On Friday, January 20, I’d like President Clinton to to address the reality that the USA ranks behind Latvia and 32 other countries with children falling below the poverty line. More than one in five American children fall below a relative poverty line.
And right after that, she ought to explain how she will improve on our poor showing relative to economic mobility.
Hint: “Education and Job Training” ain’t gonna cut it as an acceptable answer.
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When Republicans talk about reducing government spending and the debt/deficit, they wrap it around “the children and grandchildren” that will have to pay this off. It’s “for the children”. Most Americans have no real understanding of debt/deficit as it relates to national bookkeeping, but they know “the children” must be protected.
Getting Jobs and Improving the Economy have been the selling tools for Democrats and Republicans. However without paying attention to how much those jobs pay OR who benefits the most from the growing economy, well, here we are, ranked 34th out of 35 industrialized nations when it comes to children living in poverty AND economic mobility that can’t ever rival Canada.
This is the argument that President Clinton has to make clear to the American public, how she understands how we got here, and what immediate plans she has to turn this ship around, for the children.