Join Us During Tonight's State Of The Union Address
Join Fast Company reporter Ainsley O'Connell and Single Stop CEO Elisabeth Mason for live commentary with Fast Company editors and expert guests during President Obama's State of the Union address. The event starts at 8 p.m. ET Tuesday, January 20.
Watch the State of the Union address live here.
Join Fast Company reporter Ainsley O'Connell and Single Stop CEO Elisabeth Mason as they weigh in on President Obama's speech and its implications. They'll be joined by other Fast Company editors and writers throughout the night, as well.
In an unusual move, Obama has been criss-crossing the country in the weeks leading up the this year's address, laying out a series of policy proposals built around the interests and concerns of America's still-struggling middle class. Thanks to that preview strategy we know we can expect to hear about granting new mothers paid-leave, making community college free, and levying new taxes on wealthy Americans.
According to a Washington Post-ABC News poll released yesterday, exactly half of you approve of Obama's job performance--a nine point increase since last month. Will you change your view after hearing the speech? Let's find out.
We'll kick off tonight's live chat at 8pm for some pre-game conversation before the big event starts at 9pm. You can join in, too, using the "Make a comment" box below.
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Thanks so much for inviting us! Excited for historic announcements addressing opportunity in America.
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I'd like to extend a special welcome to our guest, Elisabeth Mason. As the CEO of Single Stop USA, a nonprofit that helps low-income Americans access the sometimes byzantine systems that govern public resources, she is in a unique position to comment on President Obama's plans to reduce inequality and improve middle class lives. Glad to have you with us!
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Here's how paid family leave would make a difference in the economy (ahead of Obama's #SOTU paid leave proposals): nytimes.com/2014/07/29/ups…by clairecm via twitter 1/21/2015 1:03:32 AM -
Listen up for the president's higher education proposals. Free community college and major reforms of tax credits.
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This is the biggest single policy from the lens of opportunity. Half of all Americans start their college journey at two years, but half of those drop out because they can't afford to pay for school. These efforts will make the promise of education a reality, unlocking Americans' potential and spurring entrepreneurship.
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Elisabeth, critics are already picking apart Obama's community college proposal. Is there anything about it you'd recommend that he change?
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Lots of the proposal has been misunderstood. Some have said that community college tuition is already low. But consider the whole cost of college - tuition, books, transportation. Some would say that many students don't spend time in college well. If anything we'd agree with the critics on is that we need to have strong support and guidance services. We need to make sure that those getting #FreeCommunityCollege take smart courses and get good counseling. Sorry, not basket weaving.
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Let's talk about paid leave. This is something we should all be able to agree on. Too often at Single Stop our lawyers help people who had to quit jobs to take care of ill children or spouses. Think about what kind of innovation we can unleash if everyone can feel safe and secure in their jobs.
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It does seem like something that should be hard to argue with--around the world, the U.S. is increasingly the outlier on family policy. In fact, the U.S. is one of only two countries out of 185 in a recent study that does not offer paid maternity leave. The other? Papua New Guinea.
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Ha! Papua New Guinea. Key point is that responsible paid leave policies are good for 21st century business.
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The evidence does seem to back that up--women are apparently more likely to stay in their jobs and climb the corporate ladder when paid-leave policies exist, according to this report.
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Also curious to hear your thoughts on tax reform, which Obama has indicated that he will touch on. Recently, even outside of higher ed, it does seem like there's a conversation starting about better accounting for the real costs hitting lower-income Americans. An analysis by the Institute on Taxation and Economic Policy, for example, found that lower-wage workers are hit hardest by local taxes. Have you seen examples of similar imbalances in your work?
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A bit more detail from that analysis: "in 2015 the poorest fifth of Americans will pay on average 10.9 percent of their income in state and local taxes, the middle fifth will pay 9.4 percent and the top 1 percent will average 5.4 percent."
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I think this conversation is just starting. Charles Blow made a great contribution with a recent column. On top of sales taxes are high check cashing fees, and much more.
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Single Stop works to maximize federal tax credits for low income working families, which are an example of progressive taxes.
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I have to imagine that a lot of times families don't even realize that some of those credits exist.
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Only half of states have an earned income tax credit which incentivizes low income people to work and be less dependent on government programs.
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Up to a third of eligible individuals don't file for the earned income credit. We are really focused on using technology to simplify that process - turbo tax for all.
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I wonder where those states fall on this Politico ranking. By combining data on education, health, crime, and other indicators, Politico Magazine came up with a "states of the union" that places Minnesota first and Mississippi last--for the second year in a row.
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Hi everybody. Erin Schulte, senior editor at Fast Company, chiming in. The "designated survivor" was just announced: Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx (one of Fast Company's Most Creative People in Business). Only in the last few years have they made the designated survivor public.
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It's a pretty interesting list of people who have had that honor over the years !
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Press is all over proposals on inequality, but really all about job creation and the middle class.
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If you're wondering who's sitting with First Lady Michelle Obama in the peanut gallery, here's the rundown--everyone from an Ebola-fighting doctor to an astronaut.
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Interesting. Mentions "terror" before the economy.
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And then tries to put on his Clinton suit, faster job growth than any time since 1999. And then Obamacare.
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I think we all can approve thousands of Veteran's coming home! Helping Veterans must be part of our nation's strategy to create opportunity.
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Should we keep of running tally of change metaphors? "Tonight, we turn the page." "The shadow of crisis has passed."
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Hi All, Noah Robischon, executive editor of Fast Company here. Ever wonder how one of those 11 million "new" jobs is created? Planet Money did a great explainer on that.
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Those jobs numbers are important--all told, America created 3 million jobs last year. But wages remain stagnant.
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Americans say they support Obama's Cuba decision 60-30, according to today's NBC/ WSJ poll.
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So did Obama just talk about China without actually saying China? I think so.
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Handy chart of fucks given by @BarackObama by annual address to Congress #SOTU http://pbs.twimg.com/media/B711NtZIMAM0wrZ.png
by steveolson via twitter 1/21/2015 2:53:42 AM -
If you need a visual for what he's talking about here, watch 60 years of climate change in 15 seconds:
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This is the report from NOAA on 2014 being the warmest on record:
NASA, NOAA Find 2014 Warmest Year in Modern Record
NASAThe year 2014 ranks as Earthâs warmest since 1880, according to two separate analyses by NASA and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) scientists. -
And NOAA getting a State of the Union shoutout just made the day of so, so many scientists.
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Good to see Obama making the link between climate change and national security. Same goes for energy policy--these are not "soft" issues.
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"it makes no sense to spend three million dollars per prisoner to keep open a prison that the world condemns and terrorists use to recruit." How about a line about the dire state of our prisons at home?
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Obama wants to shut down Guantanamo, but public tilts negative. By 49%- 42% more say it's a bad idea to close Gitmo.
pewrsr.ch/1Ixqoqjby Carroll Doherty via twitter 1/21/2015 3:00:03 AM -
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America's beating back adversity from the Gulf to Boston. We see it every day. Great leaders promote optimism every day!by Elisabeth Mason 1/21/2015 3:02:39 AM
