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Obama in State of the Union: Tax wealthy, help middle class
What Tennessee Republican leaders said
“I think the president ought to give two State of the Union addresses. We’ve pretty well heard the first one. The one with things Congress wouldn’t ever do. We need to hear the one with proposals that Congress might actually do, working with the president. For example, to expand free trade so we can sell more Tennessee products overseas, simplify the student aid forms so more community college students can take advantage of Tennessee Promise, prevent cyberattacks and fix No Child Left Behind.” – U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn. “While I know it is the tradition for presidents to address the nation in this way, I always pay closer attention to actions after these types of speeches are delivered. Tennesseans are ready for both the Congress and the White House to govern responsibly and finally focus on growing our economy, repairing our fiscal house and strengthening our nation’s role in the world. It is my hope the president will recognize that the only way to solve some of the big issues we face and create a stronger, more prosperous nation for future generations is to roll up his sleeves, provide leadership and work with this new Congress. If he does that, I think we can begin to deliver real, long-lasting results for hardworking American families.” – U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. “President Obama always has many things in his State of the Union that almost everyone supports, but of course the devil is in the details. “I have always strongly supported tax cuts for the middle class and making education more affordable, but raising the capital gains tax and redistributing income to pay for more government programs could hurt the overall economy. The president’s ‘free’ health care is an example of a too-good-to-be-true plan that now has many Americans paying 50 percent more for their health insurance.” – U.S. Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn. “The president addressed the nation in the State of the Union to deliver his vision for the upcoming year. Unfortunately, rather than focusing on areas where the president and Congress can work together to move the country forward, he presented a set of ideas he knows will have no chance in the new Congress. His proposals are burdensome, unproductive, and most importantly, costly. President Obama’s proposed tax hikes will only hurt our economy and the American people. Rather than proposing revenue neutral tax reform, the President decided to focus on a redistributive tax increase. We need a fairer, flatter, simpler tax code that keeps money in the hands of the middle class and empowers job creators to grow and strengthen our economy.” – U.S. Rep. Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn.
Local residents had varied opinions on the afternoon before President Barack Obama called in his State of the Union address to raise taxes and increase benefits for those less well off.
People were most eager to talk about Obama’s proposal to increase taxes by specifically targeting wealthy individuals and big financial institutions.
Twanda Jeffries, 44, said there is an argument on both sides of the issue.