At the Conservative Political Action Conference last Thursday, Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan recounted a personal anecdote in which he described a federal program which provides free school lunches to poor children as an “empty soul,” arguing that these programs do not provide incentives to parents from exercising personal responsibility. What Ryan didn’t realize was that his account of this story was misconstrued and extremely inaccurate.
Regardless of Ryan’s severe misrepresentation of the facts, this type of rhetoric which demonizes the poor and characterizes the lower class as “takers,” or “the 47 percent” is nothing new for the Republican party. That party has a proven track record in decimating funding for programs which often serves as an important lifeline for poor families. Ironically, the GOP often makes these cuts in the name of “small government,” while providing massive tax cuts for the rich and large subsidies to big business also known as “corporate welfare.”
But instead of using overblown rhetoric and exasperating a growing problem, Democrats at all levels of government have taken action to address the issue of poverty. Recently, for instance, President Barack Obama announced plans to expand the earned-income-tax credit (EITC) to more than 13.5 million low-income and middle class Americans. Currently, the EITC gives workers 7.65 cents for every dollar they earn up to specified amounts which allows workers to make a maximum of $1,006. Obama’s new proposal, however, increases the amount workers receive for every dollar to 15.3 cents up to specified amounts, allowing workers to make a maximum of $2,010. This proposal provides incentive for workers while putting more money in the pockets of lower and middle class Americans.
At the state level, Wisconsin Democrats have advocated to reduce the effects of poverty by raising the minimum wage. The current minimum wage in Wisconsin is $7.25 per hour, meaning that a family of four making the current minimum wage lives below the poverty line. Wisconsin Democrats recently introduced a bill which would raise the minimum wage to $10.10 which would have an immediate impact in increasing the wages of workers across the state. However, Republicans have shown significant opposition to this bill and any efforts to combat poverty through an increase in the minimum wage.
In Madison, Democrats on the Dane County Board have been extremely proactive in addressing the issue of poverty. For instance, Dane County Executive Joe Parisi recently introduced a series of initiatives to expand access to Early Childhood Education in Sun Prairie and Verona as a part of the County’s budget for 2014. High quality early childhood education programs have demonstrated a return of $7 for every dollar of public investment according to longitudinal analyses by the Nobel prize-winning economist James Heckman. And when considering that low-income families begin school, on average, 12 to 14 months behind their peers in literacy skills and language development, this long-term investment by Democrats on the Dane County Board signifies an important step in combatting the effects of poverty. Democrats on the Dane County Board have also started to address the large homeless population in Dane County. This is evidenced by the more than $600,000 the board has invested to purchase a permanent day center which would provide much needed shelter to the homeless in Dane County.
Thus, in all levels of government, Democrats are working to address the issue of poverty to provide more equitable opportunities to all Americans.
