We need modern day "freedom riders" to go into..

[skooooo]

...rural areas in Kentucky and West Virginia and try to un-brainwash the people that live there so that they can start voting for their interests and better their situations.

It seems clear to me that pockets of our nation are left so far behind in resources and education. How can we all progress this way? If Obama wins, I hope that is part of his youth service. Maybe they wouldn't be "political," but if he can organize projects for young people to go in those areas and make life better it would do us all good.

Just saying.

[onehandle]

1. un-brainwash = brainwashing

I wouldn't put it the way you did. And that wouldn't go over well in those areas.

Time will change all. Force it and we'll have more Reagans and Bushes in the future.

[skooooo]

2. right cause that approach didn't help change the south..

...I get it.

Maybe I shouldn't have used the word brainwash, but I explain what I mean by it. Those people need to be exposed to other ways of thinking and get some opportunities to develop themselves.

[mrcheerful]

7. One thing about the south and the people in it, they won't change

in masses, you might get a few to change but the vast majority will resist change. Why? Because change comes from the inside out with great effort. You can not change from the outside inwards, people resist that kind of change as someone telling them what to do and even death won't change them. Seen that behavior with alkies and druggies, they have to get sick and tired of being sick and tired before they become willing to change, some never do. It would be the same if you tried to force change on anyone who see's no problem with their thinking or behavior, its not them with a problem its you that have a problem with their greatness.

[skooooo]

16. Right..that's why a black man won the Mississippi primary.

Things have changed, and need to change more.

[mrcheerful]

34. Thats just the point the people in Miss are not the same people in Kentucky

they changed on their own with no one telling to change, which this topic is saying. Nor do you know why or what was behind Miss voting for BHO. Could be they saw it as 2 bad choices then picked the best of the worst in their eyes. Who knows? You forget how many out there in the bible belt that wouldn't vote for HRC because of Bill, I have heard a lot of religious nuts say HRC should have thrown Bill out or kept him under control. What gets me about either is how both points they make are against their religions teachings and they don't get it. Then in a state like Kentucky, when having to deal with 2 unwanted choices, sex beat color. Again who knows? People don't honestly say why they voted either way.

[FSogol]

3. That's why Edwards will make such a good Poverty Czar for the Obama WH

Edwards can be a visible presence in these poor areas and enact policies to bring prosperity. A few successes can turn these States/areas purple.

[Romulox]

4. Simple question: What are "their interests" and how does Barack Obama satisfy these?

I don't expect any substantive answer to this, but I'd love to hear one nonetheless.

You realize that Barack Obama is an economic centrist at best, right? :hi:

[onehandle]

6. Good question. nt

[Breeze54]

9. Ever heard of Appalachia's poor?

Misery at Vortex

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,837928,00.html?iid=chix-sphere

Friday, Feb. 23, 1968

snip-->

Appalachian mountaineers who rank today among the poorest of America's poor.

More...

In Kentucky’s Teeth, Toll of Poverty and Neglect

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/24/us/24kentucky.html

BARBOURVILLE, Ky. —

In the 18 years he has been visiting nursing homes, seeing patients in his private practice and, more recently, driving his mobile dental clinic through Appalachian hills and hollows, Dr. Edwin E. Smith has seen the extremes of neglect.

He has seen the shame of a 14-year-old girl who would not lift her head because she had lost most of her teeth from malnutrition, and the do-it-yourself pride of an elderly mountain man who, unable to afford a dentist, pulled his own infected teeth with a pair of pliers.

He has seen the brutal result of angry husbands hitting their wives and the end game of pill-poppers who crack healthy teeth, one by one, to get dentists to prescribe pain medications.

But mostly he has seen everyday people who are too busy putting food on the table to worry about oral hygiene. Many of them savor their sweets, drink well water without fluoride and long ago started ruining their teeth by chewing tobacco and smoking.

Dr. Smith has a rare window on a state with the highest proportion of adults under 65 without teeth, where about half the population does not have dental insurance. He struggles to counter the effects of the drastic shortage of dentists in rural areas and oral hygiene habits that have been slow to change.

“The level of need is hard to believe until you see it up close,” said Dr. Smith, who runs a free dental clinic at a high school in one of Kentucky’s poorest counties. He also provides free care to about half of the patients who visit his private practice in Barbourville.

Kentucky is among the worst states nationally in the proportion of low-income residents served by free or subsidized dental clinics, and less than a fourth of the state’s dentists regularly take Medicaid, according to 2005 federal data.

More...

Appalachian Americans: The Invisible Minority

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/8611/appalachian_americans_the_invisible.html

Double standards in America concerning the hills of Appalachia

By Everett Sizemore, published Aug 16, 2005

Appalachian-Americans are not generally discussed in multicultural textbooks or thought of as a distinct cultural group, yet they exhibit major cultural differences when compared to the common social construct of 'white America'. For this reason they continue to be marginalised, even in a time when acceptance of ethnic minorities and ideals of a pluralistic society are the norm.

Appalachians have low educational attainments, high poverty rates and poor health standards; they are under-represented in politics, are subject to many negative stereotypes; and face language and dialect problems when communicating with others.

More...

[Romulox]

11. I didn't ask if they were poor. I asked which of Barack Obama's policies are likely to ameliorate

this poverty.

Since Barack Obama is a "free trader"/economic centrist who has proposed no sweeping economic reforms, I am truly curious as to which of his policies will help these people.

I think it is a mere platitude to say, "A Democrat will be better for their interests," without addressing how a Democratic adminstration would differ in its economic policy. Obviously, working people continued to suffer under the Clinton admin, and were the first to feel the hangover after the tech bubble burst.

So what, exactly will an Obama admin do to help the people "in the middle states"??? :shrug:

[Breeze54]

12. You asked what were "their interests"... - Health care, jobs, education....

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/

Economics:

He will increase investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education, and research and development; modernize and simplify our tax code so it provides greater opportunity and relief to more Americans; and implement trade policies that benefit American workers and increase the export of American goods.

------------------

Education:

Obama believes that we must equip poor and struggling districts, both rural and urban, with the support and resources they need to provide disadvantaged students with an opportunity to reach their full potential.

---------

Healthcare:

"I...believe that every American has the right to affordable health care. I believe that the millions of Americans who can't take their children to a doctor when they get sick have that right...We now face an opportunity - and an obligation - to turn the page on the failed politics of yesterday's health care debates.

---------

Poverty:

There are 37 million poor Americans. Most poor Americans are in the workforce, yet still cannot afford to make ends meet. And too many poor Americans are single mothers who are raising children. Barack Obama has been a lifelong advocate for the poor -- as a young college graduate, he rejected the high salaries of corporate America and moved to the South Side of Chicago to work as a community organizer. As an organizer, Obama worked with churches, Chicago residents and local government to set up job training programs for the unemployed and after school programs for kids.

CONTINUE READING

---------

Rural:

The dreams of rural Americans are familiar to all Americans - to make a good living, to raise a healthy and secure family, and to leave our children a future of opportunity. It's time for real leadership for rural America to extend that American dream. That's the dream of opportunity that I've spent my life fighting for. And that's what our rural agenda will do." - Barack Obama, Speech in Fairfax, IA, October 16, 2007

------------

Go to the link and read more....

[Romulox]

14. It was a two part question: "What are "their interests" and how does Barack Obama satisfy these?"

I do not dispute the depths of rural poverty in the USA.

"He will increase investments in infrastructure, energy independence, education, and research and development; modernize and simplify our tax code so it provides greater opportunity and relief to more Americans; and implement trade policies that benefit American workers and increase the export of American goods."

Not a lot of meat on those bones. Simplify our fucking tax code? :eyes:

"There are 37 million poor Americans. Most poor Americans are in the workforce, yet still cannot afford to make ends meet. And too many poor Americans are single mothers who are raising children. Barack Obama has been a lifelong advocate for the poor -- as a young college graduate, he rejected the high salaries of corporate America and moved to the South Side of Chicago to work as a community organizer. As an organizer, Obama worked with churches, Chicago residents and local government to set up job training programs for the unemployed and after school programs for kids."

OK. We know that poverty exists. What specific policies is Senator Obama proposing???

[Breeze54]

17. How am I ignoring Part II? READ my reply...

or do your own frigging research


BTW? You're Welcome. :eyes:

[Romulox]

19. I apologize. I edited. However, I am not satisfied with the information you provided

I am not trying to insult you, and I do thank you for posting that information.

But in my opinion, it is not responsive to the question.

[skooooo]

21. How would Roosevelt have satisfied your answer?

I think trying to wonkify this question is to miss the point.

[Romulox]

24. Surely you're not comparing a "youth corps" with the New Deal?

Reform

Besides all the programs for immediate "relief", the New Deal embarked quickly on an agenda of long-term "reform" aimed at avoiding another depression. The New Dealers responded to demands to inflate the currency by a variety of means. Another group of reformers sought to build consumer and farmer co-ops as a counterweight to big business. The consumer co-ops did not take off, but the Rural Electrification Administration used co-ops to bring electricity to rural areas, many of which still operate. Utilities were also required to sell off their streetcar lines which were then acquired and dismantled by automobile and oil companies.
In the roughly three years between Black Tuesday and Roosevelt's First Hundred Days, the industrial economy had been suffering from a vicious cycle of deflation. Since 1931, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the voice of the nation's organized business, had been urging the Hoover Administration to adopt an anti-deflationary scheme that would permit trade associations to cooperate in stabilizing prices within their industries. While existing antitrust laws clearly forbade such practices, organized business found a receptive ear in the Roosevelt Administration.
The Roosevelt Administration, packed with reformers aspiring to forge all elements of society into a cooperative unit (a reaction to the worldwide specter of business-labor "class struggle"), was fairly amenable to the idea of cooperation among producers.
The Administration insisted that business would have to ensure that the incomes of workers would rise along with their prices. The product of all these impulses and pressures was the National Industrial Recovery Act (NIRA) which was passed by Congress in June 1933. The NIRA established the National Planning Board, also called the National Resources Planning Board (NRPB), to assist in planning the economy by providing recommendations and information. Fredric A. Delano was appointed head of the NRPB.
The NIRA guaranteed to workers the right of collective bargaining and helped spur some union organizing activity, but much faster growth of union membership came before the 1935 Wagner Act. The NIRA established the National Recovery Administration (NRA), which attempted to stabilize prices and wages through cooperative "code authorities" involving government, business, and labor. The NRA included a multitude of regulations imposing the pricing and production standards for all sorts of goods and services. Most economists were dubious because it was based on fixing prices to reduce competition.<14> Historian Jim Power, in FDR's Folly, says that the above-market wage rates dictated by the NRA made it more expensive for employers to hire people, and therefore unnecessarily maintained high unemployment and prolonged the Depression.
To prime the pump and cut unemployment, the NIRA created the Public Works Administration (PWA), a major program of public works. From 1933 to 1935 PWA spent $3.3 billion with private companies to build 34,599 projects, many of them quite large.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_deal#Reform

[skooooo]

25. surely you're not just trying to be an ass??

or??

[Romulox]

28. Nope. I think there is an important underlying point:

A Democratic candidate is not, per se, more in lines with the "interests" of the rural poor. He must propose specific policies that address their concerns.

In particular, if given a choice between a Democrat that espouses "free trade"/laissez-faire economics and a Republican that espouses substantially the same economic policy, you leave the door wide open for voters to make their selections based on the old, familiar, "culture war" (non) issues: "god, guns, and gays."

[skooooo]

30. How about feeding people?

Sorry, I think you're disingenuous.

This isn't a debate about Obama. The point is something needs to be done to help people. If you don't agree, then look elsewhere for solutions you think would work, I guess.

[Breeze54]

29. I did the looking for you again... ---> Barack Obama's Plan

Barack Obama's Plan

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/

Provide Middle Class Americans Tax Relief

Obama will cut income taxes by $1,000 for working families to offset the payroll tax they pay.


* Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families: Obama will restore fairness to the tax code and provide 150 million workers the tax relief they need. Obama will create a new "Making Work Pay" tax credit of up to $500 per person, or $1,000 per working family. The "Making Work Pay" tax credit will completely eliminate income taxes for 10 million Americans.

* Simplify Tax Filings for Middle Class Americans: Obama will dramatically simplify tax filings so that millions of Americans will be able to do their taxes in less than five minutes. Obama will ensure that the IRS uses the information it already gets from banks and employers to give taxpayers the option of pre-filled tax forms to verify, sign and return. Experts estimate that the Obama proposal will save Americans up to 200 million total hours of work and aggravation and up to $2 billion in tax preparer fees.

Trade

Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.


* Fight for Fair Trade: Obama will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports.

* Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement: Obama believes that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. Obama will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.

* Improve Transition Assistance: To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama would update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by extending it to service industries, creating flexible education accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs.

Technology, Innovation and Creating Jobs

Obama will encourage the deployment of the most modern communications infrastructure to reduce the costs of health care, help solve our energy crisis, create new jobs, and fuel our economic growth.


* Support Job Creation: Barack Obama believes we need to double federal funding for basic research and make the research and development tax credit permanent to help create high-paying, secure jobs. Obama will also make long-term investments in education, training, and workforce development so that Americans can leverage our strengths - our ingenuity and entrepreneurialism - to create new high-wage jobs and prosper in a world economy.

* Invest in U.S. Manufacturing: The Obama comprehensive energy independence and climate change plan will invest in America's highly-skilled manufacturing workforce and manufacturing centers to ensure that American workers have the skills and tools they need to pioneer the first wave of green technologies that will be in high demand throughout the world. Obama will also provide assistance to the domestic auto industry to ensure that new fuel-efficient vehicles are built by American workers.

* Create New Job Training Programs for Clean Technologies: The Obama plan will increase funding for federal workforce training programs and direct these programs to incorporate green technologies training, such as advanced manufacturing and weatherization training, into their efforts to help Americans find and retain stable, high-paying jobs. Obama will also create an energy-focused youth jobs program to invest in disconnected and disadvantaged youth.

* Boost the Renewable Energy Sector and Create New Jobs: The Obama plan will create new federal policies, and expand existing ones, that have been proven to create new American jobs. Obama will create a federal Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) that will require 25 percent of American electricity be derived from renewable sources by 2025, which has the potential to create hundreds of thousands of new jobs on its own. Obama will also extend the Production Tax Credit, a credit used successfully by American farmers and investors to increase renewable energy production and create new local jobs.

* Deploy Next-Generation Broadband: Obama believes we can get broadband to every community in America through a combination of reform of the Universal Service Fund, better use of the nation's wireless spectrum, promotion of next-generation facilities, technologies and applications, and new tax and loan incentives.

* Protect the Openness of the Internet: Obama supports the basic principle that network providers should not be allowed to charge fees to privilege the content or applications of some web sites and Internet applications over others. This principle will ensure that the new competitors, especially small or nonprofit speakers, have the same opportunity as big companies to innovate and reach large audiences.

* Invest in Rural Areas: Obama will invest in rural small businesses and fight to expand high-speed Internet access. He will improve rural schools and attract more doctors to rural areas.

Labor

Obama will strengthen the ability of workers to organize unions. He will fight for passage of the Employee Free Choice Act. Obama will ensure that his labor appointees support workers' rights and will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers. Obama will also increase the minimum wage and index it to inflation to ensure it rises every year.


* Ensure Freedom to Unionize: Obama believes that workers should have the freedom to choose whether to join a union without harassment or intimidation from their employers. Obama cosponsored and is strong advocate for the Employee Free Choice Act, a bipartisan effort to assure that workers can exercise their right to organize. He will continue to fight for EFCA's passage and sign it into law.

* Fight Attacks on Workers' Right to Organize: Obama has fought the Bush National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) efforts to strip workers of their right to organize. He is a cosponsor of legislation to overturn the NLRB's "Kentucky River" decisions classifying hundreds of thousands of nurses, construction, and professional workers as "supervisors" who are not protected by federal labor laws.

* Protect Striking Workers: Obama supports the right of workers to bargain collectively and strike if necessary. He will work to ban the permanent replacement of striking workers, so workers can stand up for themselves without worrying about losing their livelihoods.

* Raise the Minimum Wage: Barack Obama will raise the minimum wage, index it to inflation and increase the Earned Income Tax Credit to make sure that full-time workers earn a living wage that allows them to raise their families and pay for basic needs.

Protect Homeownership and Crack Down on Mortgage Fraud

Obama will crack down on fraudulent brokers and lenders. He will also make sure homebuyers have honest and complete information about their mortgage options, and he will give a tax credit to all middle-class homeowners.


* Create a Universal Mortgage Credit: Obama will create a 10 percent universal mortgage credit to provide homeowners who do not itemize tax relief. This credit will provide an average of $500 to 10 million homeowners, the majority of whom earn less than $50,000 per year.

* Ensure More Accountability in the Subprime Mortgage Industry: Obama has been closely monitoring the subprime mortgage situation for years, and introduced comprehensive legislation over a year ago to fight mortgage fraud and protect consumers against abusive lending practices. Obama's STOP FRAUD Act provides the first federal definition of mortgage fraud, increases funding for federal and state law enforcement programs, creates new criminal penalties for mortgage professionals found guilty of fraud, and requires industry insiders to report suspicious activity.

* Mandate Accurate Loan Disclosure: Obama will create a Homeowner Obligation Made Explicit (HOME) score, which will provide potential borrowers with a simplified, standardized borrower metric (similar to APR) for home mortgages. The HOME score will allow individuals to easily compare various mortgage products and understand the full cost of the loan.

* Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures: Obama will create a fund to help people refinance their mortgages and provide comprehensive supports to innocent homeowners. The fund will be partially paid for by Obama's increased penalties on lenders who act irresponsibly and commit fraud.

* Close Bankruptcy Loophole for Mortgage Companies: Obama will work to eliminate the provision that prevents bankruptcy courts from modifying an individual's mortgage payments. Obama believes that the subprime mortgage industry, which has engaged in dangerous and sometimes unscrupulous business practices, should not be shielded by outdated federal law.

Address Predatory Credit Card Practices

Obama will establish a five-star rating system so that every consumer knows the risk involved in every credit card. He also will establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to stop credit card companies from exploiting consumers with unfair practices.


* Create a Credit Card Rating System to Improve Disclosure: Obama will create a credit card rating system, modeled on five-star systems used for other consumer products, to provide consumers an easily identifiable ranking of credit cards, based on the card's features. Credit card companies will be required to display the rating on all application and contract materials, enabling consumers to quickly understand all of the major provisions of a credit card without having to rely exclusively on fine print in lengthy documents.

* Establish a Credit Card Bill of Rights to Protect Consumers: Obama will create a Credit Card Bill of Rights to protect consumers. The Obama plan will:
o Ban Unilateral Changes
o Apply Interest Rate Increases Only to Future Debt
o Prohibit Interest on Fees
o Prohibit "Universal Defaults"
o Require Prompt and Fair Crediting of Cardholder Payments

Reform Bankruptcy Laws

Obama will reform our bankruptcy laws to protect working people, ban executive bonuses for bankrupt companies, and require disclosure of all pension investments.


* Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and Improve Disclosure: Obama supports extending a 36 percent interest cap to all Americans. Obama will require lenders to provide clear and simplified information about loan fees, payments and penalties, which is why he'll require lenders to provide this information during the application process.

* Encourage Responsible Lending Institutions to Make Small Consumer Loans: Obama will encourage banks, credit unions and Community Development Financial Institutions to provide affordable short-term and small-dollar loans and to drive unscrupulous lenders out of business.

* Reform Bankruptcy Laws to Protect Families Facing a Medical Crisis: Obama will create an exemption in bankruptcy law for individuals who can prove they filed for bankruptcy because of medical expenses. This exemption will create a process that forgives the debt and lets the individuals get back on their feet.

Work/Family Balance

Obama will double funding for after-school programs, expand the Family Medical Leave Act, provide low-income families with a refundable tax credit to help with their child-care expenses, and encourage flexible work schedules.


* Expand the Family and Medical Leave Act: The FMLA covers only certain employees of employers with 50 or more employees. Obama will expand it to cover businesses with 25 or more employees. He will expand the FMLA to cover more purposes as well, including allowing workers to take leave for elder care needs; allowing parents up to 24 hours of leave each year to participate in their children's academic activities; and expanding FMLA to cover leave for employees to address domestic violence.

* Encourage States to Adopt Paid Leave: As president, Obama will initiate a strategy to encourage all 50 states to adopt paid-leave systems. Obama will provide a $1.5 billion fund to assist states with start-up costs and to help states offset the costs for employees and employers.

* Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities: Obama will double funding for the main federal support for afterschool programs, the 21st Century Learning Centers program, to serve a million more children. Obama will include measures to maximize performance and effectiveness across grantees nationwide.

* Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit: The Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit provides too little relief to families that struggle to afford child care expenses. Obama will reform the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit by making it refundable and allowing low-income families to receive up to a 50 percent credit for their child care expenses.

* Protect Against Caregiver Discrimination: Workers with family obligations often are discriminated against in the workplace. Obama will enforce the recently-enacted Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines on caregiver discrimination.

* Expand Flexible Work Arrangements: Obama will create a program to inform businesses about the benefits of flexible work schedules; help businesses create flexible work opportunities; and increase federal incentives for telecommuting. Obama will also make the federal government a model employer in terms of adopting flexible work schedules and permitting employees to request flexible arrangements.

More...

---------

For More Information about Barack's Plan

(PDF)Read the plan http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/EconomicPolicyFullPlan.pdf

(PDF)Read the plan for small businesses http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/SmallBusinessFINAL.pdf

(PDF)Read the plan to protect homeownership and crack down on mortgage fraud
Read the Speech http://www.barackobama.com/issues/pdf/MortgageFactSheet.pdf

[Romulox]

32. Several of these are good, but they are mere nibbles. I think the trade issues are where he is weak

"Trade

Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security."

Translation: Barack Obama is a dedicated free trader. However, he feels that "free trade" has been poorly implemented up until now. The man has the chief economist of the DLC as his chief economist, for goodness' sake!


"* Fight for Fair Trade: Obama will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and nontariff barriers on U.S. exports."

Not a lot of meat on these bones.

"* Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement: Obama believes that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. Obama will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers."

The earlier Goolsbee NAFTA-gaffe notwithstanding, the questions remain: 1) In what ways is NAFTA deficient; 2) In what ways will Obama seek to change it?; 3) What if Canada and Mexico refuse?

"* Improve Transition Assistance: To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama would update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by extending it to service industries, creating flexible education accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs."

Retraining for 50 something factory workers is a mantra that started with Reagan. Retraining doesn't begin to make up for the economic devastation caused by "free trade". It is tone deaf and insulting.

The Tax Break thing sounds like a Republican plan, imo.

[Breeze54]

33. Even Ted Kennedy championed worker retraining and so did Obama today with the WARN Act

Statement of Senator Barack Obama on HELP Committee Hearing on the WARN Act's 20th Anniversary

(Worker Adjustment and Retraining and Notification Act (WARN))

May 20, 2008 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. -

U.S. Senator Barack Obama today submitted the following testimony to the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing on Plant Closings, Workers' Rights and the WARN Act's 20th Anniversary:

"I know that you have heard the frustration of workers who are let go by email the day before a plant closes or are told when they come to work that their services are no longer necessary. Many of these workers support families that are living from pay check to pay check, squeezed by the demands of rising health care costs, the declining value of their homes, and wages that have been stagnant for decades. It adds insult to injury to close a plant without warning employees.

"There may be no stronger advocate for these workers than Senator Brown, and I thank you for holding this hearing and authoring legislation to strengthen the Worker Adjustment and Retraining and Notification Act (WARN). I fully support your efforts and look forward to helping you move the legislation through the process. We must give the WARN Act teeth to ensure that workers are not chewed up and spit out without a job or a paycheck.

"When I was a member of the Illinois Senate, I worked to strengthen enforcement of the existing WARN Act by requiring the Illinois Department of Employment Security to annually notify employers of their responsibilities under the WARN Act. But we must act at the federal level to close the loophole that allows employers to disregard the WARN Act without penalty.

"Congress passed the WARN Act in 1988 to give workers and communities

snip-->

"Senator Brown's FOREWARN Act would modernize and enhance the WARN Act's protections. I am proud to be a co-sponsor of this important legislation.....

More....

----------

What is really insulting is leaving workers in the lurch and NOT funding any retraining.

[skooooo]

18. read post 15, it's not that complicated

[Romulox]

22. I'm sorry, but I would find a "youth corps" an insulting non-solution to my problems

If I lived in rural poverty.

[skooooo]

23. If ?

Well then I guess you just can't KNOW then, huh?

[Romulox]

26. I live next to the poorest city in the nation, so I have a dog in the race, so to speak. nt

[skooooo]

15. He has talked about starting a Youth Corp.

If this new Youth Corp can help in impoverished areas to get a business started, or learn some skills and gain civic knowledge so that they feel like they are participating in the nation instead of just existing then that's enough of a "policy" for me.

[uppityperson]

27. Who would satisfy their interests better, Dems or Repubs?

I see that as the bigger picture. Who would be better at helping with jobs, health care, not running up the national debt, not destroying the constitution, not making the rich richer while everyone else suffers? The Dems or the Repubs.

I don't expect any substantive answer to this, but I'd love to hear one nonetheless.

You realize that the Repub part is out for the rich only, at best, right?

[Romulox]

31. You're essentially asking me the same question I just asked.

I honestly don't know the answer to that.

Free trade, outsourcing, and a youth corps! sounds only marginally less odious to me than free trade and outsourcing on its own.

"You realize that the Repub part is out for the rich only, at best, right?"

Doubtless. But the question is: what policies will the Democrats put into place to repair 30+ years of damage to working people in this country?

[uppityperson]

35. Similar but I spoke of Dems/Repubs and you spoke of Obama.

I look at it as the lesser of 2 evils, plus I hope the Dems will get decent people on the supreme court, which counts for a whole lot imho.

[islandmkl]

5. domestic peace corps?

imagine what America could be like if we actually used resources, human and financial, to truly build/re-build those areas of our country that need so much...

the impoverished are all in the same boat, black, white, brown or yellow; the poor in the hills and the city slums are so much alike, yet the cultural 'divisions' that have been promoted and re-inforced for centuries keep them 'in their places'...

we, as a nation, MUST bring the bottom up to ensure that our foundation does not crumble...the heaviness at the top is beginning to make us totter...

[skooooo]

13. Everyone on DU praises Roosevelt so much...

...this is exactly the kind of thing he would do.

Funny that it seems so "controversial." Admittedly, there's a wrong way and a right way to do things. Helping the less fortunate to help themselves should be a no brainer.

[Breeze54]

8. Go to: Americans United to Defeat Mitch McConnell

Americans United to Defeat Mitch McConnell

http://www.democrats.org/page/community/group/KentuckiansUnitedtoDefeatMitchMcConnell

This groups aim is to build up a network of volunteers to help organize the search for a
viable candidate and contribute to a successful campaign to defeat Mitch McConnell in 2008.

Page 1 of 33 | Next | Last

Ditch Mitch KY
www.ditchmitchky.com

[Warpy]

10. Forget it. The preachers keep them ignorant and crazy

and the only way to counteract those backwoods hellfire ranters is for mainstream religious people to go in and replace them.

Remember, this is the part of the country where snake handlers thrive.

[skooooo]

20. The region of the "Great Awakening"...

..which has really shaped our history, mostly to its detriment. Well, maybe the religious left could make inroads. Sorry, your pessimism doesn't convince me. Everyone can learn to think.

[Dreamer Tatum]

36. If only one of them were as enlightened as you...

...boy, that would be something. :eyes:

How can you talk that way about entire states full of people? "Backwoods hellfire ranters?" What makes that
more acceptable than the crap some people spew about San Francisco and the people who live there?

[Warpy]

37. I've been there.

Have you?

[Dreamer Tatum]

39. Yes, I have. I guess I didn't meet them ALL, like you did.

What's it like to cross off an entire state?

[cynatnite]

38. Are you saying those folks who voted for Hillary are brainwashed? n/t

[DrCory]

40. That's how I interpret the OP...

and the idea that an American Komsomol is needed to show those poor folks the "right" way is rather disturbing.

[Sadie4629]

41. One of the great things about this country

is that we all get to decide for ourselves what our own "best interests" are. How do you know that the people of those two states haven't decided what is in their own best interests and are already voting that way? Just because you may disagree with them about what their best interests are doesn't mean that they are ignorant fools, brainwashed, or misguided in any way.

Just sayin'.