US President Barack Obama delivering the Sate of the Union address in the US Congress in 2014. (Associated Press)
Key elements of the economic proposals President Barack Obama will outline in his State of the Union address on Tuesday appear to be aimed at driving the debate in the 2016 election on income inequality and middle-class economic issues, rather than setting a realistic agenda for Congress.
Obama's calls for increasing taxes on the wealthy, making community college free for many students and expanding paid leave for workers stand little chance of winning approval from the new Republican majority on Capitol Hill. But the debate over middle-class economics could be critical in 2016.
Potential Republican candidates Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney are among those who have been talking openly about income inequality and the need to give lower-earning Americans more opportunities.