President Barack Obama will deliver the first State of the Union Address of his new term tonight. After unemployment rose to 7.9 percent in January, it is expected that he will focus on making the economy work for the middle class, spending, and economic growth. But what should his focus be? The State of the Union has historically been regarded by the public as a speech of useless ramblings that only reiterate previous speeches. Ideally, this will not be the case and Obama will address pressing issues facing the nation.
On Thursday, Illinois will vote on a bill to legalize gay marriage. According to ABC’s local Chicago news, “Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn praised senators who moved the same-sex bill out of committee and says it’s time to pass it so the state can achieve ‘full equality.’” Not only is Illinois Obama’s home state, but it will also become the tenth state to legalize gay marriage if the bill passes. The continued pressure from state governments should force the federal government to re-evaluate the constitutionality of the ban on same-sex marriage.
After the massive Aurora, Colo., and Newtown, Conn., shootings, Obama needs to address gun violence. FOX News says a push for new gun control measures is already in the plan but is facing resistance in the House. The President needs to propose a plan to lower gun-related violence without infringing on our constitutional rights in order to cross party lines.
Immigration reform has received more bipartisan support than the previous two issues combined. From a democratic standpoint, President Obama needs to discuss how immigration laws will change to allow immigrants to assimilate into our culture and economy. This assimilation also works for Republicans — by allowing more immigrants to gain citizenship, the government is forcing them to pay taxes.
President Obama should also mention the deficit. According to the Pew Research Center, 72 percent of Americans say reducing the deficit is a top priority. Seventy-four percent say a combination of tax increases and program cuts is the best way to reduce the deficit.
The general consensus seems to be that while the previously stated social issues are of enormous importance, they should not be given priority over the stability of the economy. I beg to differ.
Repealing the ban on gay marriage is a human rights issue. Human rights should always come before money, especially when the issue can be quickly resolved with the flick of a pen, without increasing taxes or spending.
Immigration, though more of an economic issue than gay marriage, should not be put on the back-burner either. Immigration reform can work with solving economic issues because more legal immigrants means more taxpayer revenue.
Gun control reform, however, is a different story. If taken to an extreme extent, it could be harmful for Americans in the gun industry. Requiring more extensive background checks might add jobs, but it also may force more spending. Though recent shootings have brought attention to gun control, solving gun violence-associated crimes will take more time than repealing the gay marriage ban and will not have the economic benefits of reforming immigration.
The State of the Union Address will set the tone not only for 2013, but for Obama’s entire second term. Still, we will not know the success of the address until years from now when we can measure the effects of the policies the President advocates. As historian H.W. Brands puts it, “It’s tempting to think that speeches make history, but it’s probably the other way around — it’s history that makes the speeches.”