EKU/UK Professors: President’s Goals May Be Unrealistic

Many goals in President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech are unrealistic, according to Eastern Kentucky and University of Kentucky political science professors.

They said one issue that hit hard in Tuesday’s speech was income inequality which is at a high rate in Kentucky, according to a 2012 U.S. Census poll. That same survey showed Kentucky grouped in states with the lowest median household income at $41,000.

Professors are hesitant to say the extent these proposed changes would affect people in Kentucky.

"I’m more concerned with what was brought up and why it was presented that way," said Dr. Joe Gershtenson, Department of Government Professor at Eastern Kentucky University.

Gershtenson said he thinks many ideas brought up in the President’s State of the Union address are ideals, not necessarily reflective of the country’s current state.

Dr. Stephen Voss, Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Kentucky, said he believed the President was trying to set the stage for the 2016 election.