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Monday, October 13, 2008

Barack Obama's Innovative War On Poverty

Early last week, as the country was coping with a massive financial crisis, the presidential campaign witnessed the second of its three debates. With the nation's economic woes firmly on their minds, John McCain and Barack Obama engaged on topics ranging from job creation, tax relief, and the utility of the market bailout.
Not mentioned once was the word poverty.
Indeed, as economic observers fret that the ripple effects of the market meltdown could result in greater numbers of underemployed and unemployed, the focus of the campaign remains firmly on businesses and the middle class. During the first debate, when the financial crisis was first coming into focus, "poverty" went similarly unmentioned.
It is, in many ways, regrettable. Not simply because the number of those living in poverty - 37.3 million in 2007, according to the U.S. Census Bureau - demands more attention. But because those who have studied poverty-eradication programs say that Barack Obama has a plan that could be historic in its reach and innovation.
"There is, in Obama's policy, a lot that go directly to the governance side of the notion 'yes we can,'" said Harry Boyte, founder and co-director of the Institute's Center for Democracy and Citizenship at the University of Minnesota. "When people talk about the lack of specifics it's that his message hasn't fully developed. But his actual policies would be really innovative. And he would really represent a break with the liberal tradition."
As Boyte defines it, there are certain historical threads that have marked prior efforts to combat poverty. The iconic liberal framework is to see poverty as an individual problem "in which the poor need resources and services." The government, in this instance, pursues social policy meant to meet those needs.
In contrast, there is the traditionally Republican approach which points to enterprise and tax incentives in poor communities as the best way to create jobs and lift those neighborhoods out of economic duress. Government involvement, in this case, is seen as an intrusion more than a buoy.
Somewhere in the middle lies Obama, who as a former community organizer brings more experience to the topic than any recent presidential nominee. The Illinois Democrat, as Boyte sees it, wants to move "urban policy and poverty policy" beyond "dependency creating programs." He sees a need for "catalytic government that enables citizen action rather than displacing citizen initiative."


TOLEDO, Ohio - Democrat Barack Obama proposed more immediate steps Monday to heal the nation's ailing economy including a 90-day moratorium on home foreclosures at some banks and a two-year tax break for businesses that create new jobs.
With the economic turmoil weighing down his Republican presidential rival, Obama also proposed allowing people to withdraw up to $10,000 from their retirement accounts without any penalty this year and next.
The Democratic presidential candidate said his proposals, with a price tag of $60 billion over two years, can be enacted quickly, either through the government's regulatory powers or legislation that Congress could pass in a special session after the election.
"I'm proposing a number of steps that we should take immediately to stabilize our financial system, provide relief to families and communities and help struggling homeowners," Obama told a crowd of 3,000. "It's a plan that begins with one word that's on everyone's mind, and it's spelled J-O-B-S."
Obama delivered his economic message in Toledo, a struggling blue-collar city in a state that could be critical to Obama's presidential hopes. Polls show a close race between Obama and Republican John McCain in Ohio, which decided the 2004 presidential election. At stake are 20 electoral votes.
His call for action comes just two days before the final debate of the presidential race and at a time when McCain is sending mixed signals about how he'll address the economy.

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