FACTS: The State of Our Union

FACTS: The State of Our Union: pNINETEEN Facts You Ought to Know Ahead of Tonight’s Speech Tonight, President Obama will deliver his third State of the Union address. He will lay out a sweeping vision of what’s a stake for the middle class (more than ever) and two visions for the economy: an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy [...]/p

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Jan 24, 2012 at 4:44 pm
NINETEEN Facts You Ought to Know Ahead of Tonight’s Speech

Tonight, President Obama will deliver his third State of the Union address. He will lay out a sweeping vision of what’s a stake for the middle class (more than ever) and two visions for the economy: an economy that works for everyone, not just a wealthy few or an economy where the game continues to be rigged for the rich and the middle class falls further behind.

ThinkProgress’ Judd Legum rounds up 19 essential facts you should know before tonight’s speech:

• Since the last SOTU, the economy has created 1.9 million private sector jobs. [Source]

• The top 1 percent take home 24 percent of the nation’s income, up from about 9 percent in 1976. [Source]

• Private sector job creation under Obama in 2011 was larger than seven out of the eight years Bush was president. [Source]

• The top 1 percent of Americans own 40 percent of our country’s wealth while the bottom 80 percent owns only 7 percent. [Source]

• Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, 2.5 million young adults gained health insurance. [Source]

• For every one job opening, there are four people looking for work. [Source]

• Last year, China spent 9 percent of its GDP on infrastructure. The U.S. spent 2.5 percent. [Source]

• 2.65 million seniors saved an average of $569 on prescriptions last year thanks to the