McCain Says Nation In Recession, Vows War On Poverty

[simple_male 1]

McCain Vows War on Poverty, Says Nation in Recession

Edwin Chen

Wed Apr 23, 12:27 PM ET

April 23 (Bloomberg) -- Republican John McCain, saying the nation is in a recession and ``families are hurting,'' retraced Lyndon Johnson's steps in eastern Kentucky and pledged to mount a war on poverty different from that waged by the former Democratic president.

``I have no doubt President Johnson was serious and had the very best of intentions'' in 1964, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee said at a town-hall event in Inez today as he continues his week-long courtship of voters in America's economically hard-pressed areas.

``Government has a role to play in helping people who, through no fault of their own, are having a hard time,'' McCain, an Arizona senator, said. He defined that role as offering choices on education, health care and job training, rather than providing handouts.

Government ``can't pay lost wages. It can't dig coal from the earth,'' McCain, 71, said. ``It can't buy you a house or send all your kids to college. It can't do your work for you.''

As he did earlier this week in Selma, Alabama, and Youngstown, Ohio, McCain recited his prescriptions for economic revival, including tax cuts and reducing the cost of medical insurance, while emphasizing that he is there to ``listen and learn'' from local residents so he can be a more effective president ``for all the people.''

Recession

Contradicting President George W. Bush's statement yesterday, McCain said the U.S. economy has worsened.

``I believe we are in a recession, I believe the numbers indicate that,'' he said.

McCain said one area where government should take action is assuring that every community in America can develop a modern- communications infrastructure, including high-speed Internet service, by issuing government-backed loans or by issuing low- interest rate bonds.

He also promised to return to Inez, a town in the heart of Kentucky's coal region.

``If I'm elected, I will come back here in the course of my administration; hold another town-hall meeting, and invite you to hold me accountable for the decisions I have made and the promises I have sworn to keep,'' he said.

Official Visits

Inez and other communities in the hills and hollows of eastern Kentucky are no strangers to visiting Washington officials with promises.

As McCain noted, Johnson on April 24, 1964, spoke from the front porch of a local family's tar-papered house as he launched his ``War on Poverty.'' Four years later, the late New York Senator Robert F. Kennedy took a two-day, 200-mile tour of eastern Kentucky to assess that anti-poverty effort.

In 1999, then-President Bill Clinton also visited eastern Kentucky as part of a four-day poverty tour. More recently, former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards brought his ``two Americas'' campaign to the region.

Today's town hall meeting drew an overflow crowd of more than 500 people to the Martin County Courthouse, almost the population of Inez, which has about 650 residents.

Citing a study prepared for the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland, McCain's campaign said Inez remains one of the poorest communities in Appalachia.

Challenges Remain

While there have been improvements, including two new four- lane roads in and out of Inez and enhanced water and sewage systems, many of the challenges that faced eastern Kentucky in 1964 remain.

``These include a limited availability of good full-time jobs, a lack of economic diversity, a ready and able workforce, isolation and multigenerational poverty,'' the campaign said.

Between 1970 and 1980 the poverty rate in Inez and surrounding Martin County declined from 56 percent to 7 percent. Then the near-collapse of the coal industry and the national recession during the 1980s reversed economic prosperity in the county and the poverty rate increased to 37 percent.

McCain plans a visit tomorrow to the lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, a low-income neighborhood that was among the areas hardest hit by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

[one...two...tree 2,762]

Wow!

[Jenn! 918]

I'm against war.

[simple_male 1]

I'm against war.

So am I.

[mawilson 2,133]

War on poverty? Didn't we already have one of those?

[Scott & Lai 12]

War on poverty? Didn't we already have one of those?

Still going...it's a quagmire...so is the equally-long War on Drugs.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

What about a war on political rhetoric?

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

He must not haven gotten the memo from the White House. Bush is still denying that we're in a recession.

Edited April 24, 2008 by Mr. Big Dog