LAT: Villaraigosa Convenes (national) Task Force on Poverty

[DeepModem Mom]

Villaraigosa Convenes Task Force on Poverty
By Patrick McGreevy, Times Staff Writer


WASHINGTON -- Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa convened a national task force on poverty today, telling a gathering of mayors that a new strategy is needed to recognize the economic dangers facing the working poor.

Challenging the way America defines poverty, Villaraigosa told an audience of 1,000 mayors and other leaders today that attitudes that people in poverty are victims of their own laziness or apathy must be replaced by concern for families who are poor despite working hard at jobs.

"We know that most poor people in America today work, and we know that growing numbers of working Americans who we don't technically define as poor are dancing on the razor's edge of subsistence," said Villaraigosa, addressing a session of the United States Conference of Mayors.

The task force, he said, will address "the gulf between those at the very top of the economic ladder, who are earning more and doing better than they ever have, and the growing number of Americans who are working harder and slipping back."

By focusing on the working poor, government leaders must grapple with issues such as making housing more affordable, increasing the minimum wage, and improving schools so children have a chance to escape poverty, Villaraigosa said....


http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-012506antonio_lat,0,1933883.story?coll=la-home-headlines