A coalition of religious groups has asked the presidential candidates to outline their positions on combating poverty and expanding health care opportunities. The debate this coming Friday will focus on domestic issues. John Edwards was the only candidate during the primaries to fully develop an anti-poverty agenda. Poverty rates have climbed under the Bush Administration. Neither political party has made growing poverty a major issue.
"As representatives of communities of faith, we are deeply troubled by the recent Census Bureau report that details the increasing number of people in poverty and the increasing number of people without health insurance," stated the letter which was signed by the National Council of Churches USA, Call to Renewal, the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Church Women United, the Jewish Council for Public Affairs, the Presbyterian Church (USA), NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, Union for Reform Judaism and the Fellowship of Reconciliation, among others."Our nation is also being destabilized by the growing gap between those with extreme wealth and those living in deep poverty," said the letter.
Neither candidate has yet responded to the September 8, 2004 letter.
Bush’s web site offers no specific proposals to address poverty.
However, Kerry’s web site does offer a plan for addressing poverty. This is either something very new or a policy paper I’ve missed in the past. The plan details proposals on job creation, increasing the minimum wage, expanding health care, and building affordable housing, among other things. You can click here to read it. Here is the introduction:
The number of Americans in poverty has risen by 4.3 million since 2000, bringing the total number of people living in poverty to 36 million, including 13 million children. More than one in five African Americans and Hispanics are in poverty, and more than one-third of African American children are in poverty. This is a national disgrace. John Kerry and Edwards have a four-part plan to give families the tools they need to lift themselves out of poverty:1. Create jobs
2. Ensure that work pays by raising the minimum wage and strengthening the Earned Income Tax Credit
3. Offer Affordable Health Care for All and Health Insurance For Every Child
4. Strengthen families and communities through tax credits for child care and investments in communities.
Kerry’s plan offers much more detail than just these bullet points. Download the plan to get the specifics.
The plan offered by Kerry and Edwards is not the kind of comprehensive plan the nation needs to make real headway in the effort to help people lift themselves out of poverty. Having said that, it is also true the plan is a good start and the senator should be congratulated for addressing this issue while his opponent stands silent.
Hopefully, the debate will be used to focus on more than just the very legitimate needs of the middle class. We need a real debate on how to assist those who are poor.
