Middle Class Task Force: Obama, Biden Launch Plans For Working Families

The Obama administration announced the creation of a White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families on Friday during a ceremony demonstrating its commitment to the labor community and working class Americans.

The task force, to be chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, will be asked to help raise the living standards for working and middle income Americans. Representatives of labor, business, and advocacy communities will play consulting and advisory roles. In addition, Obama signed three executive orders on Friday, reversing directives issued during the Bush years that made it harder for employees of federal contractors to unionize.

"I believe we need to reverse many of the policies toward organized labor we've seen these last eight years, policies with which I have sharply disagreed," said the president. "I do not view the labor movement as part of the problem; to me, and to my administration, labor unions are a big part of the solution. We need to level the playing field for workers and the unions that represent their interests."

Below is more information on the Task Force, as sent from the White House:

The Vice President and members of the task force will work with a wide array of federal agencies that have responsibility for key issues facing middle class and working families, and expedite administrative reforms, propose Executive orders, and develop legislative and policy proposals that can be of special importance to working families.

The White House unveiled today the initial version of the Task Force's new website: www.AStrongMiddleClass.gov. Transparency is a key priority for the taskforce and any materials from meetings or reports produced will be made available to the public and on the website. The website will be updated with additional content as the Task Force gets underway.

President Obama has set the following goals for the task force:

* Expanding education and lifelong training opportunities
* Improving work and family balance
* Restoring labor standards, including workplace safety
* Helping to protect middle-class and working-family incomes
* Protecting retirement security

Members of the White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families will include the Secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Commerce, as well as the Directors of the National Economic Council, the Office of Management and Budget, the Domestic Policy Council, and the Chair of the Council of Economic Advisors.

The Middle Class Task Force's first official meeting will be on February 27, 2009 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The topic of the first meeting will be: "Green Jobs: A Pathway to a Strong Middle Class."

Comments

[Gigabyte]

This is truly encouraging beyond words.

Heck, I have been a Republican since the 80's, but this is really inspiring. Its also non-partisan. Who can honestly say this is not in the best interest of all Americans? Or that it is inconsistent with American Values?

The 55 Medicare plan will provide a safety net to those who want to pursue entrerprenerial activities and either want to avoid, or can't make it through medical underwriting.

Making college more affordable is just good business. Why should college kids be burdened with above market interest rates just so they can take part in the American Dream?

Let's get real - do we really need another generation of (bond) coupon clippers who got lucky in the gene pool but contribute nothing to society?

[JustAProgressive]

Larry Kudlow and his ilk on CNBC were out of control on this, accusing Obama et al. of class warfare. Interesting; maybe it is, maybe it is not. But if it is, it started with Bush in 2001 - if not with Reagan in 1981. And this is the first real counter offensive.

[MyTake]

Good move Mr. Obama.

I suggested during your campaign that the U.S. needs a slight constitutional change. You need two vice president positions. You need a vice president devoted to international affairs and a vice president devoted to national affairs.

The world has changed and your org. chart has not changed with it.

Imagine if you could appoint your VP International Affairs to head a middle east task force to cover that entire mess. You need a full time point man or women to head up international matters. The State Department needs to reduced to getting work done and get out of this never ending shuttle diplomacy mode.

Having those two positions would free you to do what you do best - communicate, inspire and going around to see that things are getting done.

[Warthog]

Agreed. I get the feeling our good VP Biden will be running his arse off. Consulting in international relations one moment, troubleshooting wage inequality in Topeka the next. Unlike the role relegated to many VPs, the O is not a person to have subordinates sit idly by.

[KathyinCT]

Biden is a perfect choice.

He comes from a truly working class family -- as in his Dad had to have a job so the family could have a house and food.

And he's been there as a kid, when his Dad lost his job.

Too many of the DC and media crowd were either born to money or have earned so much that they can't remember what it was like to be scared of not having enough money to live.

Witness Bush the Younger, born with a silver spoon in his mouth, never looked for a job, never worried about college tuition, never worked summers at a McDonald's to go back to school . . . . . .

Biden is in touch with real people.

[Barometer]

Every American believes they're middle class - even when the cupboard is bare.

How about a Czar of Rising Expectations and BS Resistors??

[Nasa650]

Finally a president who supports labor. We are all laborers in this workforce. But Obama must go further to regulate executive pay. It's runaway. Look at Chevron and Exxon's profits. They layoff people as soon as their profit margins are down. Stop the bleeding of the American worker. We must increase the pay overall of american workers and create Federal Labor Standards that trump State labor Laws. Right now you cannot sue your employer for wages if he lays you off for no reason. California has the losest labor laws. An employer can get away with practically anything. There is no compensation for hard work. Stop the letting corporations out source our jobs too. Make the corporations hire an American worker first and if they cannot find a suitable candidate then make them have to petition the State or Feds to hire an H-1B. It's just not fair to people who were born here to be replaced by cheaper and foreign workers.

[lisa12345]

Yes, we need to make companies stay on US soil unless there is good reason to leave (and it won't be taking jobs away from Americans). Of course, if they do go overseas, they need to comply with environmental and labor laws. That is tricky, though, as some freefloating multinationals do not have to follow any said nation's law. Of course, that is another topic. But I hope that perhaps we will stop the multinational nonsense and get those corporations under control, too...

[Warthog]

This exporting of jobs is insidious. As example: In a city near where I live in Thailand is a computer firm that does system programming. Their employees are doing exactly what I did in the 1980's for HP in America, but these people are being paid about $10 a day. They are trained in Taiwan, and are doing the grunt work on SQL on American based computer systems. I would guess about 100,000 American jobs in just this field have been shipped to SE Asia.

[hilary916]

More kudos to the Dream Team!! Thanks for looking out for us!

[judiNJ]

I, for one, lost my job to India. I wouldn't mind seeing everything come back. All
but one of my company's US plants have just shut down, putting 500 people out
of work. The last one is teetering on the brink and will probably close down the
first half of the year.

[lisa12345]

So sorry to hear this Judi.

I have been thinking lately about my GI generation grandparents. My grandparents, all four, worked in factories since the fifties and sixties. They worked their way up at the plants/factories,
even my grandmothers, although they did not go as far. They loved work. They had decent wages. They had wonderful benefits and retirement packages. Some of the policies needed some work, but it was still pretty darn good. Those jobs are gone, the companies moved over seas. It saddened them to see products that they saw as their "own" (their company label) with a made in china label.

[HerbTee]

Wow, our new President amazes me day after day! What an excellent choice Mr. President. VP Fightin' Joe Biden is definitely the "Working Man's man". Put Joe to work Mr. President as this man has great depth, humility and a strong reach with us everyday common folks out here. He'll be your right arm man and can be trusted even if you ever come to doubt some of those around you.

[AZterritory]

If Joe can just get my family back to where we were 8 years ago we would be ecstatic. Heck, I'd settle for anytime under the last Democratic presidency, surplus land, remember?

[kshawNCvoter]

while others are pontificating President Obama is taking care of the people's business.

[JMBrodie]

Obama is still playing chess.

[nellie]

Thanks, Sam. I haven't seen this story any where else today.

[Liberalforsure]

Wow, give me a moment Obama to get used to a president that cares about ordinary average americans and not the RICH only. I just need a moment...

[Indie2008]

At the risk of sounding xenophobic, what about the jobs that have gone to Mexico and overseas, and aren't coming back? ... and who has benefitted from that policy?

[08timefortruth]

Well it wasn't the middle class or the "poor" so that leaves only the wealthy doesn't it?

[linton]

Under whose watch were these jobs shipped out? The beneficiaries have been the big companies who want to pay their employees and shareholders less and are willing to pay themselves huge dividends.