In one of the twists of the 2008 race, Democratic nominees for president may end up spending the summer in a serious discussion about poverty. Although no one can doubt Obama's lifelong commitment to fighting poverty and I am a supporter, I do give Edwards some credit for helping to really bring this issue to the fore. This is shaping up to be one of the most serious conversations about poverty in a presidential primary in quite a few years, and it's not over yet:
During a
speech in Washington last week, Obama laid out
his urban poverty agenda, announcing that he would be coming out with an agenda to fight rural poverty "in the coming weeks":
But poverty is not just a function of simple economics. It's also a matter of where you live. There are vast swaths of rural America and block after block in our cities where poverty is not just a crisis that hits pocketbooks, but a disease that infects every corner of the community. I will be outlining my rural agenda in the coming weeks, but today I want to talk about what we can do as a nation to combat the poverty that persists in our cities.
Obama's Rural Poverty Agenda:
From the AP:
In a move that is likely to keep the discussion about poverty going through the summer, Obama today announced a rural policy summit in Iowa in mid-August and laid out some of the issues he's planning to address with his agenda, listing his three top issues as improving broadband access, creating jobs with green technology, and improving the community college system:
The Democratic presidential candidate plans a rural policy summit in Iowa in mid-August that will focus on rural economic development, quality of life and agriculture and renewable energy policy.
"People in the rural economies suffer from many of the things people do all across the country," he said in a telephone interview Sunday with The Associated Press.
He noted common problems with health care access, failing school systems and lack of livable wages. But the Illinois senator said there are unique issues that must be addressed as well.
He mentioned spotty rural broadband and wireless coverage, underfunded community colleges and a need to make the most of the growing alternative energy industry.
The announcement of a policy summit follows Obama's pattern of soliciting public comment and putting together his agenda. It's good to see that two of the three major candidates will have laid out serious and progressive challenges to poverty with targeted solutions for urban and rural America.
For a start, Obama plans improving community colleges and providing training to help the rural economy benefit from green technology:
We've got to provide, I think, some seed money to help boost not just the production, but also the distribution of alternative fuels," he said. "We've got to train people to have the skills" that are needed in those new industries."
In the Senate, Obama has focused on ethanol and biofuel production as a way of creating jobs and growth in southern Illinois. Edwards has also released
an expansive proposal for developing the "green collar" economy.
Broadband Access:
I'm happy to see that improving broadband access is going to play a central role. A couple of the strongest points for me of Obama's urban poverty agenda, along with his creation of an Urban Policy Director at the White House to provide reports on the efficacy of the programs, were his emphases on improving access to public transportation and building up broadband access. Obama recognizes the importance of expanding broadband access both for fighting poverty and expanding social equality:
Getting broadband Internet access into every home and business in urban America at an affordable rate could give low-income people increased opportunities to start businesses, obtain access to finance, educate young people, learn about government services and engage actively in our communities.
Broadband access was also included in the details of the poverty agenda
pdf released last week. He made three main points:
1. Reform the Telephone Universal Service Program: Direct the FCC to propose reforms changing the Universal Service Fund program from one that supports voice communications to one that supports affordable broadband.
2. Better Manage the Nation's Airwaves: Work to manage our wireless spectrum in the public's interest. Obama would create incentives for more efficient and experimental use of government spectrum and new standards for commercial spectrum so that underserved urban and rural communities can enjoy affordable broadband and also ensure that we have enough spectrum for police, ambulances and other public safety organizations.
3. Encourage Public-Private Partnerships: Encourage public-private partnerships to get low-income communities and resident connected and work with cities and municipalities to distribute information on best practices among those that have deployed citywide free wireless broadband networks and how those lessons learned can be applied in other communities.
Obama seems to be focused on fostering the public/private partnerships that we've seen sprouting up in various cities. In other words, it seems like a pragmatic plan of cobbling together local solutions with private businesses in each individual city --- which may be the only way to do it --- but it would be nice to see a more all-encompassing approach. I'm also not sure how one could apply this approach to rural areas that lack the population density cities have.
I'd be interested to hear if other candidates have released plans on this.
Winning Back Rural America:
In the AP interview published today, Obama also make some comments about the political importance for Democrats of carving out an economic message that addresses the specific needs of rural America, speaking out on issues of faith, and calming fears of hunters and sportsmen on gun control:
Although rural America long has been a stronghold for Republicans, Obama said Democrats have made major strides in rural areas.
"Obviously, rural communities and agricultural regions often times are politically more conservative, but part of that has to do with positions on social issues more than it has to do with economic issues," he said.
"I think Democrats have come to understand that on issues of faith, on respecting the rights of sportsmen and hunters ... we haven't always listened as much as we should have. We're getting, I think, a much better sense of what's required and what's important to win over rural America."
Hillary Clinton:
On a separate note, I've noticed that nothing like "Fighting Poverty" is listed among the "Issues" on Clinton's website. She merely has "Strengthening the Middle Class," which seems telling to me and more revealing of a Mark Penn poll-tested campaign focused on the needs of the middle class than one that will openly address issues of poverty, and although you can dig through her issues pages to find proposals addressing poverty, it would be nice to see her address this more directly. She does have a couple fact-sheets addressing
social inequality and
labor issues, but they state general goals rather than offering much policy detail, nor has she laid out a health care plan. It would be nice to see her join in the conversation.
Update [2007-7-23 18:24:52 by psericks]:
In an updated version of the AP article, Obama gives a list of his policy staff working on rural poverty. Looking at this list, I kind of wonder if Obama might end up with some proposals more directly impacting agriculture than just biofuels, community colleges, and broadband. Does anyone know the folks on the list? I'd be interested about any insights. For one, all three are from Iowa.
While Obama gave no specific date for rolling out his rural policy plan, he said he has put together a team of experts to assist in the effort.
They include:
-- Mike Dunn, of Keokuk, former under secretary of agriculture for marketing and regulatory programs during the Clinton administration.
-- Gary Lamb, of Chelsea, who has farmed for 55 years and has served as president of the Iowa Farmers Union, chairman of the Iowa State Committee of the Farm Service Agency and as an agricultural liaison for Sen. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa.
--Neil Hamilton, of Waukee, director of the Agricultural Law Center at Drake University. In 2000, he was appointed by Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack as chairman of the Iowa Food Policy Council.
Obama said his ability to create such a team reflects on his experience as a former community organizer. Obama said he has "the ability to find smart, common sense, pragmatic people to come together and listen to their ideas and synthesize them and put them into action plans."
[Corrected] Icebergslim has the
address for a rural poverty issues forum scheduled already for July 27th --- not to be confused (as by me) with the summit.
