US Politics Video and Transcript: President Obama's State of the Union Address

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PRESIDENT OBAMA: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, fellow Americans, 51 years ago, John F. Kennedy declared to this chamber that “the Constitution makes us not rivals for power, but partners for progress.”

(APPLAUSE)

“It is my task,” he said, “to report the state of the union. To improve it is the task of us all.”

Tonight, thanks to the grit and determination of the American people, there is much progress to report. After a decade of grinding war, our brave men and women in uniform are coming home.

(APPLAUSE)

After years of grueling recession, our businesses have created over 6 million new jobs. We buy more American cars than we have in five years and less foreign oil than we have in 20.

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US Politics: A Beginner's Guide to Tax Rate Reform

To tackle the deficit, the government must sharply curtail the $1.1 trillion it currently "spends" annually on exemptions and deductions in the tax code. To give that number some perspective: it roughly equals what America spends each year on discretionary programs --- including defense --- and is about 2/3 of the yearly deficit. If these “backdoor spending grants” for special interests are eliminated, the commission contends, marginal tax rates can be lowered to broaden and simplify the tax base while increasing government revenue. Controversially, much of this increased revenue would not be used to finance government spending, but would be dedicated solely to paying off America's debt.

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US Politics: Getting Serious on the Federal Debt?

The stakes involved in America's debate over the country's debt crisis were significantly raised last week. Senior lawmakers, and some of the figures involved with the President's deficit reduction commission, have decided that a passive role on the sidelines is no longer a winning strategy for forcing Congress and the White House to get serious about talks designed to solve the debt problem. In an appearance before the Senate Budget Committee on Tuesday, Alan Simpson --- one of the co-chairs of the commission --- warned that if the United States did not attempt to deal with the debt burden immediately then, sometime within the next two years, the nation would face its worse economic crisis in history.

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