No Poverty Plan from McCain
Today’s census numbers remind us that 37.3 million Americans live below the poverty line. That’s a lot of people, and a pretty hefty swathe of our overall population. Most Americans, of course, don’t have a “poverty plan” to change that fact. But most Americans probably do think it’s a problem that so many of our citizens have so few resources, and probably expect that if they were president it’s the kind of thing they’d try to do something to change. But not John McCain! Brian Levine observes that while McCain’s website asserts that he “understands the importance of investing in key industries such as space” it doesn’t say anything about poverty. I would further note that fully eighteen percent of American children are below the poverty line. McCain does claim, now and again, to be interested in improving educational attainment in the United States. But while there are certainly things we can do to improve education outcomes for poor kids, we also have a substantial body of research showing that poor kids would do better in school if they weren’t so poor. This, in turn, links back to our long-run economic performance. So it’d be nice to have some sort of program on these issues.
UPDATE: For more on the new numbers, see these takes from Katie Campbell at PPI and Michael Ettlinger here at CAP.
UPDATE II: Bonus joke — given that McCain only resides in four of his eight homes, holding on to the rest as investment properties, maybe he could let some homeless people live in the remaining four and call it a poverty plan.
44 Responses to “No Poverty Plan from McCain”
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August 26th, 2008 at 12:56 pm
Can’t he dust off some “poverty plan” from Heritage or somewhere? There has got to be some nicely illustrated paper lying around at one of the conservative think tanks talking about privatizing poverty programs. Maybe something like: “Spending less means earning more: A real plan to help the poor.”
August 26th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
Didn’t you know that John McCain was a prisoner of war in Vietnam for five and a half years? How dare you question his commitment to all Americans!
August 26th, 2008 at 1:00 pm
You forgot his “marry an heiress” plan.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:15 pm
McCain eschews reactionary organizations like the BLS and the “Census Bureau,” and correctly brings a more progressive analytical baseline to the table.
According to McCain’s calculations, a full 95% of the population lives below the poverty line, and insofar as his proposed policies affect the nation as a whole, his ENTIRE platform can be read as a poverty plan.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:18 pm
Can you trust MattY’s thinking? Let’s see:
If the 37 million figure is drawn from the same stats as the 45 million without healthinsurance (an extremely strong possibility), then not all of the 37 million are “Americans”, as MattY states. (See this related BHO lie).
If the %s are roughly equal, than 1/4 of that 37 million are citizens of other countries who are here legally or illegally.
Whatever the %, it would seem that massiveimmigration by poor people leads to increased poverty in the U.S. Now, who could have figured that out?
MattY and the Dems won’t call for any reduction in that immigration because they’re corrupt: it would cost them power. Plus, not only do they get power, but they get to whine about the impacts of their policies. It’s a win-win.
August 26th, 2008 at 1:27 pm
#5,Matts stat came from a Gov`t census report, so he is reporting straight from a reliable bushco gov`t agency so in my view the numbers are probably a bit higher.Did you know that Johnny Mcwars was a PEE OH DUBYA(pow)to you.Leagals or illegals you can`t put a number on poverty,the Reich is to busy with spending our Tax dollars on an Illegal War and occupation and making their friends rich from our tax dollars to.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:22 pm
I looked at the numbers in the CB report at my name’s link. The stats for both poverty and lack of health ins. do indeed include non-citizens, with a large number most likely being IllegalAliens. The CB admits it counts them as well, and they also don’t break out their stats by someone’s status.
I fully look forward to an intellectually honest discussion of the relationship between massiveimmigration and these numbers. I’m absolutely positive such an honest discussion will be forthcoming, with absolutely no lies or hand-waving.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:25 pm
What’s Obama’s poverty plan again? Not necessarily suggesting that there isn’t one, but if there is it hasn’t been too publicized.
August 26th, 2008 at 2:43 pm
According to McCain whether you’re rich or poor is controlled by your frame of mind, your outlook on life and the non-material resources and blessings visited upon you. A homeless person can be rich and Bill Gates may secretly be one of the poorest people on the planet. Money has nothing to do with it. “Poverty” is an outdated term, bandied about by the weak-minded socialists bent on destroying America.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:02 pm
Do the math. There are 300 million people in this country. Almost 10% of Americans live in poverty.
Shocking, to say the least.
August 26th, 2008 at 3:24 pm
cynicalgirl, why is a 10% poverty rate shocking? We might strive towards zero percent but is that achievable? Economists say full employment is an unattainable goal as a few percent of the population is always between jobs. They’re quitting work to seek better pay or more rewarding employment elsewhere, or possibly out of work due to inevitable layoffs, closings or moving of employers. What is the expected percentage of poor people you should encounter in a nation such as ours? Certainly we’re much better off than what, maybe 90% of the planet? Our poor have material possessions, access to emergency health care and various helping hands that would make the poor in most other nations green with envy. By what metric other than sheer human compassion and empathy is 10% to much? Is there an economic study establishing an admittedly cold yet reasonable statistic?
August 26th, 2008 at 3:29 pm
Why on Earth would we consider the massive, direct, and indirect economic impacts of our governmental and regulatory policies on the population, when there are always conservative ideologues happy with the status quo to explain it’s a necessary and natural part of life?
August 26th, 2008 at 3:40 pm
Obama should go all New Testament on McCain’s ass about this very subject. Lets see if the Fundies really believe in the Bible.
August 26th, 2008 at 4:02 pm
I didn’t even need that new fangled Guugle to find this:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/poverty/
August 26th, 2008 at 4:28 pm
Whaddayah mean no poverty plan? Once in a blue moon, Cindy drops a few grand in the Scottsdale Dillard’s, when the Neiman’s next door is too same-ol’. If that doesn’t help the clerks from ladies fashions meet their SPH for the month, there’s just no hope for anyone.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:05 pm
McCain’s poverty plan — a more prudent choice of parents.
Failing that — a more prudent choice of spouse.
Because America is all about having choices.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:08 pm
Lets see if the Fundies really believe in the Bible.
That would be the special Bible, where Matthew 26:31 has that big REDACTED sticker on it?
August 26th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
“given that McCain only resides in four of his eight homes, holding on to the rest as investment properties, maybe he could let some homeless people live in the remaining four and call it a poverty plan.”
Matt,
How about on your walk home, you invite some homeless dude to sleep on your couch? Then see if the couch is still there when you get home on Wednesday, or if he’s fenced it. Homeless people are homeless because they’ve burned every single person they know enough that nobody will let them sleep on their couch.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:12 pm
In troubled economic times, even the bonus jokes are meager.
August 26th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Asher @ 2:25
Here
Some good stuff, some silly stuff. And I’m not a fan of ‘living wage’ (vice just regular minimum wage) legislation.
August 26th, 2008 at 6:07 pm
I didn’t even need that new fangled Guugle to find this:
http://www.barackobama.com/issues/poverty/
Does this impress you? I see some enlarged tax credits, a higher minimum wage, a paltry 200 million a year on transitional jobs, and 20 “Promise Neighborhoods.” Oh, and the Nurse-Family Partnership, which I do really like. It’s more of a “plan” than McCain has, but it’s hardly much of a plan, and I think that the good parts could get signed into law without a Democrat in the White House. Obama isn’t a DLC guy, but there’s no way poverty would be a priority in his administration. In part because he’s black. Everything he does has to be pitched to the middle class.
August 26th, 2008 at 6:20 pm
But if we made the poor less poor, they’d stop being blessed. And it’s our Christian duty to make sure they’re blessed. So, it’s our Christian duty to make sure they stay poor.
It’s what Jesus would do.
August 26th, 2008 at 6:53 pm
“Does this impress you? I see some enlarged tax credits, a higher minimum wage, a paltry 200 million a year on transitional jobs, and 20 “Promise Neighborhoods.” Oh, and the Nurse-Family Partnership, which I do really like. It’s more of a “plan” than McCain has, but it’s hardly much of a plan, and I think that the good parts could get signed into law without a Democrat in the White House.”
You think McCain would raise the minimum wage? If so, I need to get the number of your dealer, because he has the connections to the really good sh*t. First, you claimed Obama didn’t have a policy. Then, when shown the (very easily found) policy proposal, you don’t like it. You also didn’t apparently bother to read the eight page policy brief linked to that web page.
You don’t have to agree with Obama’s policy proposals themselves. But he does have them, and they’ve been given some amount of thought (again, people can disagree whether it’s been given enough thought, but that’s a different question).
August 26th, 2008 at 7:37 pm
John McCain understands what poverty, he lived beneath the poverty line for 5 and a half years in the Hanoi Hilton. How dare you elitists denigrate the man’s service.
August 26th, 2008 at 8:18 pm
You think McCain would raise the minimum wage? If so, I need to get the number of your dealer, because he has the connections to the really good sh*t.
Bush did. So yeah, I wouldn’t be surprised. In fact, another increase will kick in on 7/24/09 no matter who’s President. Obama has a very modest plan with some nice mini-proposals. Something’s better than nothing, I suppose, but neither of these guys has much interest in the issue.
August 27th, 2008 at 4:55 am
Homeless people are homeless because they’ve burned every single person they know enough that nobody will let them sleep on their couch.
Everyone else has probably realised this already, so I’m sorry for being slow: but isn’t it true that Steve Sailer’s comments sound much better if you read them to yourself in the voice of Eric Cartman?
August 27th, 2008 at 11:18 am
Since I live in Appalachia I know a lot of evangelical Christians, many in my family. I used to go to one of their churches until I got old enough that my parents quit making me attend. I can tell you that the parts of the Bible where Jesus talks about helping the poor are almost never talked about. I can GUARANTEE you that the quote about how impossible it is for the rich to enter heaven is never uttered. Most of the Christians that I know seem to believe that the rich are rich because Jesus wants it that way and the same for the poor. Their religion is a social thing; few actually believe it at all.
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