President Remains Silent on the State of Poverty

The President’s State of the Union address ignored the plight of the 37 million Americans living in the largest state in the union—The State of Poverty.  The address, unfortunately, seems to be an accurate representation of the President's thinking, or lack of it, about poverty.

In addition to the 37 million people living in official poverty, at least as many more live with only slightly more income.  There are 48 million without health insurance and millions more who have insurance but worry about keeping it.  Many families cannot afford to send their children to college.

We need not be helpless in the face of these problems.  There are good ideas that can successfully address them, but we need national leadership, focus, competence, and key investments.  Allied to the efforts of the individuals themselves and participation by state and local governments, such national leadership could make real change in the State of Poverty.  And it could help ensure that middle class people do not fall into poverty.

The President offered no leadership on poverty in his State of the Union address.  We heard no promises, no specifics, and no evidence that the administration has even noticed the severity of the problems facing low and middle-income families.  Instead, the President is taking the lead in increasing economic inequality with his domestic proposals.

Bush’s plan for the country included a permanent extension of his tax cuts that benefit only the wealthy and increase the economic inequality and insecurity of most Americans. According to a recent Congressional Budget Office study, these tax cuts offer the biggest benefits to people at the top — especially the top 1 percent of income earners.

Paying lip service to the health care crisis in this country, the President mostly offered to tinker with the crisis.  His main ideas remained Health Saving Accounts (HSAs) and tax cuts.  Rather than provide healthcare for all, his proposals will likely increase the number of uninsured and shift financial risk to unhealthy individuals while providing the largest tax breaks for those who least need help providing insurance for their families.  For middle and low income families struggling to acquire or retain health coverage, the HSA idea is a snub, a cavalier invitation to buy their own health care with money they do  not have.

Powerfully symbolic of the administration's approach to poverty is the mess still waiting to be cleaned up in the Gulf Coast.  It’s been a year and a half since President Bush stood in New Orleans’s Jackson Square and pledged to confront poverty with “bold action.” Bush’s silence about poverty in the State of the Union was deafening, but his continued action to increase economic inequality came through loud and clear.

The State of Poverty is full of challenges that can be addressed if there is national leadership.  The President apparently intends to continue to take a pass.  We are left to hope that he will at least cooperate if Congress takes the lead.

John Bouman
President
Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law
50 E. Washington St. Suite 500
Chicago, IL 60602
312-368-2671
johnbouman@povertylaw.org