Obama promises 'year of action' on poverty in White House speech

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/jan/09/obama-promises-year-action-poverty-promise-zones

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Barack Obama has promised a year of action on US poverty in 2014, as a long-standing theme of his campaign rhetoric finally begins to show tentative signs of bi-partisan political momentum.

In a White House speech attended by Republican Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell, the president fleshed out details of federal assistance for five newly-designated economic “promise zones” around the country.

The initiative, which aims to promote social mobility in deprived cities and rural areas, was first announced in last year's State of the Union address, but progress has been slow during a year characterised by Congressional gridlock.

“This is going to be a year of action,” said Obama. “We are coming off a rancorous political year but I genuinely believe this is not a partisan issue. This should be a challenge that unites us all.”

Stung by data showing long-term unemployment and poverty continuing despite a broader economic recovery, the White House is planning to make social mobility the centrepiece of this year's State of the Union speech on January 28.

Obama also revealed plans to meet with business leaders this month to agree a deal to hire long-term unemployed workers and will make a trip to North Carolina on Wednesday to promote job growth in high-tech industries.

The flurry of activity remains limited in scope and is far from unprecedented, but it has coincided with a rare outbreak of political agreement among rival parties that it has become the most pressing issue facing America.

On Wednesday, Republican presidential hopeful senator Marco Rubio marked the 50th anniversary of Lyndon Johnson's declaration of a 'war on poverty' with a speech calling for a new approach that relied less on federal spending to ameliorate poverty and more on local initiatives to attack its causes.

Obama acknowledged the remaining differences over how to treat the problem, but suggested they could be bridged.

“I don't care if ideas are Democratic or Republican; I do care if it works,” he told an audience of local politicians and activists gathered in the East Room. “There are legitimate questions about the best way to do this and how big the role of government should be, but there is no disagreement that there should be individual commitment.”

White House officials acknowledge that the support of Republicans is vital if the president's latest initiative is to gain any traction.

The five promise zones – in Philadelphia, Kentucky, Oklahoma, Los Angeles and San Antonio – will receive priority access to existing federal support programmes and some additional staff, but tax breaks and new money will only be forthcoming if Congress agrees.

However, senator Rand Paul, another up-and-coming Republican who was at the event, said there were signs that Congress might be willing to back a form of Obama's plan.

Paul has proposed an alternative economic freedom zones, where businesses would be encouraged to create new jobs with tax breaks.

“I am hopeful that we can find common ground,” he told reporters after the president's speech. “The good news is the sentiment. I think his motives are in the right place.”

But Paul, who has taken a hard-line libertarian stance against other poverty-reduction measures such as unemployment insurance, sounded a note of caution about the role of government spending.

“The only concern I have is that some of the ideas as far as government grants aren't new ideas,” he added. “I am concerned that it's not enough and different enough from what we have been doing to have the effect that we all want.”

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