Biden calls for cooperation, fair taxes and tackling police brutality in State of the Union speech | Abroad

The State of the Union is seen as one of the most important events of the political year and is viewed en masse by the American people.

Biden pleaded for cooperation between Democrats and Republicans, highlighting the various laws and decisions the two sides have worked together on over the past year, such as aid to Ukraine and infrastructure. “To my Republican friends, we worked together in the past Congress, so there’s no reason to think we couldn’t work together in this Congress,” said the president, who says he wants to bring the country together. “The people have given us a clear message. Quarrel for the sake of quarrel, power for power’s sake, conflict for the sake of conflict will get us nowhere.”

More jobs need to be returned to the US, he said. “When the middle class gets it right, the poorest get a boost and the very rich still do very well,” Biden said. He pointed out that the unemployment rate in the country, at 3.4 percent, has reached its lowest level in 50 years. In addition, a record number of as many as 10 million Americans applied for a business license last year.

For example, substantial investments are being made in infrastructure projects that will boost employment. In addition, the US wants to start producing more computer chips in its own country again, so a law was passed that both parties agreed to.

Biden also announced his “Buy American” policy: All infrastructure projects funded by the federal government will use building materials manufactured in the US. The announcement was met with loud cheers.

The president also addressed viewers and listeners directly at home, promising an economy that leaves no one behind, one that also invests in people and places that have been “forgotten.” “In the economic upheaval of the past 40 years, too many of you have been abandoned and treated as if they were invisible. Maybe that’s you watching at home,” Biden said. “That’s why building an economy where no one is left behind.”

The sky-high prices for health care are a thorny issue in the US, which the Democrats have been trying to change for years. “We pay more for prescription drugs than any other country in the world,” Biden said. The outrageous cost of insulin is a prime example of how costs spiral out of control in the US. “One in 10 Americans has diabetes. millions of people need insulin to control their diabetes so they can stay alive. Insulin has been around for 100 years. The man who invented it didn’t patent it because he wanted it to remain available to everyone. It costs pharmaceutical companies ten dollars to produce a bottle. With packaging costs you might get to thirteen dollars. But Big Pharma is unfairly charging people hundreds of dollars, and making record profits. Not anymore. Let’s limit the cost of insulin to $35 a month for every American who needs it”, it sounded firmly.

Biden also referred to climate change and measures needed to deal with global warming. Green energy is the future, according to Biden. “Let’s face reality. The climate crisis doesn’t matter if you live in a red (Republican, ed.) or blue (Democratic, ed.) state. It’s an existential threat. We have an obligation, not only to ourselves, but also to our children and grandchildren to confront.”

“We are going to need oil and gas for a while, but you know what: there is still so much to do to finish the job. We pay for these investments in our future, by finally getting the biggest and richest companies to pay their fair share. I am a capitalist, but honestly pay your fair share,” it sounded. “Big companies don’t just abuse the tax code. They also abuse you, the American consumer.”

Many would agree that the US tax system is not fair, the Democrat argued. He refers to the 55 largest companies in the US that made a whopping $40 billion in profits last year, but paid nothing in federal taxes. “Now billion-dollar companies have to pay at least fifteen percent.”

The oil companies made a whopping $200 billion in profits last year, as gasoline prices for Americans (and elsewhere in the world) skyrocketed. Fearing that their shares would plummet, the oil companies subsequently bought back their own shares on the stock exchange, increasing their value. To stop this practice, the president wants the tax on such ‘buybacks’ to be quadrupled, from one to four percent.

The president is again calling for a tax for the very rich and stressed that tax evaders will be dealt with more severely.

Some of Biden’s statements went down the wrong way with Republicans and were met with booing. For example, the president cited that his administration has already succeeded in eliminating $ 1.7 trillion of the budget deficit. That while his predecessor Donald Trump was responsible for no less than 25 percent of the total national debt in his four years in the White House.

The president called on Congress to raise the debt ceiling, “but some Republicans are holding the economy hostage unless I agree with their economic plans,” he claimed. Biden’s statement that those Republicans first want to see the end of Medicare (the national health insurance in the US, ed.) and Social Security, instead of tax reform, provoked a lot of reaction in the room and he was criticized by some Republicans, including the controversial Marjorie Taylor Greene booed and called a “liar”.

The fierce protest therefore means that those negotiating terms are off the table, Biden responded laconically, which caused loud applause in the room. “We have unanimity. Apparently we all agree: we are not going to cut Social Security or Medicare, which apparently nobody is willing to do.” But if that did happen, he promised to veto it.

The parents of Tire Nichols, the young man who died last month in Memphis due to excessive police brutality, attended Biden’s State of the Union address in Congress. “There are no words for the pain of losing a child, but imagine losing your child at the hands of the police,” the president said. “Most of us have never had the conversation that black parents with their kids,” Biden said. grabbing, that they have to keep their hands on the steering wheel. Imagine having to worry about that every time your child gets in the car.”

“Equal protection under the law is the covenant we have in America. I know that most cops are good, decent people. They risk their lives every time they don that shield. But what happened to Tire in Memphis happens too often. We have to do better.” Biden is calling for better police training, more resources and more first responders to help tackle the drug crisis, as well as more investment in housing and education to prevent violence. “But if police officers violate the trust of the people, they must be held accountable.”

“To put it in the words of Tire’s mother: something good must come of this,” said the president.

Also Read: Why Are US Cops So Violent? (+)

He also took the opportunity to argue for some hot issues, on which after years of wrangling no agreement could be reached with the Republicans, such as a ban on assault weapons and the enshrinement of the right to abortion in the constitution. “Be assured, if Congress passes a law banning abortion, I will veto it.”

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine is a test for America and for the world, said Biden, stressing the need to defend basic principles of sovereignty and democracy. After all, any attack on it poses a threat to the prosperity of the US.

And he addressed Oksana Markarova, the Ukrainian ambassador to the US, who attended the State of the Union. “We are by your side for as long as it takes.”

Biden also issued a stark warning to the Chinese regime after Americans recently shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon over US territory. “If China threatens our sovereignty, we will act to protect our country, and we did.”

However, the president is determined to continue working with China where US interests can be advanced for the benefit of the world. He had previously told Chinese President Xi Jinping that the US and China would compete vigorously, but that he is not looking for conflict.

Also read: After the spy balloon came down: “Biden had no other choice, but the Cold War with China seems to have started” (+)

Also in the room was Paul Pelosi, the husband of Nancy Pelosi, the former leader of the Democratic Party in the House of Representatives. The man was attacked in his home last year by a burglar who was actually targeting his wife.

Such a heinous act should never have happened,” Biden said. “We all need to speak up. There is no place for political violence in America.” He said the perpetrator had used the same language as the people who stormed Congress on January 6, 2021. “We must not provide a safe haven for hate and extremism in any form.”