U.S. President Barack Obama will deliver his State of the Union address Tuesday. He will likely call for billions in tax increases for the nation's top earners. Obama smiles as he receives a standing ovation at the beginning of his 2014 State of the Union address to a joint session of congress and the American people. Photo by Pat Benic/UPI |
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 19 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday will focus on improving economic growth for the middle class and closing "unfair" tax loopholes, giving a preview of the 2016 election themes, analysts said.
In his address to the first Republican-controlled Congress of his presidency, Obama will be focusing on "middle-class economics, with an eye on improving economic growth and wages," White House spokesman Dan Pfeiffer told NBC's Meet the Press.
"He's going to talk about how middle-class economics brought us back from the brink and put us to a place where the economy's growing, jobs are growing, the deficit is shrinking, and it's all out of his plan to deal, as I said, with wage stagnation and declining economic mobility, in ways we can really help the middle class," Pfeiffer said.
Among the most controversial is a plan that would raise $320 billion over the next 10 years through tax hikes on the nation's wealthiest and bank fees. That money would be in turn used to cover his $60 billion pitch for free community college tuition and $175 billion in middle class tax benefits. Republicans have already made it clear they will fight Obama's agenda to advance health care and environmental issues.
"We're not just one good tax increase away from prosperity in this nation," Rep. Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, chairman of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, told CNN."We have to make sure that we get a regulatory environment that's predictable, that we bring those tax rates down and that we quit spending this money that we don't have."
In the past weeks, Obama has been rolling out his plans in speeches across the country, ensuring he has a wider national audience and possibly giving his agenda more traction.
