President Barack Obama delivered an ambitious State of the Union speech Tuesday that began with a sweeping plan to "reignite" the American middle class and culminated with a rousing call for new restrictions on gun ownership.
Both agendas face stiff opposition from his Republican opponents in Congress. But the president, trying to sustain the momentum from his re-election victory and progressive inauguration address, threw the gantlet at their feet.
Appearing before a joint session of Congress, Obama started with a challenge to enact a series of tax reforms, spending cuts and job-building government investments that he said wouldn't raise the federal deficit.
?The greatest nation on Earth cannot keep conducting its business by drifting from one manufactured crisis to the next," Obama said. "Let's agree, right here, right now, to keep the people's government open, 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."
Obama's sweeping economic plan included:
- Cutting Medicare subsidies to drug companies
- Eliminating tax loopholes for the wealthy
- Raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour and linking it to cost of living increases
- Investing in high-tech manufacturing hubs
- Increasing research and development of renewable energy sources while cutting dependence on oil
- Create a federal program to fix deteriorating bridges, ports, pipelines and schools
- Make "high-quality" pre-school available to all children
- Reward schools that emphasize science, technology, engineering and math
- Withhold federal aid to colleges that don't keep tuition costs down
- Pursue new trade agreements in Asia and Europe
The speech, Obama's fifth State of the Union, was watched by millions of people and marked Obama's next significant step in pursuing his second term agenda -- and outlining what he hopes to be his political legacy.
As in the case of all modern-era second-term presidents, Obama has relatively little time to spend his political capital toward something broad and meaningful. So he put together a speech that could be seen as a sequel to his remarks last month at his second inauguration, when he aimed big with a call for stricter gun control, the right for gays to marry, a better response to climate change, and expanded rights for immigrants.
But most of America isn't as worried about these things as they are about the fitful economic recovery. That is why Obama, still struggling to meet the lofty expectations of his 2008 election, spent most of his speech on that issue, framing his arguments by appealing to the American ideal of equal opportunity for all.
"A growing economy that creates good, middle-class jobs -- that must be the North Star that guides our efforts," Obama said.
"Every day," he continued, "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 needed to do those jobs? And how do we make sure that hard work leads to a decent living?"
He began with a list of examples he said proved America's progress:?the return of troops from war, the creation of six million new jobs, an uptick in the purchases of domestic automobiles, a decline in the purchase of foreign oil, a "healing" housing market and a "rebounding" stock market.
?Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis, and can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger," Obama said.
But that progress, he said, was tempered by the reality that "millions of Americans whose hard work and dedication have not yet been rewarded."
He added: "It is our generation's task, then, to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth: a rising, thriving middle class."
Obama described his plan as "a balanced approach to deficit reduction, with spending cuts and revenue, and with everybody doing their fair share."
It will begin, he said, with reforming Medicare by cutting subsidies to drug companies and higher payments from wealthy senior citizens.
At the same time, Obama said, the tax code needs to be reformed as well, to eliminate tax loopholes and deductions "for the well-off and well-connected."
Virtually all of his economic proposals face a tough fight with Republicans in Congress. Republicans have already reluctantly agreed to increase tax rates on the wealthiest Americans in exchange for extending Bush-era tax rates for everyone else. But they will likely push back on Obama's latest plan. They say the president isn't serious enough about the deficit.
In that context, Obama's speech could be viewed as a prelude to their upcoming battle over the budget as more than a trillion dollars in automatic spending cuts are scheduled to go into effect next month. The effect, Obama said, would be devastating. "We can't just cut our way to prosperity," he said.
Obama appealed to both Democrats and Republicans to seek compromise.
"I realize that tax reform and entitlement reform will not be easy," the president said. "The politics will be hard for both sides. None of us will get 100 percent of what we want. But the alternative will cost us jobs, hurt our economy, and visit hardship on millions of hardworking Americans."
The president echoed many other proposals he's been making since his re-election campaign: government investment in infrastructure; rebuilding American manufacturing; and expanding domestic energy production, including on emphasis on clean, renewable sources like wind and solar.
"Nothing I'm proposing tonight should increase our deficit by a single dime," Obama said. "It's not a bigger government we need, but a smarter government that sets priorities and invests in broad-based growth. "
At the same time, Obama pushed for the kinds of things that he hopes will establish his legacy long after he leaves office four years from now: Creating a way for many immigrants in the country illegally to become citizens; dealing with climate change; and several gun-control measures, including a ban on certain assault-style weapons and high capacity ammunition magazines and more expansive background cheeks for gun owners.
In the audience were many people affected by gun violence, including the parents of Hadiya Pendleton, the 14-year-old Chicago girl shot and killed days after performing at Obama's Jan. 21 inauguration.
The president announced that 34,000 troops would leave Afghanistan in the next year, reducing the total U.S. military presence there by half, on course for a full withdrawal by the end of 2014.
Obama promised to seek treaties to reduce the number of nuclear weapons around the world. That message included a repudiation of North Korea's test this week of a nuclear device.?
Obama also previewed his upcoming trip to Israel, the first of his presidency.
The State of the Union was followed by a rebuttal from Republican freshman Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida, a rising GOP star who could run for president in 2016. He accused Obama of hurting the middle class with tax increases and deficit spending.
"I hope the president will abandon his obsession with raising taxes and instead work with us to achieve real growth in our economy," Rubio said.
Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky will deliver a separate response as a representative of the Republicans' Tea Party faction.
After the speech, Obama is expected to hit the road for campaign-style stops in North Carolina, Georgia and Chicago.
With reporting from NBC News and The Associated Press.
Source: http://feeds.nbcconnecticut.com/click.phdo?i=2673934450cdee4c60a9d6aa0552b86f
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