The State of the Union Address – Simplified

Courtesy of the White House

Courtesy of the White House

Alex Yim, Staff Writer

On February 7th, Joe Biden gave his State of the Union Address. The State of the Union Address is when a president talks about what they have done in office so far and what they want to do in the coming years. Joe Biden started his State of the Union address by saying “The United States Capitol, Mr. Speaker. Madam Vice President. Our First Lady and Second Gentleman. Members of Congress and the Cabinet. Leaders of our military. Mr. Chief Justice, Associate Justices, and retired Justices of the Supreme Court. And you, my fellow Americans. I start tonight by congratulating the members of the 118th Congress and the new Speaker of the House, Kevin McCarthy.”

After he thanked everyone that was there, he went ahead and talked about what he did about COVID. “As I stand here tonight, we have created a record 12 million new jobs, more jobs created in two years than any president has ever created in four years. Two years ago, COVID shut down our businesses, closed our schools, and robbed us of so much. Today, COVID no longer controls our lives.”

The president then talked about why he ran for president. “I ran for president to positively change things, to make sure the economy works for everyone so we can take pride in what we do. To build an economy from the bottom up and the middle out, not from the top down. Because when the middle class does well, the poor have a ladder up and the wealthy still do very well. We all do well.”

Next, he talks about inflation and what is happening about it. “Here at home, gas prices are down $1.50 per gallon since their peak. Food inflation is coming down. Inflation has fallen every month for the last six months while take-home pay has gone up”

Courtesy of AP News

Then President Biden said “The idea that in 2020, 55 of the biggest companies in America made $40 billion in profits and paid zero in federal income taxes? That’s simply not fair. But now, because of the law I signed, billion-dollar companies have to pay a minimum of 15%. Just 15%. That’s less than a nurse pays. Let me be clear. Under my plan, nobody earning less than $400,000 a year will pay an additional penny in taxes. Nobody. Not one penny.”

By this, he means that companies that make lots of money have to pay 15% of their profit and small businesses don’t pay any. Joe Biden then talks about public education “Studies show that children who go to preschool are nearly 50% more likely to finish high school and go on to earn a 2 or 4-year degree, no matter their background. Let’s give public school teachers a raise.”

Finally, Joe Biden ended by talking about the future of America. “As I stand here tonight, I have never been more optimistic about the future of America. We just have to remember who we are. We are the United States of America and there is nothing, nothing beyond our capacity if we do it together. May God bless you all. May God protect our troops.”