Tonight, President Obama gave his third State of the Union address. As expected, Obama took credit for things that went right on his watch, and generally ignored or downplayed those things that had not worked out as planned. It was also the an opening salvo in his reelection campaign, as Obama tries to educate the American voter that they must stay the course and not give into the Republicans who will attempt to reverse course, destroying any hope of long term recovery for the country.
Personally, I watched the 2012 State of the Union Address with some interest. For the last several years, I have been one of the discouraged workers who could not find a job; the result of which being that I slipped into college and self-employment, deciding that being a non-traditional college student and a freelance writer was better than moping on the couch. As I approach the end of my Bachelor program, I have started to ponder whether the economy has improved enough to justify my return to the labor force or if it is better to attempt to earn a Masters degree and continue ghostwriting for others.
I am not alone. There are many citizens in the exact same position that I am in. We would all like to know which way the economic winds are blowing.
The President book-ended his speech with a message of unity. He clothed it in the guise of the cooperation that he has observed in military units over the past few years.
“They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.”
This unity is part of what Obama credits for bringing an end to the war in Iraq, eliminating Osama bin Laden, and breaking the momentum of terrorist movements.
The focus on unity was a message to those in Washington who have done everything they can to frustrate every idea that the President have put forth over the last three years. It is safe to presume that Obama is going to blame his political opponents for the slowness of America’s economic recovery.
Obama stressed the fact that the basic American promise, if you work hard, you can succeed in this country, is in danger of disappearing. Throughout the State of the Union Address, he hinted that part of the problem is the widening gap between the rich and greedy and those who they have taken unfair advantage of. A direct shot at the Republicans and the Tea Party movement was taken when Obama stated that “If you make more than one million dollars a year, you should not pay less than thirty percent taxes.”
As an individual who has became self-employed, I tend to agree. My tax rate, despite my small income, is higher than thirty percent…and I am poor. Having worked for corporations, and some wealthy people, I know that the basic premise of the Republican and Tea Party logic that the rich need more money (in the form of tax breaks) to create jobs does not hold water. My personal experience has been that employers only create jobs when they absolutely have to. Their interest is the bottom line, not job creation.
The State of the Union Address included mentions of industries that needed less regulations, with a humorous reference to the fact that one government regulation insisted that a milk spill was a major danger, and the need to continue to regulate those industries that were actual dangers. For the health of the overall economy, Obama encouraged passing laws that would give tax breaks to those companies willing to bring manufacturing and jobs back to the United States as well as those developing renewable green energies.
Of particular interest to me was Obama’s statements about education. Besides considering a graduate degree, my wife is pursuing a graduate degree to further her profession qualifications as a teacher. Besides stating that “higher education can’t be a luxury-it’s an economic imperative,” Obama touched upon the fact that the United States should ease the citizenship route for those who were educated in the United States, so that they become an asset to the US economy, rather than working in other countries and helping foreign companies take away American jobs.
Overall, I am sure that many people are going to consider this State of the Union Address to be so much political hot air, a whiff of the upcoming Presidential campaign. But as a concerned citizen that hopes to someday actually benefit from his education, and I will be about fifty when I finally get my Masters, I see it more as a statement of what needs to be done no matter who actually wins the election.
Over the past three years, I have watched the two political parties bitterly oppose one another, holding fast to two opposing visions of what needs to be done. Unfortunately, I believe that this behavior has slowed down the recovery of the economy. Obama is right, we need our politicians to set aside their differences and focus on restoring the American promise. And it does not matter who wins the next election as long as they focus on the goals that Obama has set forth in this State of the Union Address-less greed, less pollution, more jobs, better educations, and most of all, political unity and cooperation between the two political parties.