The White House Blog

America has a tradition of generosity. Today, we celebrate Giving Tuesday, a new nationwide effort to raise attention and motivate action for the common good. It’s a trend worth encouraging.

The organizers have named the Tuesday after Thanksgiving as an annual moment to support the most vulnerable and uplift our communities. 

Giving Tuesday is intended to encourage Americans to reflect and give back. This commemoration does not seek to coordinate funds toward a particular charity or to direct volunteers to support a specific cause. Instead, it attempts to encourage active citizenship. It seeks to open a national conversation about the ability of all Americans to participate in positive action.

We know that such charitable activities can bring multiple levels of benefit. First, they help the immediate beneficiaries that are affected by charity or service. Beyond this direct impact, we know that charitable activities yield indirect dividends in many ways. For example, we know that active volunteering has been linked to expanding opportunity and increasing employment. 

In response to the devastation of Hurricane Sandy, the Federal, state, and local governments immediately started to work with outside partners to provide relief, support, and reconstruction. In New Jersey and New York, government, civil society, and the private sector have partnered to restore power, provide fuel, and temporarily shelter the displaced. These partnerships are excellent examples of different sectors coming together to make a difference in people’s lives and illustrate the importance of cross-sector collaboration for homeland security. 

Executive Order 13629 directs the establishment of a new White House Homeland Security Partnership Council (Council) to provide advice on how the Federal Government can more effectively work with partners to address disasters and other homeland security priorities. A Steering Committee is being selected for the Council and in the next few weeks will meet to discuss the nomination and selection process for Council members. 

The Council will be comprised of current Federal Government employees, outside of Washington, D.C., who have demonstrated outstanding leadership in building partnerships. Its role will be to promote the use of partnerships to achieve homeland security priorities and to advise the White House and other Federal officials on building partnerships (more information in Fact Sheet). Some of the best partnerships and expertise reside at the local level, and the Council will enable the Federal Government to more effectively tap into this experience and best practices to secure the homeland.

(Picture drawn by Abigail Dabu, Age 14)

“…I would like to run for some political office when I grow up.  Why?  Because there are so many changes that need to be made regarding important issues that are not happening.  And we need more women making decisions in our country!” --  Meera Kota, Age 15

“This week, the United States signed a new Declaration on Women’s Participation. Next year, we should each announce the steps we are taking to break down economic and political barriers that stand in the way of women and girls. That is what our commitment to human progress demands.” -- President Barack Obama,  September 21, 2011

Building on President Obama’s challenge at the UN General Assembly in September 2011, the United States will be working with countries around the world as part of a new international effort – the Equal Futures Partnership – to politically and economically empower women in each of our countries.   

Among the United States’ commitments through this partnership are new efforts to promote civic education and public leadership for girls, including the launch of an Equal Futures App Challenge earlier this year: to create an app that promotes civic education and/or inspires girls to serve as leaders in our democracy.

Today we are pleased to announce that the following leaders have signed on to act as judges:

·      Representative Barbara Ballard
·      Anna Maria Chavez, CEO, Girl Scouts
·      Geena Davis, Academy Award-Winning Actor; Founder, Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
·      Jack Dorsey, Creator and Co-Founder, Twitter; Founder and CEO, Square
·      Tiffany Dufu, President, the White House Project
·      Jocelyn Goldfein, Director of Engineering, Facebook
·      Mayor Elizabeth Kautz
·      Senator Lisa Murkowski
·      Andrew Shue, Co-Founder, dosomething.org; Co-Founder, cafemom.com
·      Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis
·      Judy Vredenburgh, President and CEO, Girls Inc.

Today, as we move into the holiday shopping season, the National Economic Council and the Council of Economic Advisers released a report called The Middle-Class Tax Cuts’ Impact on Consumer Spending and Retailers. This report provides new analysis on the impact to retailers and consumer spending if Congress fails to act to avoid taxes going up on 98 percent of Americans at the end of the year.

If Congress doesn't act, middle-class families will see their income taxes go up on January 1st. The typical middle-class family will see their taxes go up by $2,200 next year, negatively impacting businesses and retailers across the nation. The President has called on Congress to take action and stop holding the middle class and our economy hostage over a disagreement on tax cuts for households with incomes over $250,000 per year.

While the President is committed to working with Congress to reach compromises on areas of disagreement, there is no reason to delay acting where everyone agrees: extending tax cuts for the middle-class. There is no reason to hold the middle-class hostage while we debate tax cuts for the highest income earners.

Our economy can’t afford that right now. New analysis by the President’s Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) finds that:

• Allowing the middle-class tax rates to rise and failing to patch the Alternative Minimum Tax (AMT) could cut the growth of real consumer spending by 1.7 percentage points in 2013.  This sharp rise in middle-class taxes and the resulting decline in consumption could slow the growth of real GDP by 1.4 percentage points, which is consistent with recently published estimates from the Congressional Budget Office.
• Faced with these tax hikes, the CEA estimates that consumers could spend nearly $200 billion less than they otherwise would have in 2013 just because of higher taxes. This reduction of $200 billion is approximately four times the total amount that 226 million shoppers spent on Black Friday weekend last year.  As the figure below shows this $200 billion reduction would likely be spread across all areas of consumer spending.

The official White House Christmas tree, a 19-foot Fraser Fir, arrives in a horse-drawn carriage at the North Portico of the White House, Nov. 23, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama greeted the official White House Christmas Tree, which arrived via horse-drawn carriage. Daughters Sasha and Malia and First Dog Bo also helped welcome the tree. 

This year’s official tree is a 19-foot Fraser Fir that was selected in early October and harvested this month at Peak Farms in Jefferson, North Carolina. It will be displayed throughout the holiday season in the Blue Room. Members of the National Christmas Tree Association have presented the official White House Christmas Tree for display in the Blue Room each year since 1966.

First Lady Michelle Obama, with daughters Sasha and Malia, and the family dog Bo, receives the official White House Christmas tree at the North Portico of the White House, Nov. 23, 2012. The tree, a 19-foot Fraser Fir from Jefferson, N.C., arrived in a horse-drawn carriage. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Welcome to the West Wing Week, your guide to everything that's happening at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. This week, the President made an historic trip to Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, attended the East Asia Summit, and pardoned the National Thanksgiving Turkey at the White House with the First Family.

See the full-size gallery

Did you know that before the 1940s Thanksgiving was not on a fixed date but was whenever the President proclaimed it to be?

George Washington issued the first Presidential proclamation for the holiday in 1789. That year he designated Thursday, November 26 as a national day of “public thanksgiving.” The United States then celebrated its first Thanksgiving under its new Constitution. Seventy-four years later, in 1863, Abraham Lincoln declared Thanksgiving a national holiday on the last Thursday in November. 

By the beginning of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Presidency, Thanksgiving was not a fixed holiday; it was up to the President to issue a Thanksgiving Proclamation to announce what date the holiday would fall on. Tradition had dictated that the holiday be celebrated on the last Thursday of the month, however, this tradition became increasingly difficult to continue during the challenging times of the Great Depression. 

Roosevelt’s first Thanksgiving in office fell on November 30, the last day of the month, because November had five Thursdays that year. This meant that there were only about 20 shopping days until Christmas and statistics showed that most people waited until after Thanksgiving to begin their holiday shopping. Business leaders feared they would lose the much-needed revenue an extra week of shopping would afford them. They asked President Roosevelt to move the holiday up from the 30th to the 23rd. He chose to keep the Thanksgiving holiday on the last Thursday of the month, however, as it had been for nearly three-quarters of a century.

Turkeys have been carving out a special place in American history since 1963. That's when John F. Kennedy became the first U.S. President to "pardon" a turkey at the White House -- a tradition that's grown to be known as the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation.

On Wednesday, President Obama will pardon the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey and this year, for the first time ever, the American public will get its say. People all across the country are flocking to cast their vote.

Which of two turkeys will be named the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey?

Born on the same day on a farm in Rockingham Country, Virginia, Cobbler and Gobbler may look alike, but they're no birds of a feather. Cobbler craves cranberries, is known for his strut, and enjoys the musical stylings of Carly Simon. Gobbler, a patient but proud bird, loves to nibble on corn and enjoys any music with a fiddle.

Which turkey is your favorite? Go to the White House Facebook page and "Like" and "share" their post to cast your vote.

Polls close at 8:00 pm ET on Tuesday, November 20th 2012, so be sure to visit the White House Facebook page to cast your vote.

Choose the National Thanksgiving Turkey!

Don't forget to tune in to the 2012 ceremony on Wednesday, November 21st on http://wh.gov/live at 2:00 pm ET to find out which turkey has been selected as the 2012 National Thanksgiving Turkey. And for more on how this Presidential tradition came to be check out the definitive history of the Presidential Turkey Pardon.

Note: It's all gravy -- no turkeys will be harmed during the selection of the National Thanksgiving Turkey.  After the pardoning, both turkeys travel to George Washington’s Mount Vernon Estate and Gardens to reside in a custom-made enclosure at Mount Vernon’s nationally recognized livestock facility.  Additionally, if for any reason one turkey is unable to perform the duties of the National Thanksgiving Turkey, his alternate will take his place during the National Thanksgiving Turkey Presentation.

First Lady Michelle Obama, the honorary chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, hosts the PCAH National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 19, 2012. Mariachi Desoro is on stage behind Mrs. Obama. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)

Today, First Lady Michelle Obama honored 12 of the nation’s most outstanding arts and humanities programs for young people.

These exemplary after-school and out-of-school arts and humanities program are recipients of the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards. Their work fosters the creative and intellectual development of America’s youth through education and practical experience in the arts.

I know that many of you who are here today, you make all this happen on shoestring budgets; you do it in unbelievable ways, in some of the most difficult circumstances imaginable.  And I know that you put a lot of late nights and long hours in to give these kids opportunities worthy of their promise.

But you keep on doing this year after year because you have seen firsthand the transformative power of the arts and arts education in the lives of young people across this country.  You know that the skills that you’re teaching -- skills like problem-solving and teamwork, self-expression -- these skills aren’t just valuable in the studio or in the theater, but they are critical in the classroom and will be in the workplace when you all get there.

A group of students from the Mariachi Master Apprentice Program also performed at the event.

First Lady Michelle Obama, the honorary chair of the President's Committee on the Arts and the Humanities, listens as Mariachi Desoro performs during the the PCAH National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Awards in the East Room of the White House, Nov. 19, 2012. (Official White House Photo by Chuck Kennedy)