Presidential candidates' urban agenda Where the candidates stand on poverty

from the Cleveland Plain Dealer

Poverty platform

Clinton: The author of "It Takes a Village: And Other Lessons Children Teach Us" targets the nearly 13 million children living in poverty, calling the number a "blight on our nation's conscience and our economic future." The senator's nine-page position paper focuses on specific actions she would take on issues ranging from enforcing child support payments to home visits by nurses for new at-risk mothers. On a larger scale, the senator touts universal health care, a moratorium on foreclosures and the creation of at least 5 million "green collar" jobs for low-wage workers.

Obama: The former Chicago activist describes his anti-poverty policies as "the single most important focus of my economic agenda as president." Details are sketchy but include access to safe, affordable housing, job programs, and financial and medical assistance to single parents.

McCain: He would take aim at urban poverty by taking back the streets, improving urban school systems and updating job-training programs. Again, specifics are vague.

New ideas

Clinton: The former first lady would work to end child hunger by strengthening the food- stamp program, improving the food safety net and providing more access to healthy, fresh food. She would provide economic opportunity to low-income families by raising the minimum wage and expanding job-training opportunities. She would also establish a pilot program to reduce homelessness among veterans and develop a community-based re-entry plan to help ex-offenders receive job training and placement as well as drug and mental health counseling.

Obama: The son of a single mother, his most ambitious anti-poverty policy would be to replicate the success of the Harlem Children's Zone in 20 cities nationwide. He also wants to spend $1 billion for a jobs program that would place the unemployed into temporary jobs and train them for permanent ones. He would also offer incentives for businesses to relocate, or start up, in distressed inner cities.

McCain: The former naval aviator equates economic prosperity to the war on terrorism. "For the same reason you have to fight the war against the Islamic extremists on the international level, you have to ensure the streets are safe so people can go to work and businesses can operate," said the senator's senior policy adviser. The burgeoning crime rate is compounded by an inhospitable economic climate that McCain would fight by lowering taxes and improving business investment incentives.