Play by the same rules: Obama

United States President Barack Obama used his third State of the Union Address to focus on what will most likely be the staple of his 2012 election campaign: economic equality.

Following the economic catastrophe that was 2011 (further destabilisation of the US dollar, and remember those ‘Occupy’ protests?), Mr Obama’s address focused on rebuilding the economy and ensuring the economic safety of the middle class.

“As long as I'm President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place,” he said.

Mr Obama presented a handful of policies designed to boost the US economy and foster economic equality, including policies targeting tax reform, clean energy and college affordability.

He restated his support for the ‘Buffet Rule’, an end of the “extraordinary tax breaks” afforded to the rich, and a move towards a more equal tax system where those who earn more than $1 million would be taxed at a rate of at least 30%.

The concept was suggested by Warren Buffett, one of the richest men in the world, reportedly worth $39 billion as of November 2011, according to Forbes Magazine.

“My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress. It’s time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice,” Mr Buffett said last year.

In a sign of support for Mr Buffett’s concept, his secretary, Debbie Bosanek, was an official guest of First Lady Michelle Obama during the address. Mr Buffett revealed in his New York Times article (“Stop Coddling the Super-Rich”) that Ms Bosanek paid a higher effective tax rate than he did.

“What I paid was only 17.4% of my taxable income – and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office,” he wrote.

“Their tax burdens ranged from 33% to 41%, and averaged 36%.”

Mr Obama said he would work to improve American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers and a renewal of American values, which he said would increase the economic success of the US.

“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them,” he said.

“Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a government and a financial system that do the same.

“It's time to apply the same rules from top to bottom. No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.”