Taking on Class and Race – The Candidates on Poverty
Barack Obama – “Tackling Poverty and Inequality in America”
(p. 14-16; PDF p. 16-18)
1. Replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone model and create Promise Neighborhoods in 20 cities across the country. (Sites will be selected by the government – cities and private entities will be required to pay 50% of costs to ensure involvement)
2. Expand early childhood education, federal grants and school loans
3. Sponsor Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Legislation - providing financial support to fathers who pay their child support, cracking down on fathers who don’t; initiatives to stop the cycle of domestic violence that takes a toll on families
4. Expand the Nurse Family Partnership program which offers home visits to low income expectant mothers
5. Double funding for the Federal Jobs Access and Reverse Commute (JARC) program that helps low income individuals get to their jobs and day care services
6. Add $1 billion in funding for innovative transitional jobs and career pathway programs over five years
7. Triple the EITC for full time workers who make minimum wage; increase EITC benefits for families with three or more children; expand EITC benefits for childless workers
8. Create a universal healthcare plan which mandates child coverage and provides adults with an optional, low cost high quality plan
9. Fund $250 million per year to create a national network of public-private business incubators (to assist with start up advice and costs)
10. Earmark more SBA funds to minority businesses; direct more venture capital funding to untapped communities
11. Closing the digital divide; increasing internet access in urban/rural areas
12. Affordable housing trust fund to add 112,000 new affordable units in mixed income neighborhoods.
13. Roll back cuts to the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) which provides housing assistance to inner cities
14. Sponsor Stop Fraud Legislation to create a definition of mortgage fraud, strengthen lender penalties, and mandate mortgage companies to provide accurate info about options to reveal the true cost of the mortgage
Latoya’s Take
Some items of note:
1. Hillary Clinton is the only candidate who referenced race specifically in her piece. She framed the issue in black and white and her solutions are oriented toward closing the black/white achievement gap.
2. John Edwards plan is interesting to me. He knocks one huge problem on the head that the other candidates did not mention: HUD. One of my first office jobs was working on a litigation that involved HUD fraud. I was shocked to learn how much corruption and fraud goes down at HUD on a yearly basis. My boss at the time had told me “The government doesn’t create neighborhoods – it creates slums.” The more I learned, the more I came to agree. So to see a candidate willing to hold HUD accountable and get them out of managing neighborhoods gives me a lot of hope.
3. Barack Obama is the candidate who, to me, spoke directly to low-income issues that impact people of color. No other candidate mentioned domestic violence as an issue – but it is a huge one, that creates emotional, psychological, and financial problems for families. He is sponsoring pro-family legislation. He wants to increase internet access to areas that need it the most. One of the hardest things for low-income families is getting to the areas they need to be. It is difficult to spend hours per day in a long commute, or to lose valuable work time because one cannot find a childcare center close enough for you to drop off your kids and pick them up on time. Barack Obama is the candidate who is most likely to impact the day to day lives of Americans, from what I can see.
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