Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Obama strikes bipartisan note on job creation

AP President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address on Capitol Hill in Washington, on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2011.

Offering an olive branch to his Republican opposition after two years of bitter political division across most policy areas, Presdient Obama warned that the U.S. risked losing out to countries such as India and China in areas of education, technology and research

In delivering his State of the Union address before a packed chamber in the United States House of Representatives, President Barack Obama on Tuesday night struck a largely bipartisan note that was focused on the U.S. economy.

Effectively offering an olive branch to his Republican opposition after two years of bitter political division across most policy areas, Mr. Obama also warned that the U.S. risked losing out to countries such as India and China, which were undertaking investments in education, technology and research.

"Nations like China and India realised that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world," he said, adding, "So they started educating their children earlier and longer, with greater emphasis on math and science. They are investing in research and new technologies."

On the other hand, Mr. Obama said, the quality of the U.S.' math and science education lagged behind that of many other nations and the country had fallen to 9th rank in terms of the proportion of young people with a college degree.

The President however highlighted the importance of emerging markets in spurring job creation in the U.S., as he argued, "Recently, we signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the U.S. And last month, we finalised a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs."

In arguing that it was imperative for the U.S. to retain its position as a global technology leader, Mr. Obama showcased recent examples of outstanding American innovation. Key among these was the story of small business owner Brandon Fisher, who, last October, helped design the capsule that ultimately saved the lives of miners trapped in a collapsed shaft in Chile.

Highlighting the importance of such innovation for job creation, clearly marked as the top policy priority for 2011 in the State of the Union speech, Mr. Obama said, "We know what it takes to compete for the jobs and industries of our time. We need to out-innovate, out-educate, and out-build the rest of the world."

While he alluded to tax code reform, deficit reduction and healthcare policy amendments towards the latter half of his speech, observers argued that he did not pay sufficient attention to those key areas of interest to the Republican agenda.

Congressman Paul Ryan, of the Republican Party, and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, of the Tea Party, delivered successive responses to Mr. Obama's speech shortly thereafter — both with a sharp focus on risks that the burgeoning U.S. deficit posed for continued prosperity.


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