The
true measure of any society is how we take care of our children. With
all of our country’s resources, no child should ever have to grow up in
poverty. Yet every single night, all across America, kids go to sleep
hungry or without a place to call home.
We
have to do better. Advocating for children and families has been the
cause of my life, starting with my first job as a young attorney at the
Children’s Defense Fund, and if I have the honor of serving as
president, it will be the driving mission of my administration.
The
good news is that we’re making progress, thanks to the hard work of the
American people and President Obama. The global poverty rate has been
cut in half in recent decades. In the United States, a new report from
the Census Bureau found that there were 3.5 million fewer people living
in poverty in 2015 than just a year before.
Median
incomes rose by 5.2 percent, the fastest growth on record. Households
at all income levels saw gains, with the largest going to those
struggling the most. The census report makes clear that when
hard-working Americans get a small boost — like food stamps and health
insurance thanks to the Affordable Care Act — they can climb out of
poverty.
But make no mistake: We still have work to do. Families across the country were devastated by the Great Recession.
Nearly 40 percent
of Americans between the ages of 25 and 60 will experience a year in
poverty at some point. The best way to help families lift themselves out
of poverty is to make it easier to find good-paying jobs. As president,
one of my top priorities will be increasing economic growth that’s
strong, fair and lasting. I will work with Democrats and Republicans to
make a historic investment in good-paying jobs — jobs in infrastructure
and manufacturing, technology and innovation, small businesses and clean
energy. And we need to make sure that hard work is rewarded by raising
the minimum wage and finally guaranteeing equal pay for women.
If
we want to get serious about poverty, we also need a national
commitment to create more affordable housing. This issue doesn’t get
much election-year coverage, but it’s a big deal to the 11.4 million American households
that spend more than half their incomes on rent. Too many people are
putting off saving for their children or retirement just to keep a roof
over their families’ heads.
My
plan would expand Low Income Housing Tax Credits in high-cost areas to
increase our affordable housing supply, and fuel broader community
development. So if you are a family living in an expensive city, you
would be able to find an affordable place to call home and have access
to the transportation you need to get to good jobs and quality schools.
We
also need to ensure that our investments are reaching the communities
suffering the most from decades of neglect. We have got to acknowledge
that even though poverty overall has fallen, extreme poverty has
increased. Tim Kaine and I will model our anti-poverty strategy on
Congressman Jim Clyburn’s 10-20-30 plan, directing 10 percent of federal
investments to communities where 20 percent of the population has been
living below the poverty line for 30 years. And we’ll put special
emphasis on minority communities that have been held back for too long
by barriers of systemic racism.
As
president, I will continue my life’s work focused on creating
opportunities for children and fairness for families. We need to expand
access to high-quality child care and guarantee paid leave so parents at
all income levels can balance their jobs and lives. And we will work to
double investments in Early Head Start and make preschool available to
every 4-year-old because our children deserve the best possible start in
life.
Donald
J. Trump has a different approach. He divides America into winners and
losers. And he doesn’t seem to spend much time worrying about people in
poverty. In fact, his economic plans would overwhelmingly benefit the
wealthiest Americans, and would include an estimated $4 billion tax cut
for his own family just by eliminating the estate tax. He has actually
said that wages are too high. One independent economic analysis
revealed that with Mr. Trump’s proposals in place, our economy would
fall back into recession and inevitably push more families into poverty.
This
November, the American people will have to choose between an economy
that works for everyone and an economy that benefits the well off at the
expense of everyone else. The choice couldn’t be clearer.
Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton), a former secretary of state, is the Democratic nominee for president.
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