WASHINGTON: Barack Obama has called for an end to the “gridlock, inaction and wilful indifference” he said was plaguing Washington, hampering the economic recovery and increasing inequality.

In a set-piece speech in Illinois on Wednesday, the president said that cutting the growing gap between rich and poor would be his “highest priority” for the remainder of his presidency.

Calling on Republicans to overcome “short-term politics” ahead of crucial budgetary negotiations set to begin after the summer, Obama said it was essential for the country “to break through the tendency in Washington to careen from crisis to crisis”.

“With an endless parade of distractions, political posturing and phony scandals, Washington has taken its eye off the ball,” he said. “And I am here to say: this needs to stop. Short-term thinking and stale debates are not what this moment requires.”

He painted a broadly positive picture of his US economy, saying America had “fought its way back” from the deep recession that ended in 2009 with continued growth and new jobs. However, he said progress had been marred by a “winner-takes-all economy” that has disproportionately benefited the richest Americans, and said that future progress was dependent upon support from Republicans, who have so far disagreed vehemently over economic policy.

“Even though our businesses are creating new jobs and have broken record profits, nearly all the income gains of the past 10 years have continued to flow to the top 1 per cent,” he said.

“The average CEO has gotten a raise of nearly 40 per cent since 2009, but the average American earns less than he or she did in 1999.” He added: “This growing inequality isn't just morally wrong; it's bad economics. When middle-class families have less to spend, guess what? Businesses have fewer customers.

“When wealth concentrates at the very top, it can inflate unstable bubbles that threaten the economy. When the rungs on the ladder of opportunity grow farther apart, it undermines the very essence of America.”

The address, at Knox College in Illinois, where he gave his first speech after becoming a US senator in 2005, kickstarted a series of speeches on the economy.

Obama's speaking tour has been heavily promoted by the White House in recent days. Senior administration officials billed the address as a decisive intervention to regain the political agenda and to put the focus on rebuilding the economy the priority they say got the president re-elected.

Obama was scheduled to immediately fly to Missouri to deliver the same message, and will give a third address in Florida on Thursday.

Similar speeches are planned in the months to come, as the White House tries to set out its stall before congressional negotiations over tax and spending priorities - and whether to raise the debt ceiling - in September.

To loud applause from the audience of supporters in Illinois, Obama said: “As Washington prepares to enter another budget debate, the stakes for our middle class could not be higher”.

There were no new policy proposals in the speech. Critics have pointed out is Obama's ninth attempt to refocus the debate on the economy.

He has repeatedly failed to forge bipartisan support in Congress, particularly in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives, where there is a strong appetite for deeper spending cuts.

By arrangement with the Guardian