Obama Coming to UM After State of the Union

Tuesday night, President Obama gave his annual State of the Union address. It was, on the whole, a disappointment. I watched the speech in a room full of the university’s College Democrats, and the response was anything but rousing.

The policies Obama suggested were somewhat piecemeal and the key talking point especially bland: “The state of our union is getting stronger!” I have to agree with Derek Thompson over at The Atlantic: Obama’s proposals were too small to significantly impact our nation’s problems, yet too ambitious to stand a chance at passing through Congress—a catch-22 that has faced Obama throughout his presidency. Here’s a brief summary:

Obama began and ended his speech with praise of the military and in extension, praise of his own foreign policy. Osama was taken out. The president just welcomed the last combat troop home from Iraq. Libya has been liberated with Gadaffi’s death. Syria will be next, though how this will come about is conveniently absent. And of course the crowd pleasing, and utterly terrifying, “nothing is off the table with Iran” line came up.

His remarks about the economy are the most praiseworthy. He placed blame for the 2008 crisis directly on the misconduct of the financial and mortgage industries, as well as a lack of federal regulation. Besides the creation of a “Financial Crimes Unit” under the jurisdiction of the Attorney General, Obama didn’t offer much in the way of new financial regulation.

Brining manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. was a focus point. Obama proposed ending tax cuts and closing loopholes that encourage companies to relocate overseas, while rewarding companies that return with tax breaks—two sensible, simple policies that will certainly encourage growth and increase tax revenue.

We are seeing growth in high-tech industries, Obama said, largely due to government funded research and development, which he implored Congress not to cut. But, there is a skills gap. He proposed extending the tuition tax credit, doubling the number of work-study jobs over the next five years, pushing states to spend more on higher education, and forming partnerships between manufacturers and community colleges to provide more Americans with access to higher education: “Higher education can’t be a luxury, it’s an economic imperative.”

Occupy Wall Street had their moment, too. Obama “won’t settle” for an economy that rewards a shrinking few, and leaves most just barely able to get by. He called for on Congress to enact the “Buffet Rule,” extend the payroll tax cut, and consider the tradeoff we have to make when extending revenue killers like the Bush tax cuts.

Obama’s boldest proposal, one that would significantly ease unemployment but doesn’t stand a chance at passing Congress, is to ramp up infrastructure spending. Our infrastructure is literally crumbling, so Obama told Congress to put half the money we will save from exiting Iraq toward infrastructure spending. The results would be huge, but unfortunately it will never happen.

Liberals should be most disappointed about Obama’s remarks on the environment. Again we heard that all sources of clean energy must be tapped, and that clean energy development must be the foundation of the new American economy. But again, how we get there was lacking. He pushed natural gas, which in the short term, may contribute more to climate change. His decision on the Keystone pipeline was left out, possibly a signal that it’s only a temporary delay.

President Obama is visiting Ann Arbor tomorrow morning at the Al Glick Field House, UM’s $26 million 104,000-square foot indoor football practice facility. This will be Obama’s 10th trip to Michigan since beginning his presidency, the two most recent ones being at GM’s plants in Orion (October) and Detroit (Labor Day).

These frequent visits revolving around the auto industry prove Obama is aware that Michigan will be heavily contested this upcoming election by his opposing Republican challenger, mostly due to the damage to our manufacturing base. During his visit, President Obama will again be touching on themes of manufacturing, clean energy, education and American values. Free tickets are being handed out at the Michigan Union Ticket Office starting at 9am this morning.

By: Mike Guisinger

(Photo by Leon E. Panetta under a Creative Commons license)