By Courtney Mata |Staff Writer|
President Barack Obama called for a wage increase, a removal of troops in the Middle East, and a reduction of foreign oil usage in his State of the Union address.
Obama is trying to restore our nation’s trust because many Americans are discouraged by our previous year.
Congress has yet to support Obama’s goals, according to Washington Post staff writers David Nakamura and David A. Fahrenthold.
“Instead of pledging to fix the mess, the president was now promising to find ways around it, and change policies on his own authority,” said Nakamura and Fahrenthold in The Washington Post.
“Obama returned to a familiar problem, Washington’s bitter and stalemated politics, the complaint that drove his insurgent campaign for president in 2008, but now, after five weary years in office, it was clear he saw it differently,” explained Nakamura and Fahrenthold in The Washington Post.
Obama is issuing an executive order requiring federal contractors to pay their federally funded employees a fair wage of at least $10.10 an hour.
“This will help families. It will give businesses customers with more money to spend. It doesn’t involve any new bureaucratic program. So join the rest of the country. Say yes. Give America a raise,” said President Barack Obama during his State of the Union address.
Student Brent Batista, who is currently working on his undergrad degree in history, watched the address on his laptop the following day.
“There is no doubt that Obama knows how to deliver a speech. That is one of his biggest advantages and this is why he won presidency. He talked about our country being a place that makes dreams come true, but I wanted to hear more about his policies,” said Batista.
Students felt that Obama did not address the polices for the year of 2014.
“Obama focused instead on the benefits of the laws that already have taken effect, and their potential to protect Americans from crippling medical expenses,” said Jeffrey Young in The Huffington Post.
“He likened the health care law to proposals he made on subjects including raising the minimum wage, expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and boosting retirement savings; Obama also highlighted the contributions of Democratic Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear,” said Young.
Student Justin Newe said he felt inspired by Obama’s speech.
“I thought that the State of the Union was a strong and very confident speech given by Obama, especially with how low his approval rating was going into it. I don’t think Obama has stuck to his word completely, but then what politician ever does? I liked when he discussed investing in fuels of the future eliminating billions in tax subsidies,” said Newe.
Obama gave special recognition to our soldiers and informed us on his plan to completely withdraw troops from Afghanistan. Obama mentioned in his address his goal to reduce our use on foreign oils and use more of our nation’s fuel.
“Now, one of the biggest factors in bringing more jobs back is our commitment to American energy. The all-of-the-above energy strategy I announced a few years ago is working, and today, America is closer to energy independence than we’ve been in decades,” said Obama.
Obama addresses an increase usage of solar energy and discusses how America is becoming a leader for solar and natural gases. Obama’s State of the Union address for 2014 promised Americans that a bright future is near.
Leave a Reply