EquityBlog

Photo Courtesy of WhiteHouse.gov

The following is a statement by PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell on President Obama’s 2012 State of the Union Address:

“If the playing field is level, I promise you — America will always win.”– President Obama

Last night’s State of the Union address laid out a solid vision for pushing America into a more equitable and inclusive future. With a targeted focus on job creation, infrastructure, workforce training, and fiscal reform, President Obama offered proposals for creating an economic system in which everyone can participate and prosper, including:

• Investing in infrastructure projects that would produce decent-paying jobs
• Funding community college programs to train America’s future skilled workforce
• Ensuring that the rich share the economic burden by paying at least 30 percent in taxes (the “Buffett Rule”)
• Preventing increases in student loan interest rates, and doubling the number of work-study jobs over the next five years
• Creating clean energy jobs programs

These proposals and others outlined in the President’s speech mark important steps toward closing the nation’s widening income divide. But absent a firm commitment from lawmakers to making equity an economic imperative, they will remain only ideas.

In a letter delivered yesterday to the President and members of Congress –- and signed by more than 130 organizations nationwide — PolicyLink presented a number of policy recommendations aimed at expanding opportunity for low-income people and communities of color hit first and worst by the recession and unfair economic practices. We stand with President Obama in pushing for equitable policy solutions that will help close America’s prosperity gap, and urge our legislators on Capitol Hill to do the same. Together, we can re-build an economy that works for all people.

Still buzzing about last night’s speech? Join us below in the comments to continue the conversation, and share your thoughts on President Obama’s vision for America.

Also, we encourage you to respond to local media coverage in your area and vocalize your support of a bold policy agenda for the 99%. 

Bravo, Mr. President. Thank you for setting the record straight on our nation’s economy.

On Tuesday, President Obama made a major speech from Osawatomie, Kansas on what he called the “most defining issue of our time:”  restoring growth and prosperity for all Americans. Taking aim at the alarming growth of income inequality in this country, his speech hit on many themes lifted up in our framing paper, America’s Tomorrow: Equity is the Superior Growth Model. Here are my relections:

• A perfect diagnosis of the problem. Our economic model is broken: the middle class is shrinking and economic opportunity has dimmed. The Occupy movement gave voice and action to our national unease: an economy that benefits the few and exploits the many is unfair and unjust. Inequality is not only a moral issue, but also an economic one. Inequality is not only bad for those at the bottom; it is bad for everyone. The one percent depend on the 99 percent: who else would patronize their stores and buy their services? To put it simply: we all do better when we all do better.

• A fine start on solutions. We must advance policies that foster an economy that works for everyone. This means getting our financial house in order and setting up a tax structure that allows us to make investments in the infrastructure and education we need to secure the nation’s economic future in the global economy.

• Don’t forget America’s Tomorrow. We are quickly becoming a majority people-of-color nation and yet there remain wide disparities. Among children born poor in 1968, 45 percent of white children climbed to the middle class or beyond, but only 26 percent of black children experienced the same upward mobility. A successful economic growth strategy will pay particular to communities of color who’ve never had a fair shot at making it into the middle class and were hit first and worst by foreclosures and the economic crisis. Their future is our future: we must make choices that allow them to reach their economic potential.

We applaud the President for shining a light on these very important issues, and making clear what must be done to secure a bright and equitable future for everyone.

Please join Valerie Jarrett and Melody Barnes on a special conference call today as the White House releases a new report on the Administration’s efforts to lift up vulnerable communities.

The new report, Pathways to Opportunity, will show the “critical investments this Administration has made to lift and keep millions of Americans out of poverty, provide critical support to families throughout the economic downturn, and invest in long-term reforms to grow the middle class,” according to the White House invitation.

RSVP here. 

WHAT: White House Conference Call

WHEN: FRIDAY, October 14^th

Start Time 5:45 p.m. Eastern (2:45 p.m. Pacific)

Dial In:  (800) 230-1092

Passcode Title: White House Update Call

WHO: Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President

            Melody Barnes, Director of the Domestic Policy Council

Please note this call is off the record and not for press purposes.

Did you join the call? Tell us what you thought in the comments!

UPDATE: Here’s the link to the report.

And this is from the White House blog post explaining the report:

When considered together, the President’s actions have made a significant impact on low-income communities in five specific areas:

• Rewarding Work.  From putting more money in the pockets of working families to investing in initiatives to help workers remain connected to the workforce and gain new skills, the President has made historic reforms to reward work.  The President secured the Making Work Pay tax credit in 2009 and 2010 and then a payroll tax cut that amounted to a 2 percent raise for working Americans in 2011. In addition, the President secured historic expansions in refundable tax credits for low-income families.  Additionally, through the Recovery Act, over 260,000 adults and youth were placed in subsidized jobs and an additional 367,000 low-income youth received summer employment.
• Reforming America’s Education System. To further empower Americans in their climb out of poverty and into the middle class, the President has made historic investments and reforms in education from cradle to career –  from launching a $500 million fund focused on improving state early learning systems to doubling the funding available for Pell Grants for low-income students.   And as a result of the groundbreaking Race to the Top initiative, more than 40 states have raised standards, improved assessments, and invested in teachers to ensure that all of our children receive a high-quality education.  The Obama Administration has also secured $40 million over the past two years to develop the Promise Neighborhoods initiative – modeled off of the Harlem Children’s Zone – to provide communities with the cradle through college continuum of services.
• Health Security for American Families.  The President has also taken historic steps to ensure greater access to health care for the neediest Americans.  Within a month of taking office, the President signed the Children’s Health Insurance Program Reauthorization Act into law, expanding health coverage to more than 4 million low-income children who would otherwise go uninsured.  And because of the Affordable Care Act, 34 million Americans will become insured by 2021 as a result of provisions expanding Medicaid coverage for adults up to 133 percent of the poverty level.   Indeed, the Affordable Care Act is already working to expand coverage:  nearly one million more young adults have gained access to health insurance because of this critical new law.
• Investment in Small Business and Community Development. The President has also consistently supported investments in small businesses that in turn invest in low-income communities.  Through measures like the Small Business Jobs Act, the President has signed into law 17 small business tax cuts, established new initiatives to expand access to credit, and enhanced SBA lending programs.

 

The President has also provided additional support to Community Development Financial Institutions that lend to small businesses in the hardest-hit rural and urban communities and has also proposed to build on historic investments in the New Markets Tax Credit by expanding it from $3.5 billion to $5 billion in his FY2012 budget proposal.  This will make it easier for community development entities to attract private-sector funds for investment in startups and small businesses operating in lower-income communities.

 

• Mitigating the Impact of the Housing Crisis.  When the President took office in January of 2009, the housing market had seen major losses for 30 straight months, slashing home equity in half which combined with the recession left many communities struggling economically.  To begin rebuilding our housing market and economy, the President jump-started mortgage loan modifications, which help to keep families in their homes.  More than 4 million families have had their mortgages permanently modified since April, 2009 – nearly twice the number of foreclosures which occurred in that time.  And to help over 1 million Americans avoid homelessness, the President provided $1.5 billion through the Recovery Act for the Homeless Prevention and Rapid Re-Housing Program.

 

Most recently, to continue the fight to create opportunity, the President announced the American Jobs Act, which would put Americans back to work and put more money in their pockets.  The American Jobs Act will provide:

 

• A new Pathways Back to Work Fund will provide hundreds of thousands of low-income youth and adults with opportunities to work and to achieve needed training in growth industries.  The Fund will support three things:  i) summer and year-round jobs for youth, building off of successful programs that supported over 367,000 such jobs in 2009 and 2010; ii) subsidized employment opportunities for low-income individuals who are unemployed, building off the successful TANF Emergency Contingency Fund wage subsidy program that supported 260,000 jobs in 2009 and 2010; and iii) promising and innovative local work-based job and training initiatives to place low-income adults and youths in jobs quickly.
• Investments to rebuild and modernize infrastructure, which include a school construction initiative that will modernize 35,000 public schools, with a focus on the school districts with the largest numbers of children in poverty; a new Project Rebuild initiative to rehabilitate and refurbish hundreds of thousands of vacant and foreclosed homes and businesses in communities that have been hardest hit by the housing crisis, building off successful models from the Neighborhood Stabilization Program; and a new training initiative to expand infrastructure employment opportunities for minorities, women, and socially and economically disadvantaged individuals.
• An extension and expansion of the payroll tax cut passed last December, which will boost the incomes of virtually all 160 million American workers, and a tax credit to provide up to $4,000 per worker for businesses who hire individuals who have been looking for a job for 6 months or more.
• An extension of unemployment insurance that will ensure that 6 million Americans will not lose their unemployment insurance benefits, while encouraging reforms that will help get the long-term unemployed back to work, armed with lifelong skills.

 

Today President Obama held an event at the White House urging a bi-partisan push by Congress to extend a critical piece of legislation — the federal surface transportation authorization.

On September 30, the current surface transportation authorization, which serves as the blueprint for transportation investment in America, is set to expire.  It is crucial that we maintain the current investment in the nation’s roads, sidewalks, trails, and transit ways in order to keep buses and trains running, and keep the people who maintain and drive the vehicles working.

In his remarks the President highlighted how essential infrastructure investments are to supporting America’s economic recovery, noting that Congress’ failure to extend the authorization would cost thousands of jobs. Additionally, a ten day delay in reauthorizing would result in a $1 billion loss (or $100 million for each day it is delayed).

PolicyLink applauds the President for recommending immediate renewal of the existing surface transportation authorization in order to sustain our existing efforts to connect Americans to opportunity.

Millions of Americans rely exclusively on public transit, walking, or biking to get to work, to the doctor’s office, to school, and to the grocery store. Nearly 20 percent of African American households, 14 percent of Latino households, and 13 percent of Asian households live without a car.

At a time when approximately 80 percent of transit agencies are implementing fare increases and service cuts, the nation must prioritize investment in transportation to ensure that Americans are not left stranded without transportation options.

Given that today marks 700 days since the existing surface transportation legislation expired, we urge the President and Congress to also work together to enact a new surface transportation authorization that:

• Creates affordable transportation options for all people;
• Ensures fair access to quality jobs, workforce development, and contracting opportunities in the transportation industry;
• Promotes healthy, safe, and inclusive communities; and
• Invests equitably and focuses on results.

This approach is both equitable and smart — for every $1 invested in public transportation, $4 in economic returns are generated.

Our nation’s very future is at stake.  We must make sure that our transportation investments help all Americans participate and prosper.

To support these principles and engage in activities to promote a more equitable approach to transportation investment, join the Equity Caucus at Transportation for America.

This week’s biggest and most important news is The Budget Control Act of 2011, otherwise known as the debt ceiling agreement, which was met after an intense several weeks of negotiation on Capitol Hill. Disappointingly, and despite record unemployment in low-income areas and communities of color hit first and worst by the economic crisis, the agreement made little to no mention of jobs at all. Today on CNN.com, PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell addresses this critical omission and the need for urgent, targeted investments that will create jobs and move our nation forward. Here’s a look:

It is deeply disappointing to see our leaders in Washington slashing services at the very moment they should be working tirelessly to maximize job growth and set the foundation for long-term economic prosperity, productivity and global competiveness, especially in communities hit first and worst by the recession. They are making a gamble with our nation’s future that we cannot afford. By 2042, people of color will be the majority in America; already the majority of youth under the age of 2 are of color. As the country’s demographic transformation continues accelerating, the framework we use to shape and develop future economic policies, particularly those affecting low-income people and people of color, must also evolve. Such a shift will lead to just and fair inclusion, elevating equity as the nation’s growth model.

Visit here to read the full article on CNN.com. Also be sure to check out this Q&A with Angela Glover Blackwell and The Loop 21′s Brentin Mock, in which they also discuss skyrocketing unemployment in the African American community and current strategies the Obama Administration is using to address it. What do you think the impact of the debt ceiling agreement will have on struggling individuals and families? Tell us below.

In her new column for “America’s Tomorrow: Equity in a Changing Nation,” PolicyLink Founder and CEO Angela Glover Blackwell addresses our nation’s growing racial and generation gap and its impact on social, educational and economic policies, citing three critical programs that would “help provide a boost to the next generation.”

One of those programs is now in danger of being cut permanently, and needs our help.

Within the next 36 hours, the Federal Pell Grant Program – which provides needs-based grants for low-income college-bound students – could get cut as a result of ongoing debt-ceiling discussions on Capitol Hill. Such cuts would prove devastating for young people across the country in need of quality and affordable education options. Especially those in low-income areas and communities of color.

But it’s not too late.

Today, The Education Trust, a national organization dedicated to closing America’s opportunity and achievement gaps, launched an important petition calling us all to action by urging President Obama to protect Pell Grant funding. You can visit here to read and sign the pledge on Change.org.

Make your voice heard. Join the fight to save Pell.

Today, the Obama Administration announced the launch of the Strong Cities, Strong Communities initiative, a groundbreaking program aimed at helping local communities become economically empowered. In a press release, the White House announced six U.S. cities – Detroit, Memphis, New Orleans, Cleveland, Fresno and Chester, PA – that will work directly with federal agencies during the pilot program.

Here is a statement from PolicyLink Founder & CEO Angela Glover Blackwell in response to today’s announcement:

“Today, the Obama Administration demonstrates commitment to building communities of opportunity across America by launching the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative. This new federal pilot program marks an important step towards ensuring that the most challenged communities have a chance to thrive and compete in today’s global economy.

“At a time when so many of our nation’s cities and communities are struggling to survive, programs like this  will help spur local development, entrepreneurship, and economic growth. The six sites chosen for the pilot’s launch – Detroit, Cleveland, Fresno, New Orleans, Chester, and Memphis – all face serious issues, but with strengthened capacity to compete for resources (which this initiative will provide) these places can become models of innovation and progress.”

For more information on the Strong Cities, Strong Communities Initiative, visit here.

While Congress squabbles over the debt ceiling crisis, I am far more worried about the millions of low-income, mostly black and brown Americans who are hitting hard against the “Opportunity Ceiling.”

Every day, their potential is stunted and shackled by disinvestment and disinterest. The House budget plan – aka “The Ryan Budget” – would exacerbate that disinvestment, moving our nation even further from the equity-driven policies we will need to compete in tomorrow’s global economy.

By slashing programs like Pell Grants and YouthBuild, the Ryan budget would knock the legs out from under the next generation, denying them the skills and tools they need to be the leaders of tomorrow. These are long-term investments that ensure America will remain a global economic power. Without them, we are easily knocked off the path to economic stability and success.

As the nation’s demographic transformation accelerates and the face of America changes, our investments must evolve, too. We must nurture the minds and innovations of the 21st century. Our economy needs all Americans to be contributing to their fullest.

Thankfully, there are some ideas and models gaining bipartisan traction in Washington:

Promise Neighborhoods – We’ve seen the future, and it’s a six-year-old Latina girl and a 10-year-old black boy. Based on the model of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Promise Neighborhoods invest in their future by giving them the educational, health, and social support they need to succeed from cradle to college to career.

Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) - Investing equitably can be a key driver of economic growth. HFFI will help spur economic activity in low-income communities by boosting new supermarkets and farmers markets in needy neighborhoods. Not only will these markets serve as economic anchors, they will expand access to healthy food in communities hit worst by the obesity and diabetes crises.

Smart Transportation – Connecting tomorrow’s workforce to tomorrow’s jobs is crucial to making sure America’s economy is running at full capacity. There is a mismatch now between job centers and the workers needed by those job centers. Smarter transportation investments should create economic opportunity for all Americans – workers and business owners alike.

We cannot use the nation’s debt as an excuse for today’s leaders to pull up the ladder from tomorrow’s generation. We must give them the tools, skills, and investments they need to break through the Opportunity Ceiling.

UPDATE: Apparently, the Ryan Budget also declares that, well, reading isn’t so fundamental after all.

Earlier this week, President Obama introduced his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2012, laying out a solid action plan for creating jobs, growing the economy, and fostering communities of opportunity throughout America where all people can flourish.

Today, PolicyLink has released Building Communities of Opportunity: Highlights from President Obama’s 2012 Budget, which lifts up some of the innovative programs that will help build a brighter future for all Americans.

Click here to access the analysis.

We hope that this document will be helpful to you and others across the country as you continue your place-based advocacy efforts on behalf of our nation’s most vulnerable communities.

Thank You,
PolicyLink

Earlier today, President Obama released his proposed budget for Fiscal Year 2012 which begins on October 1, 2011, putting forward an ambitious plan to grow jobs, boost the economy, and invest in a future where all Americans can prosper.

We are pleased that, in the middle of one of the most challenging fiscal environments to face our nation, the president has proposed resources to fund several priorities that invest in communities of opportunity across the United States.  Several programs and initiatives that PolicyLink and our partners have been working on include:

• $556 billion for a six-year surface transportation reauthorization, including $119 billion for transit programs over six years – more than doubling the commit­ment to transit from the prior reauthorization.
  
• $250 million for the Choice Neighborhoods program which focuses on transformative investments in high-poverty neighborhoods where distressed HUD-assisted public and privately owned housing is located.
• $150 million for the Promise Neighborhoods program to support effective community services, strong family supports, and rigorous comprehensive education reforms to improve the educational and life outcomes for children and youth in high-need communities.
• $150 million for the Sustainable Communities Initiative which helps communities develop comprehensive housing and transportation plans that result in sustainable development, reduced greenhouse gas emissions, and increased housing near transit.
• $330 million for the Healthy Food Financing Initiative — with more flexibility given to USDA to use additional resources as needed – to bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved communities.

“We thank President Obama for proposing critical place-based investments that will help expand access to opportunity in high-need areas across the country,” said PolicyLink President Judith Bell. “As Chair of the Equity Caucus at Transportation for America, we particularly applaud the president’s commitment to much-needed transportation and infrastructure improvements within these communities, and look forward to continuing our work with the administration and Congress on behalf of these efforts.”

The president’s 2012 budget request also proposes reductions in funding for such important community-serving programs as the Community Development Block Grant program and the Community Service Block Grant program.

PolicyLink will continue to advocate with partners for these and other programs that make a real difference in the lives of low-income people, communities of color, and working families across America. Stay tuned.