Obama Delivers Sixth State of the Union Address

Written by The Gavel

On Tuesday night, President Barack Obama gave his sixth State of the Union address to the new Republican-dominated Congress. In under an hour, Obama touted his administration’s accomplishments and outlined his plans for his final two years in office.

“The state of the union is strong,” Obama stated. After six years of presidency, the unemployment rate is falling faster than it has since 1984. There have been 58 straight months of job growth (the longest in history), and 11.2 million private sector jobs have been added in the past five years.

The majority of the speech focused on the economy, the improved state of the middle class, and initiatives meant to improve life for working families.

Obama made a point to describe the impact on lower gas prices for the average family as he explained the importance of nourishing the middle-class in a flourishing economy.

“I want to restore the link between hard work and growing opportunity,” Obama said. His plan to do so includes a larger child care tax for families with young children, a tax credit for working parents, a lower mortgage premium for buying new homes and a simplified college tax credit for students and families.

“We’re the only advanced country on Earth that doesn’t guarantee paid sick leave or paid maternity leave,” the President said, proposing that Congress pass a bill guaranteeing all workers at least seven days of paid sick leave.

Obama also wants Congress to pass a law that ensures that women and men in the same job are paid equally . He went on to reiterate the importance of raising the minimum wage, challenging those who believe they could support a family on less than $15,000 a year to “go try it.”

He then went on to one of his more radical proposals, which included making community college “as free and universal in America as high school is today.” He argued that 40 percent of college students choose community college, and most jobs now require more than just a high school diploma.

Later in the address, Obama attempted to outline projects he knew would have bipartisan support. These include updating America’s infrastructure, establishing free and open WiFi access, improving the use of alternative energy sources, and encouraging the advancement of space exploration.

Obama spent a significant amount of time on the dangers of climate change, citing that 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have happened in the 21st century. He confronted those who would deny the science of climate change and asked Congress once again to take action.

In his last minutes Obama spoke directly to Congress, asking for “a better politics” and for them to debate the issues at hand instead of continuing partisan attacks.

Republican Senators Joni Ernst of Iowa and Rand Paul of Kentucky responded to the speech afterward. Their initial criticism of the address was that it painted too rosy a picture of the economy and of the foreign and domestic statuses of the country.

The speech in its entirety can be read here and is available to watch on YouTube.