President Barack Obama said Tuesday during his final State of the Union address that Wall Street and powerful corporations, not food stamps and immigrants, caused the country’s financial crisis and put the squeeze on middle-class families.
“Food Stamp recipients didn’t cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did,” Obama said. “Immigrants aren’t the reason wages haven’t gone up, those decisions are made in the boardrooms that too often put quarterly earnings over long-term returns.”
“It’s sure not the average family watching tonight that avoids paying taxes through tonight that avoids paying taxes through offshore accounts,” Obama continued. “The point is — In this new economy, workers and start-ups and small businesses need more of a voice, not less. The rules should work for them.”