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WESTCHESTER, N.Y. — Twitter feeds were buzzing and political junkies were up late for President Barack Obama’s third State of the Union address. The speech covered a swath of political issues of the day, including education reform, immigration reform, tax reform, American manufacturing and energy production, and above all, job creation.
Obama spoke of an imperiled American dream, in danger from unfair business practices and tax policies, emphasizing that Americans need a country “where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded.”
Some of the most emphatic points of the State of the Union include what the president called “insourcing,” bringing jobs back into the United States, middle class jobs and tax reform. Fairness was also mentioned many times during the speech, as the president supported taxing millionaires at the same rate as payroll Americans.
Rep. Nan Hayworth (R – District 19), in anticipation of the State of the Union on Tuesday, said in a statement, “We can do it if we work together – House and Senate and president – to free up American enterprise to create jobs. Washington can’t regulate or tax us into growth. But we can work together to lift burdens and bring the federal government to the right size to serve—and not to suffocate—a strong and healthy economy.” Hayworth is entering her second year of her first term in office, after being elected on a wave a Tea Party reform.
“Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else,” Obama said. “We need to change our tax code so people like me, and an awful lot of members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes.”
“Tonight, President Obama laid out a bold vision for reviving the American manufacturing base and getting the economy back on track so it works for everyone. These ideas are neither Democratic nor Republican ideas, they're simply good ideas,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D – N.Y.) said.
“I fully support President Obama for outlining such an ambitious agenda,” said Richard Becker, Democratic member of the Cortlandt Town Council running against Hayworth for New York’s 19th Congressional District. “For putting the country back on the right track and focusing on the issues that matter—for calling for a government and a financial system that serves all of us: no bailouts, no handouts, no cop-outs. When we get back to that set of values, we’ll be getting back to an America that will grow jobs, improve education, build newer, better infrastructure and serves the needs of each and every one of us.”
“Our top priority must be jobs, jobs, jobs,” said New York State Gov. Andrew Cuomo after Tuesday’s speech. “When the national economy improves New York benefits, and I look forward to continuing to work together with the President and our federal representatives to grow our economy."
Comments (5)
You are all missing the point. It is NOT that you have to have a degree, it is that you have a marketable skill after going to a higher leaning facility. Our country will not grow if all people go to school for is liberal arts. They don't produce products that will raise the GDP. We need manufacturing and engineering jobs to do that. Actually products that we can export. The only thing that we now produce is PAPERWORK jobs.
Our education system is probably the highest cost per student in the world and we rank 18th in the world as to results Are we getting our moneys worth, you make the call. Everyone that graduates from college wants to be a CEO immediately. They really don't want to study in a field that requires hard work such as Engineering and Science.
Before you child goes on to college, you may want to sit down with them and see what they want to do in life. If they can't answer that question then they should go out in the world and work a real job for a year or two. That may help them make their decision on what their career souse should be. How many of these student have you heard say, I'm not declaring a major jet? I really don't know what I want to be. Really? When will you decide that, after 4 years of partying? The cost of college has gone up every year and not in proportion the the cost of living index and probably twice that much. What are YOU getting for that? Sorry. I don't see the cost to benefit ratio being in your favor as a parent. Have you ever asked yourself, why do I have to pay over 40K a year for tuition?
Bob, I too agree. The level of achievement of graduates at my high school in Mt. Vernon, NY (A.B. Davis—before the "unified" Mt. Vernon High School) was much higher than many 1st year college levels today. The work started in kindergarten. We did things like diagramming sentences so we had a good grasp of grammar, etc. We were held to proper spelling in all of our classes, not just English. When we wrote papers, we researched them in the library and had to use reference books. Today, most students "cut and paste" online. Wickepedia is considered a valid source of information (really?). The attitude is that if it's online, it must be true. We learned to use English properly by READING, not by scrolling. I use my computer constantly, but I have never lost sight of the fact that it is only a tool.
According to a 2011 study by the Knowledge is Power Program, only about 31% of Americans between the ages of 25 and 29 have a bachelor's degree or higher. In order to assist those with out degree we need High Speed Universities online
What we need to do is to make K-8 education worth a damn!
I could not agree with you more Bob.
Pre-WW2 6% of the same demographic had a bachelors degree. Post WW2 it rose to 20%, by 1965 25%, by 1974 29% and it has flattened out since.
To obtain a bachelors degree kids coming out of High School need to be able to read, write and do math. We are jumping the gun if we think rushing kids through college is beneficial when nearly 50% dont complete high school or are unable to attend college.