April 21, 2013 - "President Obama, Why Hath Thou Forsaken Us?"

Featuring:

• Isaiah Poole, Editor of Campaign For America's Future's OurFuture.org;

• Dr. Margaret Flowers, Congressional Fellow at Physicians for a National Health Plan; and

• William Spriggs, Chief Economist at the AFL-CIO

I am pleased that the President's FY14 Budget addresses the student loan crisis in our country. From leading the world into the age of democracy to spearheading the technological revolution, America has always been at the forefront of greatness. 

During the last election cycle Al Sharpton famously said, "It's not about Obama, it's about your momma." He was making a compelling argument that the public needed to be concerned about Mitt Romney's draconian Social Security and Medicare proposals. Now that the Obama Administration has released its 2014 budget that includes cuts to both Social Security and Medicare, African Americans must now face the bitter reality that it's literally about Obama and our mommas.

President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address was a renewed commitment to rebuilding our nation. Strengthening our economy is essential to our stability, and can only be accomplished by creating jobs, rebuilding our middle class, and investing in our future.

I applaud the President’s talk tonight regarding jobs and technology. We must ensure the resilience of the American worker, and the adaptability and innovation inherent in our economy, to keep us at the forefront of global competitiveness.

This is the Silicon Valley way of life and business, where the manufacturing sector employs 1 in 5 workers (more than twice the national average), where breakthrough ideas are cultivated, and where the world’s most successful visionaries and businesses call home.

There is no question that obtaining a college degree is essential, especially in these times of high unemployment. A recent Gallup poll showed that 73 percent of college graduates are employed fulltime, compared to only 58 percent of those with a high school education or less.

Michael Blake of the White House Office of Public Engagement discusses the White House and President Obama's outreach efforts to African Americans at the 2011 Congressional Black Caucus Annual Legislative Conference.