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State of the Union Address recap President Obama speaks to the future in annual presentation. NICOLE SCHMIDT Staff Writer If you thought President Barack Obama would go into his final State of the Union Address before the new Republican-dominant Congress with a defeatist attitude, you would be wrong. On January 20, President Obama delivered his final State of the Union Address with an air of power and absolute confidence. The speech began with an eloquent explanation of the accomplishments that have been achieved during his time in office, such as the economy’s improvement, the creation of new jobs, and a higher number of people attending college. Also mentioned were successful endeavors like bringing the troops back home from Afghanistan and having a lesser dependence on foreign oil now than ever before. Obama then continued to tell the story of a Minneapolis couple, Rebekah and Ben Erler. The couple got married rather young and struggled to make ends meet while supporting their young family as the market crashed years prior; their story is one of working hard to make it through, which is exactly what they did.
mashable.com From left to right, Vice President Joe Biden, President Barack Obama, Speaker of the House John Boehner.
“It is amazing,” Rebekah wrote to Obama, “what you can bounce back from when you have to...we are a strong, tight-knit family who has made it through some very, very hard times.” With this as a platform, the speech then evolved into making a point that middle class economics is the most beneficial way to ensure Americans thrive. This calls for tax increases on the wealthy and redistributing it to the less wealthy (referred to
as the ‘Robin Hood’ tax plan). This is a current controversy in Congress because the proposal would call for an increase in taxes on capital gains and dividends for the top 1 percent, from a previous 20 percent to a proposed 28 percent. Also, it proposes an inheritance tax law change making more inheritance subject to tax. This is going to be a sticking point for Democrats and Republicans in the weeks to come, and here’s why:
mashable.com
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Republicans are often displeased when liberal politicians claim that it’s time for the top one percent to start “doing their fair share.” Conservatives believe that these people have worked for their money; and not just work a little, but worked extremely hard for it. If we really want to talk about everyone doing their “fair share”, shouldn’t that entail that everyone pays the same, or nearly the same, percentage amount of taxes on capital gains and dividends? However disconcerting this is to the Republicans, Democrats find that the success of others should be shared, thereby creating a better country as a whole rather than a handful of people living very comfortably while others struggle paycheck to paycheck. Besides the significant talk of middle class economics, other logical points were addressed. Childcare, paid sick and maternity leave, minimum wage increase, free community college, better infrastructure, and a free and open internet were all talking points in the hour long speech. While the speech presented many relevant issues, one that gained a huge reaction in the media was the first mention of LGBT individuals in such an address. He clearly supported the notion that all people should
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have the right to be married and live with the same opportunities as every other American. The LGBT community is excited to finally be recognized on such a large stage as the State of the Union Address, where 31.7 million people tuned in to hear the president’s words. President Obama, nearing the end of his speech, also spoke on his success with the restoration of diplomatic relations with Cuba. “In Cuba,” Obama stated, “we are ending a policy that was long past its expiration date. When what you’re doing doesn’t work for fifty years, it’s time to try something new.” One area that also captured attention was the total number of veto threats in the speech, including one comment on the current health insurance situation: “We can’t slow down businesses or put our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns. We can’t put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we’ve got to fix a broken system. And if a bill comes to my desk that tries to do any of these things, I will veto it. It will have earned my veto.” The other veto promise included any proposal that would aims to undo sanctions with Iran. It’s no surprise that the president feels he needs to assert his veto power with a majority of people acting against what he wishes to be accomplished. Hacking security, climate change, and GTMO rounded up the heavy issues of the night. With elegant prose and storytelling (Obama should really thank his speech writers) he brought the speech full circle and referred back to the story of Rebekah and Ben Erler. He related their story of perseverance to the story of America as a whole. Here is the last paragraph of the address: “My fellow Americans, we
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