A Recap of President Barack Obama's State of the Union...

I have provided a recap of President Barack Obama's State of the Union. Below are the basic areas that Obama addressed. I hope that this gives you a basic idea of the President's agenda. Below are also some questions to get a feel of what you thought about the speech. Let's discuss!

Some of his most memorable statements...

"The Worst of the storm has passed"
"The struggles are the reason I ran for President."
"I've never been more hopeful about the future of America than today."
"I do no accept second place for the United States of America."
"The parties must come together."
"Everyday can't be an election day."
"We were sent here to serve our citizens not our ambitions"

The Bank Bailout

-"I hated the bank bailout."
-The fact is, if we didn't do the bailout more jobs might have been lost.
-We have recovered most of the money we spent on the banks.
-To recover the rest, I propose a fee on the biggest banks. If these banks can afford to pay bonuses again, then they can afford to pay tax payers back.

Tax Cuts

-We cut taxes for Small Businesses
-We cut taxes for 1st time home buyers.
-We cut taxes for 8 million Americans paying for college
-Income taxes have not been raised.

Jobs

-The Recovery Act, also known as the Stimulus Bill, has helped save jobs.
-Jobs must be our number one focus in 2010. "I am calling for a new bill tonight."
-Proposes that 30 billion of the money wall street banks have repaid be used to give small businesses the credit they need to stay afloat.
-Proposes a tax credit to one million small businesses who hire new workers or raise wages.
-Eliminate all capital gain taxes on small business investments, and provide a tax incentive for small and large businesses to invest in new plants & equipment.
-Put Americans to work building the infrastructure of tomorrow.
-Give rebates to Americans that make their homes more energy efficient, which will support clean energy jobs.
-Put Americans to work building clean energy facilities.
-To encourage businesses to stay within our border, there will be tax breaks to those that create jobs in America.
-We need to make sure that consumers & middle class families have the information they need to make financial decisions.
-We need to encourage American innovation.
-We need to export more goods.
-Tonight we will plan to double our exports over the next five years, an increase that will support over 2 million jobs in America.
-To help meet this goal, we are launching a national export initiative that will help farmers and small businesses increase their exports. Also, reform export controls consistent with national security.

Education

-We need to invest in the skills & education of our people.
-This year we are launching a national competition to improve our schools.
-To turn poverty around we need a world class education.
-High school diplomas are not longer enough to get a decent job
-"I am encouraging Senate to pass a bill that will revitalize our community colleges, which are career pathways to the children of so many working families."
-To make college more affordable,
a. A proposed $10,000 tax cut for four years of college.
b. 1 million students will only have to spend 10% of their income on student loans.
c. All loans will be forgiven after 20 years & 10 years if they decide to have a career in public service.
-"No one should go broke if they choose to go to college."

Economy

-To help rescue the economy, there is a proposed freeze on government spending for three years, that excludes money spent on national security, medicare, Medicaid, and social security.

National Security

- We are leaving Iraq to its people. We will be out of Iraq by the end of this August. This war is ending, and all of our troops are coming home.
-We are seeing the largest increase in investments for veterans in the last decade.
-Michelle Obama & Joe Biden have joined together to support military families.
-We are confronting a threat of nuclear weapons and we need a strategy to reverse the spread of these weapons.
-Russia and the Unites States are working on a arms control treaty.

What do you think about Obama's shift from his focus on health care during the address?

What did you think overall about Obama's speech?

Do you agree with some of the proposals that were made by Obama?