President Barack Obama shakes hands with House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as Vice President Joe Biden watches before the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)
(CNSNews.com) – White House aides have made it clear that President Obama will project “confidence” and “optimism” in his final State of the Union Address Tuesday night. He’ll try to contrast his outlook with “the avalanche of negativity” from Republicans,Obama spokesman Josh Earnest said on Monday.
But on Tuesday morning, hours before the president’s speech, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said there is reason to be concerned about liberal “trickle-down” policies, weak economic growth, stagnant wages and a world “on fire.”
“I think the Federal Reserve has given us, in combination with Obama policies, more regulations, higher taxes, more uncertainty — has given us trickle-down economics. This is liberal style.
“So what’s happening is, people at the high end are doing pretty darned well because of loose money from the Fed, and all these regulations, all this uncertainty, all these taxes is giving us weak economic growth.
“Wages are stagnant. Middle-income wages are flat. 46 million people are still living in poverty today, among the highest poverty rates in a generation. This is not the signs of a recovery. This is not the signs of a healthy economy. These are the signs of a weak economy.
“You combine that with the fact that the world is on fire, that foreign policy is getting away from us, that we are less safe, and that is why the anxiety in America is so palpable.”
At a news conference Tuesday morning, Ryan also criticized Obama for refusing to deal with the nation’s debt crisis.
“We all know that this president has chosen to ignore our fiscal problems in America and the pending debt crisis that’s coming with our entitlements. So we know we need to have a new president to work with to get our fiscal house in order.”
Ryan said Republicans will “lay out a case to the public on what it’s going to take to get this country’s fiscal house in order.”
The work begins Wednesday at a Republican retreat in Baltimore. Ryan said it will be a “participatory” process, “where all of our members have a say-so in helping to determine the direction of our conference going forward.”
President Barack Obama shakes hands with House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wisconsin as Vice President Joe Biden watches before the State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) 
