Obama Plan to Combat Urban Poverty [View All]

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Delivered July 18 at the Town Hall Education, Arts & Recreation Campus of the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington DC.

http://www.barackobama.com/2007/07/18/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_19.php

“The right has often seized on these failings as proof that the government can’t and shouldn’t do a thing about poverty – that it is a result of individual moral failings and cultural pathologies and so we should just sit back and let these cities fend for themselves. And so Ronald Reagan launched his assault on welfare queens, and George Bush spent the last six years slashing programs to combat poverty, and job training, and substance abuse, and child abuse.

Well we know that’s not the answer. When you’re in these neighborhoods, you can see what a difference it makes to have a government that cares. You can see what a free lunch program does for a hungry child. You can see what a little extra money from an earned income tax credit does for a family that’s struggling. You can see what prenatal care does for the health of a mother and a newborn. So don’t tell me there’s no role for government in lifting up our cities…”

First, replicate the Harlem Children’s Zone in 20 cities in the country. “If you’re a child who’s born in the Harlem Children’s Zone, you start life differently than other inner-city children. Your parents probably went to what they call “ Baby College”, a place where they received counseling on how to care for newborns and what to expect in those first months. You start school right away, because there’s early childhood education. When your parents are at work, you have a safe place to play and learn, because there’s child care, and after school programs, even in the summer. There are innovative charter schools to attend. There’s free medical services that offer care when you’re sick and preventive services to stay healthy. There’s affordable, good food available so you’re not malnourished. There are job counselors and financial counselors. There’s technology training and crime prevention.

You don’t just sign up for this program, you’re actively recruited for it, because the idea is that if everyone is involved, and no one slips through the cracks, then you really can change an entire community.”

Second, Pass the “Responsible Fatherhood and Healthy Families Act of 2007 removes government penalties on married families and offers support for fathers trying to do the right thing while cracking down on men who avoid their parental responsibilities. The bill would provide fathers with innovative job training services and other economic opportunities, while expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit to help non-custodial parents trying to support their families. It would also increase child support enforcement by helping governments collect a projected $13 billion in payments from those who don’t fulfill their parental responsibilities.” And we’ll help new mothers with their new responsibilities by expanding a pioneering program known as the Nurse-Family Partnership that has “reduced childhood injuries and unintended pregnancies, increased father involvement and women’s employment, reduced use of welfare and food stamps, and increased children’s school readiness.”

“Third, I will invest $1 billion over five years in innovative transitional jobs programs that have been highly successful at placing the unemployed into temporary jobs and then training them for permanent ones. to create career pathways that provide workers with the additional skills and training they need to earn more money. And we’ll make sure that public transportation is both available and affordable for low-income workers, because no one should be denied work in this country because they can’t get there. To make work pay, I will also triple the Earned Income Tax Credit for full-time workers making the minimum wage.

Fourth, Less than one percent of the $250 billion in venture capital that’s invested each year goes to minority businesses that are trying to breathe life into our cities. This has to change. providing more loans to small businesses and setting up the financial institutions that can help get them started. I’ll also create a national network of business incubators, which are local services that help first-time business owners design their business plans, find the best location, and receive expert advice on how to run their businesses whenever they need it. And I will take steps to help close the digital divide and increase internet access for cities so that urban America is just as connected as the rest of America.

Fifth, Affordable Housing Trust Fund that would add as many as 112,000 new affordable units in mixed income neighborhoods. We’ll also do more to protect homeowners from mortgage fraud and subprime lending by passing my plan to provide counseling to tenants, homeowners, and other consumers so they get the advice and guidance they need before buying a house and support if they get in to trouble down the road. And we will crack down on mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud by increasing enforcement and creating new criminal penalties…”

Responsible Fatherhood & Family Act
http://obama.senate.gov/press/070615-bayh_obama_intr_1 /
Quiet Riot Speech, reference to Nurse-Family Partnership
http://www.barackobama.com/2007/06/05/remarks_of_senator_barack_obam_14.php