In case you missed it, we did a live chat last night followed by a live radio show hosted by our very own J. "Fed Up" Edwards where we recapped our own personal take on the state of the union. Again, we appreciate everybody who joined in on both the chat during the state of the union and the radio show afterwards.
To recap, the President laid out a broad range of topics before Congress (and the Supreme Court which was noticeably missing one Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito) and urged them to take action. Some of the areas he covered were as follows:
JOBS:
Our economy is adding jobs, but too many people still can’t find full-
time employment. Corporate profits have skyrocketed to all-time highs,
but for more than a decade, wages and incomes have barely budged. It is
our generation’s task, then, to reignite the true engine of America’s
economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class...Every day, we should ask ourselves three questions as a nation: How
do we attract more jobs to our shores? How do we equip our people with
the skills they need to get those jobs? And how do we make sure that
hard work leads to a decent living? A year-and-a-half ago, I
put forward an American Jobs Act that independent economists said would
create more than 1 million new jobs. And I thank the last Congress for
passing some of that agenda; I urge this Congress to pass the rest...After shedding jobs for more than 10 years, our manufacturers have added
about 500,000 jobs over the past three. Caterpillar is bringing jobs
back from Japan. Ford is bringing jobs back from Mexico. And this year,
Apple will start making Macs in America again...So tonight, I’m announcing the launch of three more of these
manufacturing hubs, where businesses will partner with the Departments
of Defense and Energy to turn regions left behind by globalization into
global centers of high-tech jobs. And I ask this Congress to help create
a network of 15 of these hubs and guarantee that the next revolution in
manufacturing is made right here in America. We can get that done.
THE ROLE OF GOVERNMENT:
The American people don’t expect government to solve every problem. They
don’t expect those of us in this chamber to agree on every issue. But
they do expect us to put the nation’s interests before party...Let me repeat: Nothing I’m proposing tonight should increase our deficit
by a single dime. It is not a bigger government we need, but a smarter
government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth.
REDUCING THE NATIONAL DEBT:
Over the last few years, both parties have worked together to reduce the
deficit by more than $2.5 trillion, mostly through spending cuts, but
also by raising tax rates on the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans. As a
result, we are more than halfway towards the goal of $4 trillion in
deficit reduction that economists say we need to stabilize our finances.Now we need to finish the job. And the question is: How? In 2011, Congress passed a law saying that if both parties
couldn’t agree on a plan to reach our deficit goal, about a trillion
dollars’ worth of budget cuts would automatically go into effect this
year. These sudden, harsh, arbitrary cuts would jeopardize our military
readiness, they’d devastate priorities like education and energy and
medical research. They would certainly slow our recovery and cost us
hundreds of thousands of jobs. And that’s why Democrats, Republicans,
business leaders, and economists have already said that these cuts --
known here in Washington as “the sequester” -- are a really bad idea...Most Americans -- Democrats, Republicans and independents --
understand that we can’t just cut our way to prosperity. They know that
broad-based economic growth requires a balanced approach to deficit
reduction, with spending cuts and revenue, and with everybody doing
their fair share. And that’s the approach I offer tonight. On
Medicare, I’m prepared to enact reforms that will achieve the same
amount of health care savings by the beginning of the next decade as the
reforms proposed by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles commission...But let’s be clear: Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan.
ENTITLEMENT SPENDING:
Already, the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of health care costs. And
-- and the reforms I’m proposing go even further. We’ll reduce taxpayer
subsidies to prescription drug companies and ask more from the
wealthiest seniors. We’ll bring down costs by
changing the way our government pays for Medicare, because our medical
bills shouldn’t be based on the number of tests ordered or days spent in
the hospital. They should be based on the quality of care that our
seniors receive. And I am open to additional
reforms from both parties, so long as they don’t violate the guarantee
of a secure retirement. Our government shouldn’t make promises we cannot
keep, but we must keep the promises we’ve already made.
REVISING THE TAX CODE:
The American people deserve a tax code that helps small businesses
spend less time filling out complicated forms and more time expanding
and hiring, a tax code that ensures billionaires with high- powered
accountants can’t work the system and pay a lower rate than their
hard-working secretaries, a tax code that lowers incentives to move jobs
overseas and lowers tax rates for businesses and manufacturers that are
creating jobs right here in the United States of America. That’s what tax reform can deliver. That’s what we can do together.
RAISING THE DEBT CEILING:
Let’s agree, right here, right now, to keep the
people’s government open and pay our bills on time and always uphold the
full faith and credit of the United States of America. The American people have worked too hard, for too long, rebuilding from one crisis to see their elected officials cause another.
ENERGY:
Today, no area holds more promise than our investments in American
energy. After years of talking about it, we’re finally poised to control
our own energy future. We produce more oil at home than we have in 15
years. We have doubled the distance our cars
will go on a gallon of gas and the amount of renewable energy we
generate from sources like wind and solar, with tens of thousands of
good, American jobs to show for it. We produce more natural gas than
ever before, and nearly everyone’s energy bill is lower because of it.
And over the last four years, our emissions of the dangerous carbon
pollution that threatens our planet have actually fallen...Now, four years ago, other countries dominated the clean-energy market
and the jobs that came with it. And we’ve begun to change that. Last
year, wind energy added nearly half of all new power capacity in
America. So let’s generate even more. Solar energy gets cheaper by the
year. Let’s drive down costs even further. As long as countries like
China keep going all-in on clean energy, so must we.
CLIMATE CHANGE:
For the sake of our children and our future. We must do more to combat climate change. Yes, it’s true that no single event makes a trend but
the fact is, the 12 hottest years on record have all come in the last
15. Heat waves, droughts, wildfires, and floods -- all are now more
frequent and intense. We can choose to believe that Superstorm Sandy,
and the most severe drought in decades, and the worst wildfires some
states have ever seen were all just a freak coincidence. Or we can
choose to believe in the overwhelming judgment of science -- and act
before it’s too late...I urge this Congress to pursue a bipartisan, market-based solution to climate change, like the one John McCain and Joe Lieberman
worked on together a few years ago. But if Congress won’t act soon to protect future
generations, I will. I will direct my Cabinet to come up with executive
actions we can take, now and in the future, to reduce pollution, prepare
our communities for the consequences of climate change, and speed the
transition to more sustainable sources of energy.
INFRASTRUCTURE:
The CEO of Siemens
America -- a company that brought hundreds of new jobs to North Carolina
-- has said that if we upgrade our infrastructure, they’ll bring even
more jobs. And that’s the attitude of a lot of companies all around the
world. And I know you want these job-creating projects in your district;
I’ve seen all those ribbon- cuttings. So,
tonight, I propose a “Fix-It-First” program to put people to work as
soon as possible on our most urgent repairs, like the nearly 70,000
structurally deficient bridges across the country. And
to make sure taxpayers don’t shoulder the whole burden, I’m also
proposing a Partnership to Rebuild America that attracts private capital
to upgrade what our businesses need most: modern ports to move our
goods; modern pipelines to withstand a storm; modern schools worthy of
our children. Let’s prove there’s no better place to do
business than here in the United States of America, and let’s start
right away. We can get this done.
HOUSING:
And part of our rebuilding effort must also involve our housing
sector. The good news is, our housing market is finally healing from the
collapse of 2007. Home prices are rising at the fastest pace in six
years. Home purchases are up nearly 50 percent. And construction is
expanding again. But even with mortgage rates near a 50-year low,
too many families with solid credit who want to buy a home are being
rejected. Too many families who have never missed a payment and want to
refinance are being told no. That’s holding our entire economy back. We
need to fix it. Right now, there’s a bill in this Congress that
would give every responsible homeowner in America the chance to save
$3,000 a year by refinancing at today’s rates. Democrats and Republicans
have supported it before. So what are we waiting for? Take a vote and
send me that bill.
EDUCATION:
You know, study after study shows that the sooner a child begins
learning, the better he or she does down the road. But today, fewer than
three in ten 4-year-olds are enrolled in a high-quality preschool
program. Most middle-class parents can’t afford a few hundred bucks a
week for private preschool. And for poor kids who need help the most,
this lack of access to preschool education can shadow them for the rest
of their lives. So, tonight, I propose working with states to make high-quality preschool available to every single child in America. That’s something we should be able to do. Every
dollar we invest in high-quality early childhood education can save
more than seven dollars later on, by boosting graduation rates, reducing
teen pregnancy, even reducing violent crime. In states that make it a
priority to educate our youngest children -- like Georgia or Oklahoma --
studies show students grow up more likely to read and do math at grade
level, graduate high school, hold a job, form more stable families of
their own. We know this works. So let’s do what works and make sure none
of our children start the race of life already behind. Let’s give our
kids that chance...Tonight, I’m announcing a new challenge, to redesign America’s high
schools so they better equip graduates for the demands of a high-tech
economy. And we’ll reward schools that develop new partnerships with
colleges and employers, and create classes that focus on science,
technology, engineering and math, the skills today’s employers are
looking for to fill the jobs that are there right now and will be there
in the future...Through tax credits, grants, and better loans, we’ve made college
more affordable for millions of students and families over the last few
years. But taxpayers can’t keep on subsidizing higher and higher and
higher costs for higher education. Colleges must do their part to keep
costs down, and it’s our job to make sure that they do. So,
tonight, I ask Congress to change the Higher Education Act so that
affordability and value are included in determining which colleges
receive certain types of federal aid.
IMMIGRATION:
Real reform means strong border security, and we can build on the
progress my administration’s already made, putting more boots on the
southern border than at any time in our history and reducing illegal
crossings to their lowest levels in 40 years. Real reform means
establishing a responsible pathway to earned citizenship, a path that
includes passing a background check, paying taxes and a meaningful
penalty, learning English, and going to the back of the line behind the
folks trying to come here legally. And real
reform means fixing the legal immigration system to cut waiting periods
and attract the highly skilled entrepreneurs and engineers that will
help create jobs and grow our economy. In other
words, we know what needs to be done. And as we speak, bipartisan groups
in both chambers are working diligently to draft a bill, and I applaud
their efforts. So let’s get this done. Send me a comprehensive
immigration reform bill in the next few months, and I will sign it right
away. And America will be better for it.
WOMEN'S ISSUES:
We know our economy is stronger when our wives, our mothers, our
daughters can live their lives free from discrimination in the workplace
and free from the fear of domestic violence. Today, the Senate passed
the Violence Against Women’s Act that Joe Biden originally wrote almost
20 years ago. And I now urge the House to do the same. Good job, Joe. And I ask this Congress to declare that women should earn a -- a living
equal to their efforts and finally pass the Paycheck Fairness Act this
year.
RAISING THE MINIMUM WAGE:
We know our economy’s stronger when we reward an honest day’s work
with honest wages. But today, a full-time worker making the minimum wage
earns $14,500 a year. Even with the tax relief we’ve put in place, a
family with two kids that earns the minimum wage still lives below the
poverty line. That’s wrong. That’s why, since the last time this
Congress raised the minimum wage, 19 states have chosen to bump theirs
even higher. Tonight, let’s declare that, in the wealthiest nation
on Earth, no one who works full time should have to live in poverty --
and raise the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour.
THE WAR IN AFGHANISTAN:
Already we have brought home 33,000 of our brave servicemen and women.
This spring, our forces will move into a support role, while Afghan
security forces take the lead. Tonight, I can announce that, over the
next year, another 34,000 American troops will come home from
Afghanistan. This drawdown will continue. And by the end of next year,
our war in Afghanistan will be over.
THE WAR ON TERROR:
Today, the organization that attacked us on 9/11 is a shadow of its former self. It’s
true, different Al Qaida affiliates and extremist groups have emerged,
from the Arabian Peninsula to Africa. The threat these groups pose is
evolving. But to meet this threat, we don’t need to send tens of
thousands of our sons and daughters abroad or occupy other nations.
Instead, we’ll need to help countries like Yemen, Libya, and Somalia
provide for their own security and help allies who take the fight to
terrorists, as we have in Mali. And, where necessary, through a range of
capabilities, we will continue to take direct action against those
terrorists who pose the gravest threat to Americans. Now
as we do, we must enlist our values in the fight. That’s why my
administration has worked tirelessly to forge a durable legal and policy
framework to guide our counterterrorism efforts. Throughout, we have
kept Congress fully informed of our efforts. And I recognize that, in
our democracy, no one should just take my word for it that we’re doing
things the right way. So, in the months ahead, I will continue to engage
Congress to ensure not only that our targeting, detention and
prosecution of terrorists remains consistent with our laws and system of
checks and balances, but that our efforts are even more transparent to
the American people and to the world...As long as I’m commander-in-chief, we will do whatever we must to
protect those who serve their country abroad, and we will maintain the
best military the world has ever known.
THE RIGHT TO VOTE:
When any American -- no matter where they live or what their party --
are denied that right because they can’t wait for five or six or seven
hours just to cast their ballot, we are betraying our ideals. So
tonight, I’m announcing a nonpartisan commission to improve the voting
experience in America. And it definitely needs improvement. I’m asking
two long-time experts in the field -- who, by the way, recently served
as the top attorneys for my campaign and for Governor Romney’s campaign
-- to lead it. We can fix this. And we will. The American people demand
it, and so does our democracy.
GUN CONTROL:
It has been two months since Newtown. I know this is not the first
time this country has debated how to reduce gun violence, but this time
is different. Overwhelming majorities of Americans -- Americans who
believe in the Second Amendment -- have come together around commonsense
reform, like background checks that will make it harder for criminals
to get their hands on a gun. Senators of both parties are working together on tough new laws to
prevent anyone from buying guns for resale to criminals. Police chiefs
are asking our help to get weapons of war and massive ammunition
magazines off our streets, because these police chiefs, they’re tired of
seeing their guys and gals being outgunned. Each of these proposals deserves a vote in Congress. Now...if
you want to vote no, that’s your choice. But these proposals deserve a
vote, because in the two months since Newtown, more than a thousand
birthdays, graduations, anniversaries have been stolen from our lives by
a bullet from a gun. More than a thousand.
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