Dear Commons Community,
President Obama gave his State of the Union last night. He was upbeat in talking about an America that is a much better place than six years ago. The economy is better, unemployment is the lowest it has been since before the Great Recession, the United States has shaken off its dependency on foreign oil, and the combat mission in Afghanistan is over. He then called on Congress to work with him on a number of new initiatives.
“We have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth,” “Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?”
He called on his adversaries to “appeal to each other’s basic decency instead of our basest fears,” and he said he longed for a political reality free of “gotcha moments or trivial gaffes or fake controversies.” He said a better politics would allow Republicans and Democrats to come together on reforming the criminal justice system in the wake of shootings in Ferguson, Mo., and Staten Island, N.Y.
Mr. Obama highlighted potential areas of collaboration with Republicans. He called on Congress to approve a business tax overhaul, the granting of authority to strike trade deals, and a major initiative to repair crumbling roads and bridges.
He also vowed to push forward with policies that have generated Republican opposition. He called for aggressive action to fight climate change and said he would not back down on changes to the nation’s immigration system. He repeated his support for new regulations on Internet providers and for overriding state laws that limit competition for high-speed service.
Of particular importance to readers of this blog, the President repeated his offer of free community college for millions of students, paid leave for workers and more generous government assistance for education, child care and retirement savings for the middle class, all of which are to be financed in large part by $320 billion in tax increases over the next decade on higher income earners as well as a fee on large financial institutions.
Media analysts afterwards likened Obama’s enthusiasm to his first year as president. However, with a Congress controlled by the Republican Party, much of what he proposed will have a tough going.
Tony
