1996 State of the Union Address: Welfare Reform (Paragraphs 38-48) Summary

Get With(out) The Program.

  • Clinton's promise: if you work hard, you should be able to get ahead. He's borrowing from conservative rhetoric.
  • He pushes Congress to consolidate job-training programs into a community college voucher. Send 'em to school.
  • He asks Congress to raise the minimum wage. Back, then it was four-fifty an hour. Bill avoided saying what the exact amount should be. Prudent evasion.
  • He agitates for a tax credit for working families with children and pushes businesses to provide pension plans. Notice a pattern? In this speech, Clinton is asking for a lot, but not promising much specifically.
  • On to healthcare: Clinton encourages Congress to pass an insurance bill similar to the Obamacare of today, which would have prevented insurance companies from dropping people on their heads. He also promises to preserve Medicare and Medicaid, even while reforming welfare overall.
  • Clinton asks "companies and workers" to "work as a team" (48.3) to help America prosper going forward. This is another allusion to conservative and centrist principles: don't rely on the government…let the economy do it by itself!