2014 State of the Union

Throughout the roughly hour and a half broadcast of the State of the Union, Obama highlighted many points that were relevant to the success of the US in the coming year, including energy, the immigration system, women in the workforce, Obamacare, and gun violence. However three main topics of interest that he focused on were industry and job creation, education, and foreign policy and veteran benefits.

1. Industry and Job Creation
His main points on this topic is that the government needs to help strengthen the middle class and provide more opportunities to move into the middle class. More jobs need to be created by partnering training programs with active employers. Obama claimed that Vice President Biden would head a reform of America's training program in order to better prepare workers for the employers needs and to pair them with employers who are seeking to hire immediately. Obama will also create a Patent Reform Bill that will allow companies to focus on innovation rather than paperwork, which will create more jobs. This will also allow the industry to focus and expand high tech manufacturing hubs in order to lead the world in technological goods, which are made in the USA. He has also stated that he is willing to overstep legislation and Congress in order to provide more jobs for the American people.

2. Education
His reason for focusing on education is that the workforce of tomorrow must be equipped with the proper skills in order to enter jobs efficiently and successfully. Obama cites a recent College Opportunity Summit where he planned to reduce inequality to access to education. He also said that he has begun reaching out to corporations in order to assist colored men to stay on track and to reach their full potential through the education system. He emphasized the Race to the Top program that he said has improved the skills, such as problem solving, technology, engineering, math, and critical thinking, of children around the US. However he also stated that Congress must focus on providing high quality early education, Pre-Kindergarten, to every four year old. He continues to push forward with providing high speed broadband to almost all the schools in the US, and would like to cap monthly student loan payments to 10% of income.

3. Foreign Policy and Veteran Benefits
Obama highlighted Michelle Obama's Joining Forces Alliance which hires and trains veterans and military spouses, and says that he is working hard in order to give war veterans the benefits and healthcare that they need. For foreign policy, Obama declares that US troops in Afghanistan will complete their mission by the end of this year, 2014. Following, minimal US troops may stay in Afghanistan only to train Afghanistan troops and to further employ counter terrorism towards Al Qaeda. Also following, Obama implores Congress to shut down Guantanamo Bay. He says that he will limit the use of drones in foreign countries in order to ensure that the privacy of ordinary people is not  violated. He claims that America's diplomacy has halted Iran's nuclear program, and that further negotiations and diplomacy should be employed when dealing with the situation. Obama also cites the strong ties that the US has with Europe, as well as the US' aid in the recent Philippine disaster.