The Philippine Online Chronicles

US president Barack Obama delivered his third State of the Union address earlier today at the House of Representatives, proposing "economic fairness" and setting the tone for the White House’s policies for the year.

After commending the US Armed Forces as “heroes,” Obama evoked the image of the American Dream: “if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.” The president vowed to never again “go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits.”

Obama tackled issues such as foreign trade, education and energy before moving on to his main issue, tax reform. Citing investor Warren Buffet’s observation that his employees paid more taxes (relatively) than he did, Obama gave a renewed call for higher taxes for the wealthy, a concept that Republicans oppose.

“Now, you can call this class warfare all you want," he added. "But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense."

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels delivered the traditional post-address response. Daniels, a member of the Republican Party, called Obama’s speech pro-poverty. "No feature of the Obama presidency has been sadder than its constant efforts to divide us, to curry favor with some Americans by castigating others," he said.

Earlier this week, Mitt Romney, one of the Republican presidential contenders, released his tax returns due to political pressure, revealing his 14% rate.

President Obama is running for re-election later this year.