Set to start at 9 p.m. tonight, President Obama will deliver his State of the Union (SOTU) Address to a joint session of Congress. The White House has mentioned a few things that may come up in the President’s annual speech but taxpayers are left in the dark as to what exactly he plans for in 2014. Yesterday, NTUF Policy Analyst Michael Tasselmyer has compiled the rumors and reports in a post but questions remain. How much does the President aim to raise the minimum wage? Will his government-sponsored jobs programs be new or more of the same? More importantly, how much will this cost today’s (and tomorrow’s) taxpayers?
NTU wants to see what the grassroots think and are sponsoring a “Price the Proposals” contest (with prizes!!!) to add some fun in with the pomp and circumstance of our political leaders making grand plans for our challenging times. I’ve received quite a few questions about the contest, many of which ask for any insider information that I’ve come across. Sorry folks, this post is no great unveiling of hush hush Administration documents and plans. BUT I wanted to see what NTU and Foundation’s staff thought about the rumors making their way around the Beltway. More to the point, I had everyone place a guess in the “Price the Proposals” contest to see how they ultimately measure up to the line-by-line report, produced by NTU Foundation, and the 362,000 NTU members, all busily racing to place their guesses for a chance at the glory of victory. Remember that these guesses, as yours will be too, are only directed at new spending. Don’t think about tax changes just yet. Here’s where we stand:
- Our Average Guess: $125 billion annual spending increase
- Highest Guess: $1 trillion by Creative Content Manager Tim Howland
- Lowest Guess: $120 million by Director of Development Rick Lipman
- Our Average Number of Standing Ovations: 13
- Highest Guess: “It’ll be one long continuous standing ovation” – Director of Research Demain Brady
- Lowest Guess: “Just 3 standing ovations for the Pres” – State Government Affairs Manager Lee Schalk
So there you have it, some educated guesses from America’s oldest grassroots taxpayer organization. Think you’ll be more accurate with this new information? Head over to our “Price the Proposals” page and place your guess! Remember, you can’t win unless you play!