President Barack Obama will be turning his attention to the middle class in his upcoming State of the Union address this Wednesday. Among the initiatives he plans to outline are increased child care tax credits, programs to cap student loan payments and assistance for families caring for elderly relatives. More details under the hood.
The president said that creating new jobs and reducing unemployment is the “single-most important thing we can do to rebuild the middle class.” “I won’t rest until we’re doing just that,” he said.
But, Obama said, “We also need to reverse the overall erosion in middle-class security, so that when this economy does come back, working Americans are free to pursue their dreams again.”
The White House says the new proposals are aimed at just that — the “sandwich generation” that is now struggling to care for both children and parents. The theme fits into the planned economic message of Obama’s prime-time address to the nation on Wednesday, which promises to provide a sharper focus on jobs and is likely to cover financial regulations, energy, education, immigration and a push to change the political tone in Washington.
Under the president’s proposals, families making under $85,000 a year would see their child care tax credit nearly doubled. Families making under $115,000 would also see at least some increase in their tax credit as well. Obama will also call for the allocation of $100 million to assist families caring for aging relatives by providing help with transportation, adult day care and in-home aids.
The initiatives also focus on savings, requiring employers that don’t offer work-based retirement plans to enroll their employees in a direct deposit retirement account, unless the employee opts out. The cost to employers would be offset by new tax credits, and the administration says the smallest firms would be exempt.
Obama will also call for caps on some student loans, limiting a borrower’s payments to 10 percent of his or her income, and forgiving all remaining debt after 10 years of payment for those in public service work — and 20 years for all others.
It’s great that the Obama administration is taking steps toward helping the middle class, but we wonder how many people will feel they still aren’t doing enough?
