by Jim Martin

While senior citizens are losing doctors at an alarming rate, President Obama hands out phony numbers on rising Medicare premiums, ignores Social Security entirely.

Ronald Reagan used to say that there is nothing wrong with America that couldn’t be fixed by what is right with America. Unfortunately, the exact opposite was the case with the President’s State of the Union speech, as there is nothing wrong with America under Obama’s policies that can possibly be fixed by more of the same failed policies. All America got was more of the same, just in smaller doses.

Americans, including our nation’s elderly, were looking for some ray of hope that perhaps chronic problems such as the weak economy, the jobless recovery, record amounts of borrowing, taxing and spending, or the healthcare crisis caused by Obamacare might receive fresh attention from the President, or new signals of bi-partisan cooperation. But it is clear that President Obama is unable to fix problems that he fails to even recognize.

The President praised the economy he created, which has the lowest labor participation rate in the last 35 years and counts more than 20 million as unemployed or looking for full-time work. He praised our direction on national deficits, even though the deficit this year is an astounding $680 billion and is expected to surpass $1 trillion in the next 10 years. The President praised his healthcare law, which so far has caused more than six million Americans to lose their health insurance and sent millions more to the poor house as they attempt to pay skyrocketing insurance premiums — that is assuming they were lucky enough to keep their doctor.

In Alabama, seniors are among those paying the highest price for the Obama Administration's disastrous policies. Under Obamacare, tens of thousands throughout the state have had their health insurance policies cancelled effective January 1, 2014 and many more are seeing unmanageable rate hikes. We have heard from seniors throughout Alabama that they feel betrayed by Obama and his allies, including AARP, for championing this law that is having dire consequences.

According to the Department of Labor, unemployment in Alabama reached a five-year low in December at just 6.1 percent. However, this wasn’t due to a great economic boom. It was because thousands of workers have dropped out of the job market. More are unemployed now than this time last year than when the unemployment rates were higher.

This is not the America our seniors, the greatest generation fought for! The level of hopelessness that Obama’s failed policies have created does not provide the rich soil for future generations to pursue the American dream that so many who came before them were able to live.

Obama’s victory lap failed to mention his $1 trillion cut from Medicare, but fraudulently claimed that Obamacare has kept Medicare premiums flat, when in fact even AP reported this as false. Predictably the President failed to even mention Social Security, which has a trust fund projected to go bust in less than a generation.

Mr. Obama’s sixth SOTU was high on self-congratulation, short on facts, long on wind and AWOL on solutions. Despite all of his hot air, the President’s annual speech left struggling Americans feeling cold. Our nation and our state deserve better.

Jim Martin is President of the 60 Plus Association.