Tonight is the president’s State of the Union (SOTU) address to Congress. What can one expect? Eakinomics has no inside intel on the SOTU, so instead will focus on what it would like to hear in the speech.

First, it would be short. As this will be.

Second, it would be forward-looking. Let us hold the administration’s accomplishments to be self-evident and instead talk about the objectives and policies for the coming year or more. Too often policy initiatives are launched without enough articulation of the goals. Tonight is a good time to rectify this tendency.

Third, it would take on issues about the economy and affordability. If you frame affordability as an issue of prices, the key to affordability is enhanced supply. If one ever has a problem of high prices, the solution is always more supply. So for the hot-button issues of food, health, housing, and other costs, focus on the supply side. Also, if you frame affordability as having high real wages and a better standard of living, the answer is still supply-side growth policies. (Awkward memo item: Tariffs are not supply-side growth policy.) Deregulation, spending controls, and efficient tax policies are the centerpiece of this approach.

That’s it. Easy as 1, 2, 3. Now you don’t have to watch.