AGENDA FOR POVERTY ALLEVIATION: 14 Policy Priorities

The Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival policy agenda and analysis brought to public a recognition of the depth of poverty, low wealth and income status of a very large growing share of the US population. It is estimate that there are 140 million poor and low wealth people in the US and the COVID-19 pandemic increased this number by 8 million people.

The poor population has been publicly hidden from view in recent years, whereby, the national GOP political agenda has strongly favored the ultra-wealthy, large corporations with a huge tax reduction program that cost the government $1.7 trillion. Also, the owners of enterprises and stocks that are benefiting from the pandemic have greatly increased their share of the wealth.

The 14 policy priorities elaborated as a moral and economic agenda for the first 100 days of the Biden Administration are as follows:

• Enact comprehensive, free and just COVID-19 relief
• Guarantee quality health care for all, regardless of any pre-existing conditions
• Raise the minimum wage to $15/hour immediately
• Update the poverty measure
• Enact a federal job program..
• Protect and expand voting rights and civil rights
• Guarantee safe, quality and equitable public education, with support for protection against re-segregation
• Comprehensive and just immigration reform
• Ensure all of the rights of indigenous peoples
• Enact fair taxes
• Use the power of executive orders
• Redirect the bloated Pentagon budge towards those priorities as matters of national security
• Work with the Power People’s Campaign to establish a permanent Presidential Council to advocate for this bold agenda

This agenda reminds of the task ahead in working against the huge inequities that have arisen the US over the last 50 years, and which have become much worse in the last 20 years.