President Obama during his second State of the Union Address last Wednesday.

A student's recap of President Obama's Second State of the Union Address

By: Brad Robichaux

Posted: 2/1/10

On January 27, 2010, President Barack Obama gave his first State of the Union address. The approximately 70-minute speech covered an array of social and political topics including unemployment, the Wall Street bailout, the stimulus bill, employment, energy, education, healthcare, the deficit, bipartisanship, terrorism, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The first of the topics which followed President Obama's introduction discussed the state of the economy and the continuing influence of the economic recession. In defense of the recent activity of Congress, The president put forth that economists from both sides of the political line had warned that unless something was done immediately, the economy could fall into a worse condition than it is now, or even a possible "second depression," as the president stated. "The storm has passed…" Obama continued, "… but the devastation remains," and afterwards the president cited the unemployment rate of 10% (or "one in ten Americans") as evidence of challenges still faced in the aftermath of the economic recession.

What followed this report was the first of many calls by the president for bipartisanship in the effort to solve the nation's problems. "[People] are tired of the partisanship, the shouting, and the pettiness. They know we can't afford it," the president spoke. "What the American people hope, what they deserve, is for all of us, Democrats and Republicans, to work through our differences."

The president moved on to discuss the bank bailout, which Obama assured no one liked, including himself. The president defended, however, his support for the bailout as an initiative that, though unpopular, was necessary, citing that the bailout helped stabilize the financial sector and has, thus far, recovered most of the money that was paid out to failing banks. The president then proposed, as a means to generate the remainder of the funds, a fee levied upon the "biggest banks," stating, "If these firms can afford to hand out big bonuses again, they can afford a modest fee to pay back the tax-payers who rescued them in their time of need."

The president continued by mentioning that his administration has refrained from raising income taxes during the fiscal drain of the bailout and the stimulus bill, as well as cutting taxes for 95% of Americans. He mentioned that despite slow results, the stimulus bill did indeed create jobs as intended, while firmly stating that job creation is to be the primary focus of 2010. The president will call for a new "jobs bill" to be presented to him "without delay," which will include $30 billion that will given to community banks providing loans for the creation and expansion of small businesses, a small business tax credit which will go to companies that hire new workers or raise wages, elimination of capital gains tax on small business investment, and a tax incentive for businesses to invest in new equipment.

The president also put forth a plan to create more jobs through infrastructure improvements, particularly those that use clean energy or energy efficient practices, while also proposing rebates to Americans who make their homes more energy efficient using clean energy sources. Declaring that innovation and investment in clean energy is what will make America more competitive in the future, the president proposed to introduce new clean nuclear power plants, invest in offshore oil development, bio-fuel, and clean coal, and pass a clean energy bill on bipartisan terms.

Along with talk of giving tax credits to companies who create jobs within national borders, the president also spoke of strengthening ties with foreign trade partners, as well as moving to double the nation's exports within 5 years in an aggressive attempt to compete in international markets that can generate the demand necessary to create roughly 2 million more jobs.

President Obama moved on to discuss education, stating, "The best anti-poverty program around is a world-class education." The president promised to work with congress to expand education reform when the Elementary and Secondary Education Act is renewed, but acknowledged that a high school diploma is no longer enough to acquire a good job. In light of this, the president proposed that Congress pass a bill to "revitalize" community colleges, end the tax-payer subsidies that go to banks that provide student loans and instead convert the money into 4 year, $10 thousand dollar college tax credits and increased Pell grants. In addition, the president stated that upon graduation, students should only be required to pay a maximum of 10% of their income to pay off student loans, with all debts to be forgiven after 20 years, or 10 years if the student seeks employment in a civil service job.

It was at this point in the discussion of the middle-class financial burden that the president then turned to the topic of healthcare. The president wished to clarify the political issue by explaining, first and foremost, that he did not accept the task of healthcare reform "…to get some legislative victory under [his] belt," or "because it was good politics." He insisted, based on stories that he had heard, that healthcare reform is a much needed initiative. Obama accepted part of the blame for the difficulty in the passing of reform for not making the plan more clear, but stated firmly that he will not "walk away" from this issue, and neither should Congress. He declared that if anyone from either party had a better plan for healthcare reform, he was eager to know about it.

In a comparison to families having to cut back spending in times of financial crisis, the president discussed the government's own plan to reduce spending and the deficit. The president announced a spending freeze that would take effect in 2011 which will cease increase in spending for all departments except defense, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. Obama vowed to enforce the plan by executive veto if necessary. He assured that in light of the economic troubles the government will continue to cut taxes, but that it simply can't afford to cut taxes for everyone, particularly the wealthy.

Here the president proposed a bipartisan commission to look at ways of reducing the deficit that was generated over the last decade, acknowledging that opposing philosophies create obstacles between the parties. Obama called for an end to political maneuvering and partisan antagonism, saying to Democrats that they cannot "run for the hills" when they have been voted in to govern for the best interest of the people, and saying to Republicans to keep the public good in mind and not simply vote "no" on legislation for the sake of causing the Democrats to lose.

In regard to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the president remained resolute in his decision to send more troops into Afghanistan, as well as promising to pull the remaining troops in Iraq out completely by later this year, effectively ending the war on that front. Obama insisted that his administration would continue to support the Iraqi government as well as the Afghan government provided they commit themselves to ensuring the rights of both men and women. The president promised to continue to invest in veterans programs for the soldiers of the Iraq war, announcing that Vice President Joe Biden and First Lady Michelle Obama have begun a national commitment to support military families.

"Embracing the vision of John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan," as the president stated, Obama will be taking steps towards the reduction of nuclear arms, announcing the most far-reaching arms control agreement between the United States and Russia in twenty years, and a summit to be held in Washington, D. C. that will seek to secure loose nuclear material before it falls into the hands of terrorists. The president has also promised that if countries like North Korea and Iran continue to violate resolutions and pursue nuclear weapons, they will face increased isolation and stronger sanctions.

The president concluded by stating his understanding of the difficulty in managing a nation in crisis, and how he saw that the American people were beginning to "lose faith" in the nation's institutions such as corporations, the media, and government itself, but Obama reinforced his commitment by stating, "We don't quit; I don't quit. Let's seize this moment to start anew, to carry the dream forward, and to strengthen our Union once more."