Are We All in the Same Boat? The State of the Union

You Got The Power, Inc.
Program Outline
January 11, 2012

Topic of Discussion: Are We All in the Same Boat? The State of the Union

• Republicans and pundits attacked President Obama’s State of the Union address three days before he gave the speech

• If Hollywood gave Oscars for shamelessness, the Republican responses to President Obama’s State of the Union speech last night, Jan 24, would have swept the field

  • Conservative obstructionists have gone out of their way to sabotage efforts to repair the economic damage their policies wrought

• President Barack Obama called economic fairness “the defining issue of our time” in his State of the Union address

• President Obama presented six policies that are worth a serious look

1. Merit Pay for Teachers. Education reform is essential to America’s long-term success

2. Expand Oil and Gas Drilling. It’s a step toward more energy independence.

3. No More Bailouts. The Obama administration announced that banks would be required to put in place the equivalent of a living will that spells out how they will pay their debts if they go under

4. 90-Day Up or Down Vote. Republican and Democratic presidents have found worthy appointees stalled in Congress as a result of secret holds and never receiving a vote

5. Immigration Reform. President Obama pointed out that his administration has increased border enforcement and deportations. That’s why he could argue that it was time for comprehensive immigration reform, particularly on enacting the DREAM act

6. Ban Insider Trading by Members of Congress. The president committed to signing this piece of legislation. The question is why it hasn’t reached his desk yet

• President Obama announced the creation of a “financial crimes unit” that will “crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people’s investments”

  • There will also be an investigative unit that will investigate the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis

  • This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans

  • This gets at the heart of a major concern of Americans across the political spectrum: that the leaders of the financial institutions who brought down the economy, causing millions to lose their homes and their jobs, would never be held to account

• The initiatives Obama announced would have to be approved by Congress

• Given the continuing gridlock on Capitol Hill one wonders if neither measure is certain to win approval in this session of Congress

• Last night, the President said:

  • “An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody”

  • “I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place,” he warned.2011 State of the Union poll found record support for Obama agenda

  • “Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that does the same”

  • “We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by”

  • “We can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules”

• President Obama is proposing more specific tax changes to deal with the income inequality

• He said, “You can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense”

• He will ask Congress to ensure

  • A 30% effective income tax rate on millionaires and billionaires in what has been described as the "Buffett Rule"

  • And, a limit to the number of deductions that households making more than $1 million can take

• Polls after the State of Union Address found record support for the President's agenda

  • A survey taken moments after President Barack Obama finished giving his State of the Union speech found that an overwhelming majority of Americans who viewed the speech, including Republicans, strongly favored the president’s proposals

  • In total, 91 percent of those surveyed approved of Obama’s agenda.

  • Approximately 27 percent of Americans identify themselves as Republican, the poll noted — versus 34 percent identifying as Democrats and 39 percent as independents

  • A CBS News/New York Times poll out Tuesday found that 55 percent of Americans think upper-income taxpayers pay less than their fair share.

  • A Pew survey earlier this month found that two in three Americans now see a strong conflict between rich and poor

• The president called for more attention to education and job training, with an emphasis on helping teachers prosper

• "Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let's offer schools a deal. Give them the best resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility," he said.

• The President also addressed the deficit and noted that Congressional Democrats and Republicans have already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings. Still, he said, more needs to be done

• The bottom line, he said, is that America was built on the promise that if you work hard, you can do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send kids to college and put away money for retirement.

• "The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive," said the president. "No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important."