Obama appeals to middle class ‘under assault for long time’

PRESIDENT Barack Obama yesterday offered help for people struggling to pay bills and care for their families, appealing to a middle-class he says has been “under assault for a long time”.

In a partial preview of a State of the Union address, Obama outlined the series of proposals from the White House. The product of a middle class task force headed by Vice President Joe Biden, the proposals will also be included in Obama’s budget request to be submitted to Congress.

Among the initiatives: a doubling of the child care tax credit for families earning under $85,000; a $1.6 billion increase in federal funding for childcare programmes; and a programme to cap student loan payments at 10% of income above “a living allowance”.