A Missed Opportunity

In the days immediately following Hurricane Katrina, progressives talked about how the tragedy would give rise to a serious discussion of poverty in America. Yet five months later, that public conversation has yet to occur. While silence on the part of the current administration might be expected, progressives also have failed to speak out about poverty. Why?

This question stands at the center of an article by Ezra Klein in the February issue of The American Prospect. Klein argues that the Democratic Party has lost its historic interest in issues pertaining to poverty due to its perceived lack of success as an electoral issue and painful memories of the infighting present in the welfare reform debate of the late 1990s.

While progressives may not be able to talk about poverty in the same language employed during the 1960s, that does not mean, at least in Klein's analysis, that poverty is a politically dead or morally unimportant issue. Furthermore, progressives have a great deal to say about poverty if they rethink the ways in which they typically talk about the issue.

Klein's optimism flows from the successful and proven policies pioneered by progressive thinkers and organizations. For example, CFED, which has its southern regional office in Durham, N.C., has proven the power of different kinds of asset building programs. Similar promising initiatives have been undertaken in the areas of health care and labor market reform.

Instead of avoiding conversations about poverty, progressives should take pride in their policies and programs and talk about they can protect the most vulnerable citizens and support a fundamental American value; namely, that anyone willing to work should be able to earn enough to provide for life's basics.