(USA Today) — President Obama’s State of the Union Address was faithful to the core values of progressive government for which the Democratic Party has long stood — expecting the wealthier taxpayers to finance programs needed by the middle class and the poor. But it failed to address the rising and unsustainable national debt. The only answer is to raise taxes even more on wealthier Americans to pay down the debt.
The president’s proposals Tuesday night would provide needed help to a middle class left behind for years as upper-income Americans prospered. It provided middle-class tax credits on education, child care and retirement benefits, financed by modest tax increases on America’s wealthiest. For example, his proposed 4.2 percentage point increase on capital gains brings that tax back to where it was under President Reagan.
