What You Need to Know About This Year’s State of the Union

On January 28, 2014, President Barack Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress that was broadcasted to the nation. The annual speech was accessible in more ways than ever before, including a live stream available online and on the White House mobile application.

The State of the Union Address is steeped in historical roots. In the Constitution it states, “From time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” However, President Woodrow Wilson, opted for an oral form of the address, unlike the written messages of his predecessors dating back to President Thomas Jefferson. This changed the nature of the report and adapted it to the modern form of the State of the Union speech familiar today.

The speech is the President’s chance to outline his legislative agenda for the coming year.

So, why listen? Issues such as the student debt crisis, a fair economy and minimum wage, health care, and women in the workplace were all aspects the speech addresses and are especially prevalent to Stern College for Women students. If that reason alone does not appeal to you, then at least watching the State of the Union address can help you when a college professor, family member, or  a future employer addresses the following issues, and you will be prepared with something to insightful say.

President Obama called for this year to be a “year of action”. Here’s what you need to know from this year’s State of the Union and why it should matter to you:

1. Minimum Wage – For over a year, President Obama has been unsuccessful in making the call to raise the current minimum wage, $7.25 since 2009, to $10.10 an hour. This year, he announced that he will soon be issuing an order to raise the minimum wage for employees of federal contractors. This, however, only matters for new contracts, and according to House Speaker John Boehner, it will not affect any current contracts. However this marks a success in the ongoing battle of workers, plenty of whom are college students working minimum-wage salary jobs. “Say yes. Give America a raise”, Obama implored Congress, stating that this particular issue will be  in the forefront of his agenda for the forthcoming year.

2. Women – In a Millennial-worthy quote, Obama stated, “It is time to do away with policies that belong in a Mad Men episode.” The quote went viral almost immediately, generating according to the Twitter official blog, 3,555 Tweets per minute*.  Obama was  referencing to his previous statement that led to a standing ovation from everyone inside the House of Representatives. “Women make up about half of our workforce,” he stated, “But they still make 77 cents for every dollar a man earns. That is wrong, and in 2014 it’s an embarrassment.” He called for this coming year “to give every woman the opportunity she deserves” and continued, “…I firmly believe when women succeed, America succeeds.”

3. Obamacare – Healthcare may or may not be an issue pertinent to you, but at this point, the only way to not have heard of Obamacare is if you were living under a rock. Aside from the repercussions within the Affordable Care Act that will affect everyone’s health plans, whether they like it or not, the battle waged between Congress and Obama and Republicans versus Democrats on this particular issue has been monumental. In fact, specifically regarding healthcare, President Obama said, “I do not expect to convince my Republican friends on the merit of this law” and he continued to say that  the Affordable Care Act is “here to stay.” While there was barely a mention of the healthcare.gov fiasco, when the website’s initial launch was met with major setbacks and failures on the site, the President defended the benefits of the new law and beseeched Americans to seek coverage by March 31. He also said, “Already, because of the Affordable Care Act, more than three million Americans under age 26 have gained coverage under their parents’ plans.” If you are under the age of 26, then this directly affects you.

4. Education – As a college student, the cost of education could not be more directly pertinent to your everyday life. Unfortunately, President Obama did not say much on relief for student loan debt, and only said, “We worked with lenders to reform student loans, and today, more young people are earning college degrees than ever before.” However he reaffirmed prior promises on education, focusing on teaching skills for the economy and future careers, Internet connectivity for students, and making pre-K available to any four-year-old. The President said; “The bottom line is, Michelle and I want every child to have the same chance this country gave us.” Additionally, Obama said that he and Vice President Joe Biden have been working on creating training programs and apprenticeships to “train Americans with the skills employers need, and match them to good jobs that need to be filled right now.”

5. The NSA – It is equally important to note the things that President Obama did not, or only minimally, address. One such weighty issue is surveillance program which is relevant to anyone who uses a cell phone or Google. The mention was prompted by the media uproar due to the former NSA contractor Edward Snowden’s release of confidential documents that revealed the scope of the global surveillance run by the agency. In the State of the Union, Obama briefly spoke of his plan to work with Congress on reform, but did not elaborate.

6. Foreign Policy – Another matter that took a backseat in the address was America’s relationship with other countries, and only came much later in the speech. Obama said he aims to “complete our mission” in Afghanistan by the year’s end. The President focused on diplomacy and negotiation, stating he “will not send our troops into harm’s way unless it is truly necessary,” and a powerful statement that brought a round of strong applause, “We must fight the battles that need to be fought, not those that terrorists prefer from us.” He then credited and praised American diplomacy in various issues such as helping slow Iran’s nuclear program and the elimination of chemical weapons in Syria. Israel, a topic relevant to Yeshiva students, was included too. “As we speak, American diplomacy is supporting Israelis and Palestinians…to achieve dignity and an independent state for Palestinians and lasting peace and security for the state of Israel – a Jewish state that knows America will be at their side.” Applause followed this statement.

7. Miscellaneous – Other issues that were stressed in the speech included fixing the “broken immigration system”, the significance of renewable energy and fighting climate change, the creation of jobs, and how important technology and innovation are. Other topics which were mentioned in only one or two sentences included gun reform. The government shutdown and gay rights reform where omitted.

It is important to remember that what is said in the State of the Union address is an outline of what is to come. The most pressing thing to do is to find the issues that are pertinent to you. You can locate information on the topics of your choice either on this page, the complete transcript of the address using the link below, or simply searching the topic of your choice followed by the words “state of the union 2014” or even “sotu 2014”, and then see what your President plans to do with that topic in the near future.

And while you do that, note that while you search the topic of your choice, the light that shines above your computer contributes to climate change and that your healthcare plan makes it possible to get medicine with the flu going around. Know that you are a female college student who will one day or maybe already is employed, and care very much about minimum wage and your status as a woman in the workplace. Finally, realize, that  the President of the United States is speaking about things that pertain not just to Congress, or any other citizen, but you.

Here’s a copy of the full transcript: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/full-text-of-obamas-2014-state-of-the-union-address/2014/01/28/e0c93358-887f-11e3-a5bd-844629433ba3_story.html

*Coyne, Bridget and Government Team. “Responses to the 2014 State of the Union.” Twitter.Com . 29 January 2014. Accessed 30 January 2014. <https://blog.twitter.com/2014/responses-to-the-2014-state-of-the-union?utm_content=bufferf6369&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer>