US President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address. Photo: JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images WASHINGTON — Claiming to be “turning the page” on 15 years of war and recession, U.S. President Barack Obama returned Tuesday to his Robin Hood theme of strengthening the middle class with a State of the Union address that outlined tax reforms that would take from the rich and give to everybody else.
“The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong,” he said.
But, he added, most Americans are not reaping the spoils of success. “Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well?” he asked.
Republicans quickly condemned his tax reforms as non-starters, even demanding that Obama approve the Keystone XL pipeline as a sign that he is serious about job creation.
Obama’s address was broad in scope and defiant in tone. As it touched on a huge array of domestic and foreign issues including race, torture, terrorism, climate change, cyber security, sexual equality and the economy, it challenged lawmakers either to accept his vision or pay the consequences of his veto.
He warned that if Congress tries to destroy Obamacare, unravel restrictions on Wall Street or approve mass deportations of illegal immigrants, “it will earn my veto.”
Many lawmakers, including some Republicans, described his speech as powerful. Yet it outlined a legislative agenda already rejected by the GOP. It was, in a sense, the bold but powerless speaking to the powerful and unsympathetic.
In light of the recent North Korean hacking of Sony emails, Obama also urged Congress to pass legislation “to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft and protect our children’s information.”
“No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families,” he said.
Obama’s speech came on the same day as rebels invaded the capital of Yemen, a key U.S. ally in the fight against al-Qaida. As the rebels threatened the U.S. embassy, Obama called on Congress to pass a “use of force” resolution that would broaden his powers to expand the war against Islamic State, also known as ISIL or ISIS.
US President Barack Obama (C) arrives to deliver the State of The Union address on January 20, 2015, at the US Capitol in Washington, DC. [JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Images]
He said that while an American-led coalition is “stopping ISIL’s advance,” the ultimate destruction of ISIL will take time.
“And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL,” he said during his address Tuesday.
The U.S. president’s call came just as an ISIL video threatened to behead two Japanese journalists unless the Japanese government paid a $200-million US ransom.
As Obama addressed security issues and mentioned the Jan. 7 attack in Paris on the satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo, about 50 Democrats held up pencils in solidarity with the French.
Obama has faced broad criticism for not accompanying other world leaders at a recent memorial march in Paris.
He also condemned the use of torture and the continued harbouring of prisoners at the U.S. Guantanamo Bay detention centre in Cuba (GTMO).
US First Lady Michelle Obama is appauded as she arrives for President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address. [JIM WATSON/AFP/Getty Image]
Claiming that “no challenge — no challenge — poses a greater threat to future generations than climate change,” Obama vowed “not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts” to combat climate change.
“I am determined to make sure American leadership drives international action,” he said.
In the same breath, he talked about improving and expanding the American infrastructure. Then he referred to, but did not mention, the contentious Keystone XL pipeline, saying, “So let’s set our sights higher than a single oil pipeline.”
As in previous State of the Union addresses, Obama’s middle-class agenda dominated his annual narrative of past accomplishments, present challenges and future plans.
Obama outlined a potpourri of tax reforms that would close loopholes and substantially increase capital gains and dividends taxes for households making more than $500,000 a year.
He would also tax trust funds and bar retirement fund contributions after the balance reaches $3.4 million. In addition, he wants to raise fees on large financial institutions.
In all, he hopes these reforms will raise about $320 billion in the next decade. He intends to use the extra revenue to pay for free community college for qualified students, paid sick and maternity leave for all workers and offset a reduced tax burden on the lower and middle classes.
Despite a resurging U.S. economy, middle-class incomes have remained stagnant or, in some cases, shrunk even as the rich grow richer — primarily because of a record-setting stock market.
Strengthening the buying power of the middle class is an old Obama formula for improved economic expansion. But it’s one he has failed to achieve. Blame has fallen on the Republicans for refusing to endorse his tax reforms. Ironically, his failure largely resulted in the Republican seizing control of both chambers of Congress in the 2014 mid-terms.
Now, eager to show he’s no lame duck, Obama is back at it, tossing down the gauntlet with an eye on his legacy at a time when both parties are looking past him to 2016.
Rep.Barbara Lee, D-Calif. greets Secretary of State John Kerry on Capitol Hill. [(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)]
Republican Sen. Paul Ryan, chairman of the House Budget Committee, claimed Obama’s plan to tax the rich is the “last thing” the U.S. economy needs.
“I want to find common ground,” Ryan told CNN. “What I’m hoping for is less posturing, less picking fights with Republicans.”
This raises the question of why Obama yet again is proposing a policy that Republicans have repeatedly rejected and now say is dead in the water.
White House officials say his strategy is to go directly to the people, using his “bully pulpit” to pressure Republicans into a compromise — perhaps in exchange for approving the Keystone pipeline.
Sen. Joni Ernst of Iowa delivered the official Republican rebuttal in which she called on Obama to approve what Republicans have called the Keystone XL pipeline jobs bill.
“President Obama will soon have a decision to make, will he sign the bill or block good American jobs?” she asked.
While Republicans shellacked the Democrats in November, Obama, whose popularity is rising, hopes that in 2016 middle-class voters will punish Republicans for their rich-man bias.
“Middle-class economics works,” Obama insisted. “Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work, as long as politics don’t get in the way.”
wmarsden@postmedia.com
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