During his State of Union Address, President Barack Obama said that he wants the government to have a strong role in times of federal deficits and increasing taxes. The Republicans often say that the government is the problem but the president said that the government is a major contributor to the improvement of the country’s economy.

The president stated that the country was not built by a single person alone. Teamwork is needed to make it work. Priorities should be placed on job training, clean energy and refinancing the mortgages. He mentioned the federal deficits but he didn’t highlight it as a major threat to the economy.

He proposed an increase in the tax rates for millionaires and briefly mentioned spending cuts, which is a top priority for the Republicans. His tax increase proposal would give the government budget for its programs.

The president knows that his proposal to tax the millionaires more would not be approved by Congress before the presidential election. He hopes that this would be the issue that would separate him from the eventual Republican candidate.

Polls suggest that President Obama’s message was received warmly by the voters. They think that he’s the defender of the middle class with most of his programs directed to support them. Most Americans see the tax code as unfair.

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