State of the Union... Next steps

Last night President Obama presented his State of the Union to the American public. While reactions have varied from Democrats stating that the speech was terrific to Republicans stating that the speech was too focused on increasing spending, each side will continue to stress how valuable the speech was to the advocacy of their particular political point of view.

I have one main statement to mention in response to the speech. It was something that my mom used to always say, “Actions speak louder than words.” President Obama last year throughout the speech stated that creating jobs was the number one priority. However, instead of focusing on job creation, the Administration and Congress spent the majority of the year on the job killing, ObamaCare. They rushed the bill through Congress, voting on the over 2,000 page bill just hours after the final draft was published. No one had a real chance to read, let alone understand what was in the bill and what the potential implications of the bill would be. Too often in DC, there is the case of unintended consequences. No one really paid too much attention to the 1099 issue that would require every business to provide a 1099 for every vendor that they pay more than $600 to. This excessive bookkeeping issue will likely cause numerous small businesses excessive costs that will likely result in a decrease in employment.

Americans are looking to the President for leadership and are hopeful that he can direct the country out of its current economic slowdown. There are too many people unemployed as well as underemployed. Those that have jobs are concerned that they may lose their jobs soon if the economy doesn’t improve. This uncertainty has everyone on edge and concerned about the future. Should President Obama hope to be re-elected next year, he must provide an economic vision that will reduce the rate of unemployment beyond the current 9.4 percent. If the rate drops below 8 percent, the chances of the President’s re-election increase substantially, if not, the Republicans have a chance to retake the White House. The Obama Administration must focus strictly on improving the economy. Every initiative, speech and outreach effort has to be focused on improving the economy.