The Federal Reserve is in a position to know things about the American economy that other people don't -- and, in a worrisome sign, it slashed American interest rates by more than investors had expected on Tuesday in an effort to reignite growth.

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Our goal is also to reignite the true engine of economic growth in this country, and that is a strong and growing middle class -- to offer ladders of opportunity for anybody willing to climb them.

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It is our generation's task, then, to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth - a rising, thriving middle class.

BBC: State of the Union: Obama pledges to reignite economy