President Obama gave his State of the Union address, the annual speech where the president addresses Congress and the nation. The purpose of the speech is to offer a summary of what has been accomplished and future goals. Among the achievements–11 million new jobs; more oil and gas production as well as advances in wind power; the highest graduation rate, math and reading scores in record; 10 million previously uninsured Americans covered under the Affordable Care Act; new government regulation regarding tax-payer bailouts and protection from predatory lending; and the crime rate and incarceration rate have come down simultaneously.
If you haven’t watched the speech, check out this enhanced version of the president’s address. Alongside the video feed are a series of graphics (produced by the White House) that illustrate key point that the president is making through the speech.
(BIAS alert! While watching and listening to the speech, pay attention to how the president phrases things and how the statistics support his point of view. Think about ways that Obama’s Republican counterparts might present information on the same topic. See the bottom of this post for more information on this point.)
Here is a summary of what President Obama laid out in his speech. It is a series of White House proposals for how he would like to guide the government’s priorities for the next two years of his executive term.
- Paid Family Sick Leave The United States is the only advanced country that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave for workers. Currently, 43 million workers have no sick leave. (up to 7 sick days, states adopt paid-leave laws of their own, 6 weeks family leave for federal workers).
- Free Community College It is anticipated the 2 in 3 job openings in the future will require some higher education. The president’s proposal calls for two years of community college free for anyone who is willing to adhere to grade requirements and graduate on time. This will prepare millions of Americans for a new economy without accumulating massive amounts of debt.
- Tax reform President Obama accused lobbyists of rigging the current tax code. He appealed to Congress to close loopholes, raise capital gains tax to 28% for high income households, and to require fees on banks to discourage excessive borrowing.
- Infrastructure bill Many believe that the maintenance of our physical infrastructure (roads and bridges) has been underfunded for far too long. A new bill called the “Rebuild America Act.” The biggest debate on this issue is whether Congress should raise the gas tax in order to fund it.
- National security Protecting our citizens involves balancing combine military power with strong diplomacy. President Obama talked about the necessity of continually degrading and destroying terrorists groups. He asked Congress for a resolution to authorize force against ISIS. On the issue of trade, he asked Congress for trade promotion authority. Despite a halt in Iran’s current nuclear stockpile, the president said that current sanctions proposed by Congress will guarantee failure and vowed to veto this bill if it comes across his desk.
- Cuba The president called for “ending a policy long past its expiration date,” and “legacy of mistrust,: and reiterated his pledge to close Guantanamo Bay detention center.
- Issues of Human Dignity Prohibiting use of torture and making sure drones are properly constrained is a priority of this administration, as is speaking out against offensive stereotypes.
- Other Issues These are the other things President Obama addressed in his speech that he wished to see changes in the coming year–immigration, childcare, raising the minimum wage, leading a “new era of medicine,” an energized space program, free and open internet, cyber security, climate change, stopping the threat of Ebola, and reforming the criminal justice system.
The president acknowledged that both Democrats and Republicans were deeply committed to making meaning impacts on Americans, but that they were often divided in how to pay for things. He called for debates worthy of this country and for us to start seeing ourselves as more than just a collection of Red and Blue states.
Related Links
- The White House Web page has an entire section of its site dedicated to the agenda items and statistics presented in the State of the Union address. It includes the enhanced video shown above, but also a great deal more information from the Obama administration as he tries to shape the political conversation. Spend some time examining the site to learn more about the president’s plans.
- The Republican Party has its own point of view regarding the goals of the nation moving forward. You can view this Web site to see how they disagree with the White House plans. You can also view the Republican Response video to the State of the Union address in the video below.
