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THE STATE OF THE UNION
IS A TALE OF TWO AMERICAS
By Reverend Jesse L. Jackson, Sr.
Wednesday, January 21, 2015
The State of the Union is a tale of two Americas. One America has
unprecedented income, profits and wealth, while the other America’s real
unemployment rate is over 11%, wages and income for basic workers are frozen in
place, poverty is growing and the disparity in income and wealth between the
haves and have-nots has not been this big since the Great Depression.
First, the American people must commend President Obama for what he
has achieved in spite of Republican opposition that has resisted everything he
has proposed and there is every indication that they will continue to oppose his
proposals tonight. But his direction is sound and should be supported.
He proposes to eliminate the biggest tax loopholes and ensure that the
wealthiest Americans and biggest corporations pay their fair share. As the
president knows, the top 1% and major corporations are enjoying a historic
period of prosperity, while the wages of the average American family have
flat-lined. He proposes to use the savings produced by these measures to
reinvest in the education and other needs of the middle class. He is proposing
to make the first two years at a community college free, which would include
more students in economic need. After a record 58 months of continuous economic
growth in which the official unemployment rate has fallen to 5.6%, he is focused
on raising the minimum wage, lifting the income of average workers and providing
paid sick days for all. The number of uninsured Americans is at an all-time
low, health care costs are falling, in coalition with China he’s taken important
steps toward curbing climate change and he has moved forward on reforming our
immigration system. He has ended a U.S. fighting role in Iraq and Afghanistan,
is gradually reducing the prisoners held in Guantanamo and taken dramatic steps
to normalize relations with Cuba. He is challenging the huge sums of money in
our politics fostered by the Citizens United decision and vows to
protect voting rights. He has vowed to protect Social Security, Medicare and
Medicaid for future generations.
Now that Republicans are in charge of the House and Senate they have wasted
no time in attacking Social Security, attempting to derail President Obama’s
immigration plan and destroy his achievement of the Affordable Care Act.
Tomorrow, rather than respond to the positive agenda of President Obama, they
will continue their negative agenda and vote to make abortion choice more
difficult.
Second, however, the American people must also challenge President
Obama on several fronts. We need a comprehensive urban policy. Tax hikes for
the wealthy and tax cuts for the middle class do not address the zones of
catastrophic housing foreclosures, vacant lots, poverty, dysfunctional schools,
closing emergency rooms and hospitals, and urban abandonment present in today’s
America. Dr. King was right - we need direct investments. President Obama must
not only defend voting rights using the present “structure” of our voting system
- states rights and local control. In his 2013 State of the Union Address,
President Obama announced a plan to convene a commission on improving the voting
experience of Americans. Yet since then, 21 state legislatures have proposed and
passed a range of laws that make it harder for some people to vote –
including restrictive photo ID requirements, cuts to early voting and
limitations on same-day registration. The President should support adding a
right to vote amendment to the U.S. Constitution so that every American has, not
just a “state right” to vote, but a fundamental individual citizenship right to
vote, with Congress having the authority to establish a uniform national voting
system with common sense minimum standards. The American people must also
insist that the President fight for police reform that includes more than just
car and body cameras.
So we must commend and challenge President
Obama at the same time. Commend him for moving in the right direction and
challenge him to do even more.
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