President Barack Obama praised the United States’ economic progress in the last year and called for congressional action to boost job growth, strengthen the middle class and reduce the national deficit during his annual State of the Union address Tuesday night in Washington, D.C.
Among his proposals, Obama called upon Congress to raise the minimum wage to $9 an hour and change the current Higher Education Act to make college tuition more affordable for citizens.
When the news hit Gainesville, responses were mixed.
Rachel McGovern, a 20-year-old political science junior and UF College Democrats vice president, said she supports Obama’s plan to cut the cost of tuition.
“I think making college more affordable is definitely possible,” she said. “Higher education should not be a privilege only afforded to the rich.”
Katy Melchiorre, a 21-year-old UF political science and telecommunication senior and UF College Republicans chairwoman, agreed the growing costs of college is a problem but said other solutions should be pursued as well.
“I think rather than having so much federal involvement in education, that students and families should have a better understanding of options other than college,” she said.
On raising the minimum wage, McGovern said she was confident in Obama’s plan to make living costs more affordable for citizens.
“The president is committed to making sure that working families can put food on the table,” she said.
Melchiorre, however, disapproved of Obama’s proposal and said raising the minimum wage would have a negative effect on the economy, which could cause increased business costs and fewer job opportunities.
“This would especially be true for small businesses,” she said.
Michael Martinez, chairman of UF’s political science department, called the president’s list of proposals ambitious.
He said political pressure could have factored into the number of proposals Obama presented, which touched on subjects that ranged from tax reform to gun control.
“He’s got to lay out what he thinks he will get accomplished in his next term because the midterm elections will loom starting this time in 2014,” he said.
Martinez said some measures, such as raising minimum wage, catered to a Democratic Party base, but others were more feasible for bipartisan cooperation.
“Some of the gun control measures, such as full background checks, were doable,” he said.
With his minimum wage raise proposal, Obama said full-time workers who earn minimum wage earn about $14,500 a year. Raising it, he said, would better tie wages to the rising cost of living.
“This single step would raise the incomes of millions of working families,” Obama said. “For businesses across the country, it would mean customers with more money in their pockets.”
Obama said the amendment to the the Higher Education Act would mean more access to the necessary education and training for future employment.
Obama also announced what he called a “college scorecard.” The tool, released today, will rank colleges by best value to help families make informed financial decisions for higher education.
In the last year, more than 6 million new jobs were created, he said, and people are buying more American-made cars and less foreign oil.
Obama also announced his plan to end the war in Afghanistan and bring home 34,000 soldiers by the end of 2014. He said domestic programs such as Medicare should not be scrapped.
“We can’t just cut our way to prosperity,” he said.
Contact Chris Alcantara at calcantara@alligator.org. Contact Kelcee Griffis at kgriffis@alligator.org.
