Thursday, January 22, 2015

Obama: 'The shadow of crisis has passed'


REDWOOD CITY, California - A noticeably revitalized President Barack Obama appeared Tuesday night before the new GOP-led Congress to paint the state of the nation.

"America, for all that we’ve endured; for all the grit and hard work required to come back; for all the tasks that lie ahead, know this: The shadow of crisis has passed and the state of the Union is strong," he said.

Obama was buoyed by a growing US economy, increasing number of jobs, lower gas prices, and a job approval rating that’s the highest since the government shutdown in 2013.

By appealing to the needs of the middle class, Obama framed the political debate in the next two years.

"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 said.

Included in Obama’s proposals:

    Lower taxes for low income families
    Affordable child care
    Guaranteed paid sick and maternity leaves
    Equal pay for women
    Free community college education
    Higher wages

“To everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: If you truly believe you could work full time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest working people in America a raise,” he said.

But to get these proposals to sail through Congress will be a challenge. The GOP-led Congress is blocking Obama’s recent orders including his executive action on immigration.

For his part, the president made it clear that he will take an offensive stance.

“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 re-fighting 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,” he said.

Republican Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa delivered the GOP’s response to the State of the Union.

She appeared to take a less combative stance by saying she will not respond to the speech, but alluded to Washington’s faults, saying Congress has its own solutions.

“Americans have been hurting,” she said. “But when we demanded solutions, too often Washington responded with the same stale mindset that led to failed policies like Obamacare. It’s a mindset that gave us political talking points, not serious solutions. That’s why the new Republican majority you elected started by reforming Congress to make it function again. And now, we’re working hard to pass the kind of serious job-creation ideas you deserve.”

President Obama said he is willing to work with Republicans. But the tone from both sides of the aisle seemed less than conciliatory.

As for the majority of the public, a recent NBC/Wall Street Journal poll shows people believe that a divided government does not work well for the country.

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source: www.abs-cbnnews.com