State of the Union 2014: Obama talks economy, education, executive actions

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (UPI) -- President Barack Obama will deliver his fifth State of the Union at 9 p.m. EST, and the White House has released excerpts.

Obama is expected to focus on economic issues, and the excerpts support that. It's also possible the president will touch on education and immigration. He will also talk about executive actions he plans to take during the coming year, and the final stretch of his term.

It is the subject of executive actions Ted Cruz takes in his Tuesday evening op-ed in The Wall Street Journal, titled "The Imperial Presidency of Barack Obama."

Five-term Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) will deliver the official GOP response, while Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) is delivering a speech sponsored by Tea Party Express, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) is producing his own rebuttal.

The State of the Union will be live streamed online at WhiteHouse.gov.

“In the coming months, let’s see where else we can make progress together. Let’s make this a year of action. That’s what most Americans want -- for all of us in this chamber to focus on their lives, their hopes, their aspirations. And what I believe unites the people of this nation, regardless of race or region or party, young or old, rich or poor, is the simple, profound belief in opportunity for all -- the notion that if you work hard and take responsibility, you can get ahead.

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Let’s face it: that belief has suffered some serious blows. Over more than three decades, even before the Great Recession hit, massive shifts in technology and global competition had eliminated a lot of good, middle-class jobs, and weakened the economic foundations that families depend on.

Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by -- let alone get ahead. And too many still aren’t working at all.

Our job is to reverse these tides. It won’t happen right away, and we won’t agree on everything. But what I offer tonight is a set of concrete, practical proposals to speed up growth, strengthen the middle class, and build new ladders of opportunity into the middle class. Some require Congressional action, and I’m eager to work with all of you. But America does not stand still – and neither will I. So wherever and whenever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that’s what I’m going to do.”

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“Opportunity is who we are. And the defining project of our generation is to restore that promise.”

[Wall Street Journal] [Washington Post]