[Mb-civic] Waiting for Action - David Broder - Washington Post

[William Swiggard]

Waiting for Action
Right Words but Little Practical Help for Poor

By David S. Broder
Thursday, September 22, 2005; Page A25

Those were good words that President Bush spoke last week, when he 
pledged "bold action" to confront the poverty of New Orleans and the 
Gulf Coast, which he correctly said "has roots in a history of racial 
discrimination, which cut off generations from the opportunity of America."

We have heard similar words from presidents in the past. In 1992, when 
African Americans rioted in Los Angeles after the acquittal of the white 
police officers who had beaten Rodney King, the first President Bush 
decried the violence but said, "After peace is restored . . . we must 
then turn again to the underlying causes of such tragic events. We must 
keep on working to create a climate of understanding and tolerance, a 
climate that refuses to accept racism, bigotry, anti-Semitism and hate 
of any kind, anytime, anywhere."

But the capacity of us comfortable, affluent white Americans to put 
aside any lasting concern about those who are isolated by poverty or 
race from the mainstream of society is almost limitless.

Earlier this week both John Kerry and John Edwards accused the Bush 
administration and the Republican Congress of turning their backs on the 
poor while lavishing tax cuts on the wealthy.

But this is not exclusively a Republican failing. Lyndon Johnson 
declared a "war on poverty," but he then diverted the resources it 
required to the other war, in Vietnam. Bill Clinton launched a 
much-publicized "national dialogue on race." It vanished in a torrent of 
words.

There is, however, a real difference in the records of the two parties. 
Poverty rates declined during those Democratic administrations -- 
especially for minorities. They have risen under this administration.

And even now, when the president is saying all the right things about 
the problems of poverty highlighted by the plight of Hurricane Katrina 
victims, his administration is dragging its feet on practical steps to 
help meet their needs.

Medical care for the evacuees from Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama is 
urgently required. As Mark McClellan, the top federal health official in 
the Department of Health and Human Services, said last week, "The best 
and fastest way to provide help to evacuees is to support the state 
programs in place and support the local health care providers already in 
place, not to take time to build major new systems."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/21/AR2005092102510.html?nav=hcmodule
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.islandlists.com/pipermail/mb-civic/attachments/20050922/bdeeb468/attachment.htm