President Obama delivers State of the Union Speech
Kasey Fehler
Issue date: 2/3/10 Section: Opinion
By Kasey Fehler
After a much anticipated first year in office, in which we were promised huge health care reforms, President Barack Obama addressed Congress in his first State of the Union speech last Wednesday. The main focus of the speech was how to get America back on track after a debilitating recession. The President announced many new ideas as well as confirming ones that have already been tossed about Washington. The first nearly 45 minutes of his speech centered around job growth and bank bailouts, and education. The president then finally mentioned health care.
President Obama began his part on health care by saying, "I didn't choose to tackle this issue to get some legislative victory under my belt. And, by now, it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics." The last bit got a laugh by the members of Congress. Yes, it hasn't been good politics for Democrats to try and pass just the smallest bit of reform, but that's no reason not to. The President's speech seemed to be a plea for health care reform. But, Mr. President, you have had one year and nothing has been accomplished. How can the people of America put more trust in the government to pass health care when it took nearly six months for the issue to come up in the Obama Administration?
Another topic the President spent a considerable amount of time on was education. But not primary education, higher education, which is largely overlooked in Washington. The President said he would support changes that would limit student loan payments to only 10% of your income and after 20 years, all debt would be forgiven. He also asked individual schools to consider lowering tuition, because "no one should go broke because they chose to go to college," according to Obama. At a school like Bellarmine, many students will graduate with student loans hovering over their heads. Fortunately, Bellarmine's administration has already taken the president's last advice and, for the last two years, has had the lowest percentage in tuition increases. While I applaud Bellarmine's recent actions, it is also true that we pay too much for quality higher education and I support the president's decision to increase Pell Grants and regulate student loan payments.
After a much anticipated first year in office, in which we were promised huge health care reforms, President Barack Obama addressed Congress in his first State of the Union speech last Wednesday. The main focus of the speech was how to get America back on track after a debilitating recession. The President announced many new ideas as well as confirming ones that have already been tossed about Washington. The first nearly 45 minutes of his speech centered around job growth and bank bailouts, and education. The president then finally mentioned health care.
President Obama began his part on health care by saying, "I didn't choose to tackle this issue to get some legislative victory under my belt. And, by now, it should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics." The last bit got a laugh by the members of Congress. Yes, it hasn't been good politics for Democrats to try and pass just the smallest bit of reform, but that's no reason not to. The President's speech seemed to be a plea for health care reform. But, Mr. President, you have had one year and nothing has been accomplished. How can the people of America put more trust in the government to pass health care when it took nearly six months for the issue to come up in the Obama Administration?
Another topic the President spent a considerable amount of time on was education. But not primary education, higher education, which is largely overlooked in Washington. The President said he would support changes that would limit student loan payments to only 10% of your income and after 20 years, all debt would be forgiven. He also asked individual schools to consider lowering tuition, because "no one should go broke because they chose to go to college," according to Obama. At a school like Bellarmine, many students will graduate with student loans hovering over their heads. Fortunately, Bellarmine's administration has already taken the president's last advice and, for the last two years, has had the lowest percentage in tuition increases. While I applaud Bellarmine's recent actions, it is also true that we pay too much for quality higher education and I support the president's decision to increase Pell Grants and regulate student loan payments.
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