President Barack Obama gave his annual State of the Union Address Tuesday night before Congress, the Cabinet, the U. S. Supreme Court and a gallery full of guests.

The theme of the address was government, and how it would have to rise to meet the demands of the American population, in education, economic issues, the military, and the growing weight of entitlements.

The President spoke about sharing the load, mixing cost cutting with increased taxes, especially from those in higher incomes. One item of interest was the President's endorsement of $9.00 per hour as the minimum wage.

An opposing view from the State of Montana comes from Joe Balyeat, state director of Americans For Prosperity, a group he says is dedicated to less government and more individual economic freedom. Balyeat pointed out that from the beginning of the President's speech to the very end, the theme was government. Bigger government, more powerful government, and a government every more hungry for tax dollars, especially from the middle class, those small business owners who create the lion's share of jobs in the country.

Balyeat says the $9.00 minimum wage was laughable to anyone who owns a small business, and, if enacted, would drive many small businesses into bankruptcy, putting the very people the President wants to help, out of work and onto the government dole.

Balyeat says, if American's don't stand up to the threat of bigger and more powerful government, the next four years could be disastrous.

Joe Balyeat of Americans For Prosperity

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