Obama's Speech Reflects Reporting at Yahoo Network

The State of the Union Speech reflected the reporting in the Yahoo Contributor Network. Anyone following the reporting at this web site would have known the President was going to talk about jobs and the economy. In mid October we pointed out that economics was the key to the election in November 2010 as the voters were concerned about the sour economy and the lack of job opportunities, The economy did not turn around, the Democrats were in office and the voters took their frustrations out on them. The speech was a reaction to the shellacking the Democrats took in November 2010. Now that the voters finally have the President's attention, he explained how he is going to improve the economy and put the American People back to work. Here is the plan the President presented in his State of the Union Speech.

Jobs

The President reminded us that too often new jobs take root in other countries. While economic indicators in our country are up, the measure of true success are the types of jobs that are produced and the quality of life they provide. Based on that standard we have a very long way to go. A generation ago, Americans could get a decent factory job right out of high school with no college degree. That world has changed, the rules have changed in the middle of the game. Manufacturing jobs are no longer available and this has caused extreme hardship for the American People. Today, steel factories with a hundred employees can produce what a thousand employees produced in the past. Jobs are scarce and the competition for them is extreme and global. The President pointed out that we must successfully compete with the rest of the world to achieve the American Dream. Then he outlined his proposals for making the United States more competitive.

Innovation

Innovation involves doing things in a better way. When the Soviets launched Sputnik in the fifties the country was shocked as we were behind in the space race. American innovation overtook the Soviets and we were the first to land a man on the moon. The President wants a repeat performance. He wants to invest in the technologies of our day, such as medical and clean energy technologies. He wants to advance solar panels, bio fuels, and have one million electric cars on the road by 2015.

Education

About half of the new jobs will require more than a high school diploma, and yet we have a very high drop out rate in our high schools. He believes he can begin to turn this around by replacing The No Child Left Behind Program with The Race to the Top. The President challenged school districts to show the government their plan to improve and he will show them the money. The President wants to train more teachers in technology, science, and math.

Infrastructure

Our infrastructure use to be the best, but we let it slip. Our own engineers graded our infrastructure with a D. He wants 80% of the American People to have access to high speed rail service and wants to give the American People access to high speed Internet Access.

Increase Exports

The President wants to increase exports across the board. The United States reached an agreement to increase exports to South Korea and now he wants to do the same with China and India.

Government Regulations

The President wants to review government regulations and eliminate those that get in the way of economic production.

Debt Reduction

Now that the worst of the recession is over we do not need to spend as much to stimulate the economy. He wants to freeze government spending for the next five years.

Foreign Affairs

The President touched briefly on foreign affairs and stressed the importance of winning the war on terrorism. He said he would defeat our enemies wherever they are. The President came into office with numerous foreign policy issues and he has turned the page on Iraq. He pointed out that our troops can leave Iraq with their heads held high.

Source: President Obama's State of the Union Speech, January, 25, 2011.