Facing the worst approval ratings of any POTUS in the fifth year of his administration, President Barack Obama took to the podium on Tuesday, January 28, to address the nation in his annual primetime State of the Union address. As was expected, the president attempted to repair his heavily bruised public perception by pledging big promises that had many political pundits feeling as if they have been trapped in an echo chamber for the past five years. Obama espoused the same positions he has in every high profile address since taking office and, yet again, though he appeared at times to be talking tough and promising action, there was little substance behind any of the empty rhetoric.
For starters, Obama pledged to only tighten his stranglehold on his office by foregoing Congress and employing executive orders to forward his agenda. In fact, it appeared that the president would do away with the entire institution of Congress if he had his way, as he consistently and deliberately promised to not only use every resource at his disposal to bypass the House, but even encouraged officials on municipal levels to take action without consulting this governing body.
"Whenever and wherever I can take steps without legislation to expand opportunity for more American families, that is what I am going to do," The president explained in the early moments of his speech, later urging "every mayor, governor and state legislator in America … you don't have to wait for Congress to act."
And despite solidifying and confirming the currently frosty relationship between the Executive and Legislative branches – at least until the next election – Obama did attempt to bring a little bit of levity to the speech by painting House Speaker John Boehner – one of Obama's staunchest Republican rivals – as the ultimate example of the American Dream. Midway through the address, Obama went on a flowery tangent describing the "work ethic and scope of our dreams" that it takes to find your way into federal government before referencing that Boehner was himself the son of a barkeep. While some described the jab as playful, others interpreted it as slightly backhanded and, at the very least, a little insulting to the Boehner family, painting the title of barkeep as a lowly rung on the totem of employment.
To top it all off, the president went on to stand by Obamacare, the most flaw-ridden, embarrassing "landmark achievement" any POTUS would ever want, and even made the questionable call of calling out the Republican members of the House who have stood up to this system. The program, which has been widely criticized for it's irresponsible and borderline anti-capitalist characteristics, has been plagued from the get-go not only by fundamental issues with the very bones of the legislation, but also an embarrassingly botched rollout that prohibited almost anyone from actually taking advantage of the initiative.
In the annual GOP response to the address, Washington state Rep. Cathy McMorris, the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference and the fourth-highest ranking member of the majority party, criticized Obama for continuing to spin a web of lies and never delivering on his promises. She explained that though his speech may have sounded nice, there was little to cling to, and that provided a lifeline to the millions of Americans still reeling from the Great Recession.
If you are tired of the same empty promises and destructive legislation that threaten not only the nation's capitalist economy but also the retirement funds of Americans nationwide, look into asset protection to make sure your wealth and retirement investments are preserved no matter where the president's whims take us.