Edwards and Obama Pledge to Fight Poverty

According to census figures, just under 13 percent of the US population lives in poverty. The American middle class is vastly larger and middle-class Americans, unlike poor Americans, have time and money to give to political campaigns - which is why most presidential campaigns prefer to champion middle-class causes, while paying only lip service to the poor.

That is not the case for the campaigns of former Senator John Edwards and Senator Barack Obama. Edwards recently went on an 11 city, anti-poverty tour, while Obama delivered a major policy speech on the urban poor.

Focusing on poverty issues is not new to either candidate. Obama worked as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, and Edwards, following the 2004 election, focused his energies on fighting against economic inequities.

Edwards and the Two Americas

In the 2004 Presidential primaries, John Edwards was languishing in the polls. He then sharpened his message; here is an excerpt from the speech that may have turned his campaign around:

"Today, under George W. Bush, there are two Americas, not one: One America that does the work, another America that reaps the reward. One America that pays the taxes, another America that gets the tax breaks. One America that will do anything to leave its children a better life, another America that never has to do a thing, because its children are already set for life. One America, middle-class America, whose needs Washington has long forgotten, another America - narrow-interest America - whose very wish is Washington's command. One America that is struggling to get by, another America that can buy anything it wants, even Congress and a president."

This time around, Edwards isn't playing it safe and referring only to the middle class. He launched his campaign in New Orleans's lower ninth ward; there were no balloons, no loud music, and there weren't hundreds of supporters with colorful signs. Edwards was in jeans, wearing work boots and gloves. He spoke to reporters while taking a break from cleaning up the front yard of a women's house that was damaged by Katrina. Behind him were kids wearing "One America" t-shirts.

Now a little over seven months later, Edwards returned to New Orleans to launch what the campaign is calling his "Road to One America Tour" which went to 11 cities over three days.

According to Heather McGhee, a domestic policy adviser to Edwards, they visited the home of Mrs. Sammie Henley who hosted Dr. King in 1968: "Her house was surrounded by flood waters, and Dr. King had to paddle a boat to her front porch. He famously described places like Marks as 'an island of poverty' surrounded by an ocean of American wealth. Unfortunately, it certainly still feels that way today."

Mr. Edwards's campaign platform calls for reducing the number of Americans living in poverty by 12 million over the next decade and wiping out poverty entirely within 30 years. He also recently called for raising the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2012, a proposal that goes beyond a law recently signed by President Bush raising it from $5.15 to $7.50 over two years. To view Edwards plan go to http://johnedwards.com/issues/poverty/.

Obama Would Create White House Office on Urban Policy

Senator Barack Obama worked as a community organizer on the South Side of Chicago, where he said he learned firsthand "urban poverty is more than just a function of not having enough in your pocketbooks. It's also a matter of where you live - in some of our inner-city neighborhoods, poverty is difficult to escape because it's isolating and it's everywhere."

On Wednesday, Senator Barack Obama unveiled his plan to fight urban poverty. Obama pledged to appoint a Director of Urban Policy who would report directly to the president and coordinate all federal urban programs. Obama argued that today, government programs aimed at strengthening metropolitan areas are spread across the federal government - including the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Transportation, Department of Labor and Department of Commerce - with insufficient coordination or strategy. He pledged to create a White House Office of Urban Policy to develop a strategy for metropolitan America and to ensure that all federal dollars targeted to urban areas are effectively spent on the highest-impact programs.

Obama went on to make specific proposals that you can read here.

He opened his speech with his own version of the two Americas:

"We stand not ten miles from the seat of power in the most affluent nation on Earth. Decisions are made on both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue that shape lives and set the course of history. With the stroke of a pen, billions are spent on programs and policies; on tax breaks for those who didn't need them and a war that should've never been authorized and never been waged. Debates rage and accusations fly and at the end of each day, the petty sniping is what lights up the evening news.

And yet, here, on the other side of the river, every other child in Anacostia lives below the poverty line. Too many do not graduate and too many more do not find work. Some join gangs, and others fall to their gunfire.

The streets here are close to our capital, but far from the people it represents. These Americans cannot hire lobbyists to roam the halls of Congress on their behalf, and they cannot write thousand-dollar campaign checks to make their voices heard. They suffer most from a politics that has been tipped in favor of those with the most money, and influence, and power."

Different Approaches

While there are a lot of similarities in the two plans, there is one major difference: Edwards argues providing vouchers for families to move out of impoverished communities could relieve the concentration of poverty in certain communities.

Obama argues that will only leave people behind. Obama would focus on fixing our broken urban centers.

While both arguments have merits and critics, one thing both candidates have in common is a commitment to ending poverty. What remains to be seen is if these issues will resonate with the American voters.

Scott Galindez is the Managing Editor of Truthout.

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