My Response to the State of the Union

On Tuesday, January 24^th, I watched the annual State of the Union address from my home with fellow friends and supporters. As the President was about to be announced, Article II, Section 3 of the Constitution began to play in my head:

“He shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”

This thought reminded me of how far we have strayed from the Constitution in the last four years. I began to think of how our first president would react if he would see the unproductive and gridlocked manner our government was operating in the nation’s capital that bears his name.

President Obama talked about the tax code. The government cannot, and should not, tax the country out of a recession. Our Democratic president needs to understand that it will not be higher taxes that will increase revenue, but economic growth. We need more businesses coming to our country, to our state, and to our district. We do not need to drive them away by raising their taxes, imposing burdensome healthcare laws, and increasing federal regulations.

President Obama talked about education. He talked of expanding resources to schools and of rewarding good teachers. While these are superb goals to reach for, the President seems to be blind to the thousands of teachers laid off across the country because of a slow economy and state budget cuts. Democratic leaders in Illinois are not only slashing school bussing funds, but are slashing special education programs, art, music, and other extracurricular activities. This is happening right here at home, in the 12^th district. When will the future be a priority for these career politicians?

Finally, President Obama talked about energy independence. Only days after cutting an oil pipeline that will directly create thousands of jobs, Obama suggests spending money on imperfect technologies that are inefficient for the price. I hope that these technologies become more fruitful in the near future. Until then, America needs to harvest the vast coal and oil fields right under our own feet. We should no longer be subject to Middle Eastern countries and prices. By mining the coal in the 12^th district, we could create countless jobs for people who are struggling to make ends meet.

Our government is broken. Obama is ignoring our issues and focusing on what can get him reelected. We need someone to stand up for the Illinois 12^th.