My Hopes for the State of the Union

It's State-of-the-Union Day, and presumably Washington is out of it's mind. Pundits will pre-debate what the speech means, and parse over every word. 80% of it won't reach you, the people, and only half of what does will be felt in the short-term. In fact, with this Congress, that might even be a little optimistic.

So what would I like to see from the speech? What should be said and done? Here's my hopes and wishes:

1. The President will amend overtime rules by Executive Order- With the stroke of a pen, the President can make millions of additional workers eligible for overtime, and raise their wages as a result. I'd like to hear him say he will. We have no sign at this time that this is on the agenda.
2. Universal free community college- I support the President's plan to make community college free for those who qualify. I don't think this can pass Congress, but President's have to be aspirational. He is going to push this, and I am glad.
3. Student loan forgiveness- One of the best ways for the President to address economic issues facing millennials, and to stimulate the economy, would be to forgive parts or all of the student loans of those still indebted to them. This is not likely to be proposed.
4. Increase the minimum wage and index it- The President has pushed in the past for an increase in the minimum wage, and that call has gone unheeded in Washington. It has passed in a lot of states as a result, which is basically just as good. I'd like to see him push this again, and push to index the minimum wage to the rate of inflation annually. Take this issue out of politics, since most Americans agree on it.
5. Close tax loopholes and breaks exclusive to the rich, cut middle-class taxes- Rich people getting low tax rates just keep their savings. Middle-class and poor people spend it. Close loopholes for trust funds and inheritors, and transfer the savings to the middle class. We'll all benefit from the growth. The White House seems committed to this, and i'm glad.
6. Re-commit to mass transit and renewable energy- This President has been very "green" in his approach to energy and the environment, and I'd like to see more of that in this speech. High speed rail, like that between Las Vegas and Los Angeles, should be a national reality. We also need to cut subsidies to fossil fuels, and transfer those to the emerging solar and wind markets, to name a few. He will almost certainly stand by his veto threat on the Keystone Pipeline issue in this speech.
7. Call for an expansion of Social Security- Yes, go big on the entitlements. We know this Congress wants to create a Social Security crisis, and cut entitlements on the whole. The President should double down on that dare and prepare to put this issue on the national map heading towards 2016. He may go here.
8. Call for GMO Labeling and reforms to our food supply- This is a pipe-dream, but it is necessary. We simply don't know what we're eating, and there is no reason to trust companies to "self-police" themselves when they can raise the profit margin. Increase regulation and improve labeling. I doubt we see anything here.
9. Call on Congress to address marijuana legalization- Colorado passed legalized marijuana, and they are experiencing tremendous success. Still though, you can't allow the status quo to continue. The next President could use federal law and simply go into Colorado and arrest all the business owners and throw the book at them, because it's illegal nationally. Congress should take the first step towards ending the "War on Drugs" by legalizing marijuana, and allowing states to address this issue. This almost certainly won't make the speech.
10. Re-commit to Space- A few years ago, NASA appeared headed to a slow death. Now they are testing rockets that can reach Mars. Take a page from JFK and call on the nation to reach Mars in the near future. Exceptional nations do exceptional things, and we need to get back to doing that. This is possible.

This is the seventh year of the President's tenure in office. This is his second to last State of the Union. If my goals above seem to be a little lofty, that's fine. This President doesn't have to run again. He can be aspirational. He should be aspirational. I think we can all hope he is.