The State of the Union

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Wednesday January 19, 2011 · 12:29 AM PST

2011/01/19 · 00:29

A week from today President Obama will give The State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress with many dignitaries present. This will be the most important opportunity the president has to lay out the state of the union; the future of the union; and achieving that future.

No doubt the president will give an eloquent speech. The man can speak beautifully. The question is what will he say. I will address the issues I believe he should address below.

The State of the Union

The president needs to acknowledge:

the increase in unemployment has been blunted;

there are way too many searching for work;

many people have left the unemployed, not because they found jobs, but because they stopped looking for work because jobs are unavailable;

banks are foreclosing on too many homes and the rate of foreclosures is likely to increase;

lack of adequate regulations have done great harm to the country;

global warming is a serious problem that will have a negative impact on all people of the world;

energy prices are likely to grow and cause an inflationary cycle;

tax cuts and unnecessary defense spending have ballooned the deficit; and

since all budget laws originate in the House of Representatives, the republican led House is responsible for proposing a budget.

The Future of the Union

The president should envision a union where

medical care is available to all;

there are far fewer abortions;

the retirement age is lowered to 55;

the work week is reduced to 30 hours or 6 hours a day;

inexpensive green energy and energy saving devices reduce the growth of global warming;

new not yet invented technologies remove carbon from the atmosphere;

the country figures out ways to adapt to global warming;

there is no unemployment;

all citizens are better educated and receive a continuous education;

there is no poverty in the US and in the world;

terrorism is no longer a major problem;

nuclear weapons no longer exist;

many health problems and in particular obesity are conquered;

increased regulation and transparency have made banking and wall street good investment opportunities for the people;

immigration is no longer an issue; and

trade and outsourcing are no longer issues.

Achieving a Better Union

The president should present a plan that includes

simplify the tax code and increase the top tax rates on the rich;

amend the constitution so that wealth can be taxed;

eliminate all defense spending earmarks;

change the rules for mortgages so that all existing mortgages are fixed rate mortgages at the prime interest rate;

disallow profits from foreclosures;

dramatically increase infrastructure spending;

provide housing, food, and health care for the poor;

provide free schooling for all and provide pay for those who improve there education in fields that have high employment and pay;

provide sex education for all;

provide free birth control including abortions for all;

dramatically increase spending on research and development for inexpensive green energy and energy saving devices;

make social security taxes on all earned income;

make micro-loans to all the poor of the world who have good ideas for businesses;

negotiate new treaties to reduce nuclear weapons;

negotiate new trade agreements that will make trade fairer;

pass the dream act;

legalize drugs such as marijuana, but also tax / regulate those drugs;

tax advertising;

tax sugar products;

hire more teachers and pay teachers more;

remove the tax on social security earnings for all;

insist that public employees receive the pensions they bargained for; and

state that he will propose a budget that includes these priorities.

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