President Obama emphasized reducing income inequality and expanding opportunity, in part through increased access to higher education, in his fifth State of the Union address Tuesday night.
He also stressed job creation, the United States’ reduced military presence in the Middle East and his commitment to increasing funding for renewable energy sources and natural gas.
Obama declared that he will use as many presidential powers as possible to move his agenda along in 2014 should Congress not act quickly enough. “America does not stand still — and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do,” he said.
Early and higher education received major attention in Obama’s speech. The president focused on the need to improve the quality of education for pre-kindergarten students and access to college for all students.
“I’m going to pull together a coalition of elected officials, business leaders and philanthropists willing to help more kids access the high-quality pre-K they need,” Obama said.
The president mentioned the recent College Opportunity Summit, where 150 institutions, including Brown, pledged to make higher education more affordable for low-income students.
He also touted the development of programs that partner businesses with community colleges to train more skilled workers.
The president spotlighted rising levels of inequality, unemployment and aid for military forces and veterans as he laid out his liberally aligned plan for the coming year.
Obama cited the fact that average wages for U.S. workers have remained stagnant over the last four years, though corporate profits have skyrocketed.
“The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by, let alone to get ahead,” he said. “Our job is to reverse these trends.”
Obama also addressed inequalities among workers. “It’s time to do away with workplace policies that belong in a ‘Mad Men’ episode,” Obama said after stating that females make 77 cents to every dollar a male earns. He added that issues such as alleviating gender inequality and raising the federal minimum wage require bipartisan compromise.
The Brown Democrats hosted a screening of the address in a packed Wilson 102. Many students enjoyed the president’s voicing of support for gender equality in the workforce, which solicited loud applause from members of the audience.
John Perilli ’15, communications director for the Brown Democrats, praised Obama’s commitment to making college accessible for all students. “It made me realize what a gift it’s been to have such a great education,” he said.
The president also called for restored federal funding to research programs after last year’s sequestration cutbacks. Increased support for research will help “unleash the next great American discovery,” he said.
Obama defended the Affordable Care Act, which caused significant conflict in Congress, where many Republicans are working to repeal the legislation.
“Let’s not have another forty-something votes to repeal a law that’s already helping millions of Americans,” he said.
The Brown Republicans could not be reached for comment on the speech.
Elena Saltzman ’16 said she enjoyed how the president’s speech “brought back a lot of themes from his campaigns.”
Sam Shepard ’14, president of the Brown Democrats, said he particularly liked the emphasis Obama put on increasing the minimum wage, adding that legislation has “stalled” in the last year. But the success of the president’s agenda “all depends on how much action is taken,” he said.
Due to an editing error, a previous version of this article incorrectly referred to President Obama's State of the Union speech. It was his fifth such address, not his sixth. The Herald regrets the error.
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