FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2014
Contact: Andy Fountain, (202) 735-0503

The President’s State of the Union Speech Addresses Inequality and Mobility in U.S.

WASHINGTON—The Center for Global Policy Solutions (CGPS), a Washington DC-based think tank dedicated to making policy work for people and their environments, applauds President Obama’s State of the Union address recognizing the plight of those who are unfairly treated in our system and proposing measures for addressing inequality.

CGPS noted Mr. Obama’s call for Congress to increase the minimum wage, pass immigration reform, provide for high quality pre-K education for the nation’s four year-olds, leverage public and private means to bring 21st century technology to all schools, mandate gender equity in wages, authorize a new savings vehicle aimed at strengthening retirement security, and get behind the Affordable Health Care Act, which the president described as “a law that’s already helping millions of Americans.”

“The President shows that he understands the structural factors making it so difficult for many to achieve the American Dream,” said Maya Rockeymoore, Ph.D., president of CGPS. “People want and need education, health and economic security but policies have to support their ability to attain these goals.”

CGPS is dedicated to achieving a vibrant, diverse, and inclusive democracy.
Towards this goal, CGPS directs Leadership for Healthy Communities, an initiative to improve health outcomes for vulnerable children in communities across the country. The Center also co-directs a nationwide effort to close racial wealth disparities – a gap that threatens the nation’s long-term social and economic health as the U.S. population becomes increasingly diverse.

“It’s reassuring that the president is prepared to use his executive powers in order to address equity issues like the minimum wage,” Rockeymoore said. “But there should also be an ongoing bipartisan Congressional effort to strengthen health, education, and economic opportunities for all Americans.”

The Center for Global Policy Solutions is a social change nonprofit dedicated to making policy work for people and their environments by advancing innovative and effective solutions to our world’s most critical challenges.

For more information, visit our website at www.globalpolicysolutions.org.

###

Download this press release (PDF)