Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. will meet with Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Friday. Later, Mr. Obama will speak from the White House about encouraging economic growth and reducing the deficit.