President Barack Obama set a bold agenda for 2016 in his State of the Union speech (SOTU) in a joint session of Congress led by the Republicans. The President's agenda will be to assist those who have not benefitted from the "economic revival" six years after he took office.
The President and White House advisors are convinced that the Republicans too will need a plan to win over the middle class and prove they are able to govern America, recovering from the 2008 economic meltdown.
"So are they going to agree on everything? Absolutely not," Dan Pfeiffer, White House adviser told "Face the Nation."
"I think we should have a debate in this country between middle class economics and trickledown economics and see if we can come to an agreement on the things we do agree on."
Obama's SOTU 2015 spoke about a middle class economic stimulus, and the status of the dwindling budget deficit needed to shore up his stimulus proposal. The President discussed areas of Republican opposition and how the Republican-led Congress can agree on some of his recommendations so the middle class can benefit.
"Now that we have fought our way through the crisis, how do we make sure that everybody in this country, how do we make sure that they are sharing in this growing economy?" Obama said in a White House-produced YouTube video preview of his speech.
"So the verdict is clear. Middle-class economics works. Expanding opportunity works. And these policies will continue to work, as long as politics don't get in the way. We can't slow down businesses or put our economy at risk with government shutdowns or fiscal showdowns. We can't put the security of families at risk by taking away their health insurance, or unraveling the new rules on Wall Street, or refighting past battles on immigration when we've got a system to fix," he added.
"Today, thanks to a growing economy, the recovery is touching more and more lives. Wages are finally starting to rise again. We know that more small business owners plan to raise their employees' pay than at any time since 2007. But here's the thing - those of us here tonight, we need to set our sights higher than just making sure government doesn't halt the progress we're making. We need to do more than just do no harm. Tonight, together, let's do more to restore the link between hard work and growing opportunity for every American."
The President's proposals will also be the subject of debates among presidential candidates who will be vying to replace him in 2016.
For a full transcript of President Obama's State of the Union 2015, please visit Businessweek.com.
