Obama: Let’s Build An ‘Economy Built To Last’

President Barack Obama praised improvements in the economy and job market Tuesday, in a State of the Union address tinted with populist undertones and rhetoric in favor of domestic manufacturing and workplace education initiatives. A recurring theme was the connection between affordable education and a sustainable economy.

“Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people,” Obama said. “An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.”

Front and center was the administration's insourcing initiative, which seeks to bring overseas manufacturing jobs back to the United States through tax breaks, domestic investment, and cooperation with the business community.

Key in achieving a sustainable domestic economy is education, Obama said. He spoke in favor of affordable college tuition, a DREAM Act, and proposed that states enact policies requiring high school students to stay in school until they graduate or reach the age of 18. Read more about the president’s education and immigration message here.

Obama also proposed unemployment insurance reform to aid long-term unemployed workers who have exhausted their benefits but remain a tough sell to employers due to the extended period for which they have been out of work.

At times Obama also drew on the last year's growing sense of class conflict, which is closely related to the Occupy Wall Street protest movement, calling attention to growing income disparity between the rich and the poor. The president built on that criticism to promote the Buffett Rule, a proposed debt reduction plan that would establish a hefty minimum tax rate for wealthy individuals.

“Let’s remember how we got here,” he said. “Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.”

The president also called for equal pay for women in the work force.

The State of the Union address came during a delicate economic moment. While some analysts point to positive economic signs in the job, manufacturing, and most recently housing markets, some say time is running out for the Obama administration to demonstrate that progress.

Jon Christian is a staff writer with Campus Progress. Follow him on Twitter @Jon_Christian.

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