President Barack Obama delivered his fifth State of the Union address last week, touching on a number of issues that are important to religious people. One of the main themes of the talk was addressing the inequalities suffered by so many because of the ongoing economic gap between “those at the top” and those “working too hard just to get by.”
The president said in his speech, “Today, after four years of economic growth, corporate growth, corporate profits and stock prices have rarely been higher, and those at the top have never done better. But average wages have barely budged. Inequality has deepened. Upward mobility has stalled. The cold, hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many Americans are working more than ever just to get by, let alone get ahead. And too many still aren’t working at all.”
He also called on Congress to raise the national minimum wage to $10.10, following the lead of a number of corporations that have voluntarily raised their minimum wage to that amount. Another challenge for Congress was his call to restore unemployment benefits to the 1.6 million people who recently were cut off.
He vowed to “fix our broken immigration system,” challenging Congress to “get immigration reform done this year.”
While avoiding his terrible advocacy of abortion and the federal contraception mandate, he did call for gender wage equality and said that a woman should be able “to have a baby without sacrificing her job.” “I firmly believe when women succeed, America succeeds,” he said. He also reminded the nation about our basic American ideals of “inherent dignity and equality of every human being, regardless of race or religion, creed or sexual orientation.”
Reform Jewish Movement leaders issued a response to the speech which included: “We welcome the president’s commitment to addressing unemployment, income inequality, minimum wage issues, including his planned executive order raising the minimum wage for federal contractors. It is time for Congress to do the same for all workers and raise the minimum wage. President Obama also shined his spotlight on the climate crisis, the ongoing scourge of gun violence as well as the needs of returning veterans. We also appreciate his call for the House to do its part to fix our broken immigration system and his words highlighting bipartisan support for ensuring the right to vote is protected for all Americans.”
Jews were also heartened to hear him explain that “American diplomacy is supporting Israelis and Palestinians as they engage in difficult but necessary talks to end the conflict there: to achieve dignity and an independent state for Palestinians and lasting peace and security for the state of Israel – a Jewish state that knows America will always be at their side.” The president’s remarks about Israel as a Jewish state echo one of Israel’s key demands in its ongoing peace talks with the Palestinians.
Jim Wallis, the president of Sojourners, the largest network of social justice Christians in the United States, said of the speech, “As an evangelical Christian, I believe the moral test of any policy proposal is never which party offers the idea, but how it treats ‘the least of our brothers and sisters’ (Matt. 25:40). My hope and prayer is that the president’s speech tonight will help inspire us to welcome the stranger, feed the hungry, and care for the vulnerable. That is the nation we should strive to become; and those are the values that should guide every public servant entrusted with political power. The question underlying our political debates is ‘what kind of nation do we want to be?’ Uniting around our deepest values requires us to transcend political conflict and refocus our attention on the ancient idea of the common good. That is how we restore the promise of a nation where opportunities are available to all.”
Father Larry Snyder, president of Catholic Charities USA, released a statement saying he was encouraged by the president’s speech. He liked Obama’s focus on “creating ladders of opportunity that have the potential to raise up the vulnerable in our nation, strengthening communities across the country and restoring dignity of every American.”
He added that he was also heartened by “the recognition of the need to provide food for the poor, the need for increased access to quality early education and job training as important pathways to opportunity.”
He added, however, that “we also feel an urgency to place a priority on addressing more effective methods for reducing poverty for the more than 46 million Americans living in poverty today.”
Father Joseph D. Wallace is coordinator, Ecumenical and Inter-religious Affairs, Diocese of Camden.
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