Class warfare

Much of President Obama’s State of the Union address focused on the economy. Obama warned that the “decades-old promise of a secure and rising middle class is under threat because of growing disparities between the rich and everyone else in America,” reported The Washington Post’s Scott Wilson and David Nakamura.

“We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by, or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules,” Obama said.

A number of recent reports have highlighted the growing wealth gap in this country. And Obama laid out some proposals that he said could help shrink that gap, including calling on Congress to extend the payroll tax cut, which benefits working-class families, through the end of the year.

The Post’s Paul Kane outlines the president’s proposals and which ones might pass Congress. Kane explains the payroll tax holiday, unemployment reform and education reform, in which the president urged Congress to extend the tuition tax credit “and give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.”

“Higher education can’t be a luxury,” Obama said. “It’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.”

Here’s a breakdown of the president’s speech.

What economic proposals do you hope get passed?

Send your comments to colorofmoney@washpost.com. Put “Class Warfare” in the subject line. Please include your full name, city and state.

Checking the Facts

I’m a fan of Glenn Kessler’s Washington Post column The Fact Checker, which promises the truth behind the rhetoric and uses a “Pinocchio test.” At a time when politicians – Democrats and Republicans -- are twisting statistics to hammer each other, it’s a must-read to get the facts straight. Read his latest take on this stat thrown out by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, who gave the Republican response to the State of the Union address: “One in five men of prime working age and nearly half of all persons under 30 did not go to work today.”

Kessler gives the governor two Pinocchios for twisting the facts.

Kessler also took on some of Obama’s more fact-challenged claims, including some about the economy.

Family Fund

For years I’ve advised people who can afford it to set aside money in an account to help financially strapped family members.

However, while I believe that to whom much is given, much is required, helping family comes with a lot of pitfalls.

“When adult children are pushed to give beyond what they can afford or what they feel comfortable with, families can be torn apart,” Ruthie Ackerman wrote in the Wall Street Journal recently. “Stories about boomerang kids who come back to live with their parents after college are common. Less-publicized are the parents who move back in with their well-off children.”

In interviewing experts, Ackerman assembles tips for helping a parent or other relatives. Experts say: