Excerpt from The Jobs Letter (with permission). So subscription info below
V O I C E S
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ON THE CLINTON POVERTY TOUR
" In a recent speech, Clinton compared himself to Franklin
Roosevelt. Both of them, he said, were "people who were
progressive, people who try to change things, people who keep
pushing the envelope.
"The difference is that Roosevelt was acting at the start of his
presidency in a time of economic crisis, and was almost entirely
willing to try any means that worked to achieve his ends. Clinton, by
contrast, is acting at the end of his presidency in a period almost
bereft of economic crisis, and will only try those means that pass
muster with the stock markets..."
-- Martin Kettle, Washington Diary, The Guardian
"It's positive, and long overdue, that Clinton is addressing these
issues, but to be saying that you want to deal with poverty while
you're calling welfare 'reform' a success is rather disingenuous.
While the US welfare rolls have dropped sharply, studies indicate
that many have simply joined the ranks of the working poor. They
now have jobs that are paying below poverty wages, without
benefits or affordable child care; moreover, states have been
'forgetting' to tell them that they are still eligible for Medicaid and
food stamps ..."
-- Mimi Abramovitz, Professor at the School of Social Work at
Hunter College and author of "Regulating the Lives of Women"
"It is good that Clinton is going out and calling attention to these
issues, but some of the suggestions are flawed. If you build a base
of incomes and social and physical infrastructure, then business
activity develops, but if you throw business activity in a region where
that does not exist, then you have a sweatshop phenomenon. What
is needed is housing assistance, public services, money to improve
schools and the environment, and income support such as through
the earned income tax credit and a higher minimum wage."
-- James K. Galbraith, professor at the LBJ School of Public
Affairs,
"If it wasn't for NAFTA, hundreds of thousands of jobs would not
have left the U.S., creating more poverty. If there were minimal
protections for migrant workers, then we wouldn't have the depth of
poverty that we have. If North Carolina, where I live, wasn't a 'right to
work' state, people could do collective bargaining and have the
guarantee of organized workplaces. As it is, they can be fired at will.
What you have now are people who are afraid of losing jobs, so
they don't push for better conditions and safety at their
workplaces..."
-- George Friday, a member of the Grassroots Policy Project and
a low-income activist.
"What the president's tour highlights is that there are really
important pockets of poverty in the country. Full employment is the
single most important thing in lifting people out of poverty, and the
president seems to understand that. But a rising tide lifts boats
unequally. While poverty is falling, income inequality remains at
post-war highs ... Using tax incentives just moves investment
around..."
-- Robert J. S. Ross, author of the forthcoming "Hearts Starve:
The New Sweatshops in Global Context"
C R E D I T S
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Editor -- Vivian Hutchinson
Associates - Rodger Smith, Dave Owens and Jo Howard
Secretary - Shirley Vickery
ISSN No. 1172-6695
S U B S C R I P T I O N S
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ends
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