FACTBOX: White House candidates' proposals on poverty
(Reuters) - U.S. presidential candidates are focusing their attention on poverty as food prices rise and American voters struggle with a sputtering economy.
Below are some elements of the anti-poverty proposals put forward by Republican John McCain and Democrats Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
OBAMA
The Illinois senator has pledged to fight poverty by:
- expanding transitional jobs programs
- ensuring the freedom for workers to form unions
- strengthening programs that provide capital to businesses owned by minorities
- expanding the earned income tax credit and raising the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011
- expanding a program that provides home visits by trained registered nurses to low-income expectant mothers
- requiring employers to provide seven paid sick days a year
- expanding early childhood education programs so poor children do not have a disadvantage in school
CLINTON
The New York senator has promised to fight poverty by:
- Raising the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011 and expanding the earned income tax credit
- investing $1 billion to create affordable housing trust funds nationwide
- providing new job training opportunities for 1.5 Million at-risk youth Continued...
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