President Barack Obama touched on a variety of issues-- energy, jobs, technology, climate change and the middle class-- in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. Yahoo News asked voters to respond to his speech. Here's one perspective.
COMMENTARY | Two phrases in President Obama's State of the Union address jumped out at me -- "brain mapping" and "clean energy." These are phrases it is hard to imagine Mitt Romney having used if he had won the election, and they really sum up the difference between Obama and his opponents. Regardless of what party or politician holds power, simple arithmetic dictates we're in for higher taxes and spending cuts in the coming years. The difference lies in what we do with the revenue we create as a result.
The State of the Union is typically long on rhetoric and short on specifics, and Obama's most recent was no exception. However, his mention of the need for the government to actively support emerging technologies, such as brain mapping and clean energy, shows an understanding of where the world is heading. I have been a technology journalist for 15 years, and while neuroscience and energy are not my specialties, I do know that technology is dramatically changing how business is conducted and how money is made.
Beyond offering hope for humanity, leading-edge technology areas like brain mapping and clean energy offer huge potential sources of revenue down the road -- the kind of revenue that will more than make upfront investment worthwhile. Ultimately the two parties offer a choice between accepting the future and clinging to the past, and no country ever moved forward by looking backward.
Dan Berthiaume lives in Haverhill, Mass. @danberthiaume1
Source: http://news.yahoo.com/commentary-future-state-union-044300994.html
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