1. Work Force

President Obama talked about how the Vice President is going to lead a reform for American training programs. He focused on the fact that the way that we, as a nation, should be training our workforce is by teaching them the skills that employers need right now and then matching these citizens with the employers who need the skills they have learned. He wants to “connect ready-to-work Americans with ready-to-fill jobs.” President Obama also mentioned that more on-the-job training would be beneficial. The final point that he made about the work force was in regards to the restoration of unemployment insurance by Congress. President Obama said that “we can’t just focus on today’s workforce, we need to train the work force of tomorrow.” Restoring unemployment insurance will help America to train the workforce of tomorrow by providing them with more opportunity. 

1. Education

The President started off by referencing Race to the Top and expressing how it helped states raise expectations and performance levels of students. He makes the claim that “it is working, we just are not reaching enough kids in time.” The President wants to make high quality Pre-K available to every four-year-old in the country. He has found a way to connect students and schools without adding money to the deficit by investing in a new partnership for Race to the Top with Verizon, Sprint, Apple and Microsoft. President Obama also wants to help students who feel trapped by student loan debt and cap their pay to 10% of their income. Lastly, the President mentions a mission of equal opportunity for people of color when it comes to levels of education and pay. 

1. Retirement

President Obama makes a point of saying how social security is not enough to live off of on its own and people no longer are being provided with pensions. The President has come up with a new savings bond called ‘myRA’ that will help people save for retirement. It will keep the dream of home ownership alive for future generations and will assist those who cannot afford to only live off of social security after they retire.