President Barack Obama opened his 2014 State of the Union address Tuesday with examples of Americans who “make the state of our union strong” and ended it with the face of an American veteran who embodies the determination the president believes the country needs to move forward in his “year of action.”
Obama touched on more than a dozen issues and outlined his plan for the new year. Notably, the president addressed college affordability, raising the minimum wage and the implementation of the Affordable Care Act.
University of Wisconsin-Madison professor David Canon said the president’s address was typical of most states of the union, in that it laid out a laundry list of political issues. Canon also said Obama called attention to future executive orders as a result of “political gridlock seen in Washington.”
However, UW-Madison College Republicans Chair Charlie Hoffmann, called the address the “same empty rhetoric we have seen over the past six years” and said governing through executive orders was a “fine line to tow.”
Obama began by discussing the “College Opportunity Summit,” which has over 150 universities setting their sights on reducing inequality in higher education. The goal is to “help every hardworking kid go to college and succeed when they get to campus,” Obama said.
Additionally, Obama cited commitments from big technology firms such as Apple, Microsoft and Verizon as substantial groundwork that will lead to the spread of high-speed broadband Internet to schools across the country. The president also expressed his readiness to work with Congress on new initiatives to help men of color complete their higher-education goals.
Women were not to be forgotten as Obama made a youthful reference to the popular 1950s-based television drama, “Mad Men.” Obama said it was an embarrassment that women still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns, and he promised to work with Congress to give women equality in the workplace.
“A mother deserves a day off to care for a sick child or sick parent without running hardship and you know what, a father does too,” Obama said.
The president told the nation he will issue an Executive Order to raise the minimum wage of federally funded employees to $10.10 per hour while encouraging companies to follow successful corporations such as Costco in setting higher wages. UW-Madison College Democrats Chair Austin Helmke, said he was pleased with the president’s plan to raise the federal minimum wage, saying it would help a lot of people, including college students.
However, Hoffmann said Obama’s plan to encourage private companies to raise the minimum wage would actually hurt job creation.
Additionally, Canon said Obama laid out an effective case for raising the minimum wage when the president cited the depreciation of the minimum wage of roughly 20 percent since President Ronald Reagan.
While the initial rollout of the Affordable Care Act and federal exchanges have been a contentious point among politicians, Obama highlighted the positive progress made since the launch.
According to the president, 3 million Americans under the age of 26 have gained coverage through their parents’ plans. Obama added “zero” Americans would be dropped or denied coverage to pre-existing conditions.
Both Helmke and Canon agreed the story of Sgt. First Class Cory Remsburg, a veteran who served in Afghanistan before being wounded in combat, was the emotional high point of the night and an effective strategy for uniting Americans.
“To draw the broader implication of [Remsburg’s story] and say, this is an example of what America is… was extremely effective,” Canon said. “Two minutes standing ovation is one of the longest standing ovations I remember in a State of the Union address.”
