Child Poverty
Marian Wright Edelman, my friend and founder of the Children's Defense Fund, says it best: "If we don't stand up for children, then we don't stand for much."
In my 35 years as an advocate for children and families, I have never met a child without potential. But I've met plenty of children growing up in extraordinary hardship and lacking the basic tools they need to succeed. Even in the United States, the wealthiest nation in the world, 13 million children still live in poverty and 5 million live in extreme poverty. Too many children are expected to overcome these hurdles, become productive citizens, and compete in a modern global economy without the benefit of sound schooling, decent housing, proper nutrition, and adequate health care.
This is not just an economic problem. It's a moral outrage.
I've been working to better the lives of children for 35 years, and the future of America's children will be a centerpiece of my presidency. The issue is personal for me. My own mother struggled through a childhood of neglect to give her own children the opportunities she never had. My mother taught me at a young age that all children deserve the chance to live up to their God-given potential and make the most of their lives.
For the better part of my professional and public life, I've focused on issues like children's health care, education, foster care and adoption, child care, and education -- all of which have a direct impact on children and their families. I took an extra year in law school to study child development and to work on legal assistance for the poor. Then I went to work for the Children's Defense Fund, where I represented abused and neglected children and children with disabilities. In Arkansas, I was tasked with leading an effort to reform the state's education system, then ranked near the bottom. I started a special program for mothers of pre-schoolers to get their kids ready for kindergarten, and also worked on reforming the state's rural health care system, which helped many poor families and their children. As First Lady, I pushed the effort to expand Head Start and help create Early Head Start, to reform our nation's foster care and adoption systems, and to strengthen child care across the United States.
After universal health care didn't succeed, I helped create the Children's Health Insurance Program, which now covers six million children in need.
Running for president has only strengthened my resolve to find solutions to problems affecting our children. In southern Ohio today, I announced a plan to take on child poverty -- and to end the moral outrage of children living in such neglect.
I have two bold goals: First, we're going to end child hunger by 2012. It's a national crisis and a national disgrace that more than 12 million children in America go hungry every day. I will do everything I can to reduce that number to zero.
Second, we're going to cut child poverty in half by 2020, lifting more than 6 million children above the poverty line.
You can learn the full details of my plan on my website.
These goals are ambitious, but we can -- and must -- achieve them. Child poverty is an affront to our most basic American values. Indeed, our treatment of children is a measure of our decency, compassion, and humanity as a people. It's time for the best of America -- our talent, innovative spirit, and potential for progress -- to be reflected in our children. The children of America are a national treasure -- and a national responsibility. Securing their future will be at the heart of my presidency.
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Dear Mrs. Clinton,
I believe you are sincere in your wish to end child poverty. I share your wish. However, what I would like to ask you is this, how many children could we have fed if we weren't spending $10B per month on the Iraq war? In my mind, your vote for the war was a vote against ending child poverty and every other well meaning issue you support. The Iraq war is a monumental waste of taxpayer dollars -- money that could have been put to much greater use here at home on the many pressing domestic issues. And you voted for it, in fact, you said of your vote, "I cast it with conviction." In case you forgot, here is what you said: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkS9y5t0tR0.
Everyone can agree that children need support. What I don't get is how you plan to make the program sustainable by revealing where this money is coming from, and where the return on investment is.
Why not ask Obama the same questions? Oh wait, it's OK, it's Obama!
Did you REALLY just ask what the return on investment was on helping children get out of poverty and improving their education? WOW. I must be living in The Twilight Zone, as I think that is a complete no-brainer.
Now that's being a unifier--overlooking all the diatribes against you by Arianna (yet another one today) and on HuffPost daily and posting your article here. You are a class act, Hillary.
Senator Clinton:
These are the first 2 things you need to do if elected President.
1 - Imprison Bush and Cheney for their crimes.
2 - Immediately withdraw all US troops in Iraq. Iraq was never a threat to the US. The war was based on manufactured lies by the Bush Administration.
Thanks for the post Hillary.
I'm voting and working for Obama.
Thanks for the post Hillary.
I'm voting and working for you and for children and for women and for your ability to really do something about it.
Another spring break and still too many well-funded college kids taking off for Baja Mexico, or Florida, or Hawaii, or who knows where, instead of using the time to give a leg up to their fellow Americans in New Orleans, for example, or other poverty zip codes across America. Hey "big kids," time to roll up your sleeves and help all the "little kids" who are not as advantaged as you are and have been for so long. Hillary Clinton has always shown leadership on this issue of giving a leg up to children. If we really are "the people we've been waiting for," let's see some dramatic action now, in this "spring break." Come on "big kids," we who pay your tuition, your health insurance, support you, still clean your rooms, and who now take care of your grandparents, we are waiting for you to show your stuff where it really can make a change in other people's lives. So take some time out from swooning at Obama rallies and/or sunning yourselves on the beach. Yeah, you work hard in school (we hope) but you really haven't worked that hard at anything yet. The challenges are yet to come. Get busy. Do something for your country and your fellow Americans.
You are the most qualified, caring, hard working candidate and should be President of our great Nation. I think you will carry the day on March 4.
Amen to that!
Senator Clinton,
I am your constituent. In your 2 senate races, I voted for you both times. Your stubborn decision to grant Bush authorization to invade Iraq contrary to the sentiments of your constituency and international law, was a grave mistake. In the summer of 2002 you did not hear our voices staging protests across NYC. I called your Senate office in D.C. and NYC on numerous occasions to state my disagreement and appeal that you reconsider your vote. Each and every time, I was greeted by your dismissive and arrogant staff. That vote was followed by a series of other questionable votes, among them your aye on the bankruptcy bill and the resolution re. Iran. Moreover though today you advocate bringing the troops back home in 90 days, you have in the past advocated keeping U.S. troops in Iraq for an indefinite period of time. You have flip flopped on this issue. Finally, in the last debate you seem to have expressed regret for your vote on Iraq. Too little, too late. I do not appreciate your fear mongering ad, I do not appreciate your surrogate Sen. Bayh expressing it is not a question of if but when we are again attacked. This is remindful of the reprehensible Rovian scare tactics of the Bush administration. Finally, I must confess, I am not comfortable with the idea two families hold the grip on power and the presidency for decades on end. I welcome change and the opportunity to elect someone other than a Bush or a Clinton.
It's Senator Obama's time. He will make a very fine president. I have no doubt.
Thank you, Senator Clinton. We will never forget your historic run for the Presidency.
I won't have a problem forgetting about it and if luck is with us this will be the end of the Clinton's.
Wait until Obama's been in power for a couple of years and the war is still going, the economy is struggling (unless GW's tax cuts become permanent) and the Senate and House are still deadlocked to the point of nothing getting done. In other words, the same as today!
But please end it soon so we can get started.
Why hasnt clinton or bama criticized Mc cain for not rejecting and repudiating MINISTER HAGEE for calling Catholics a cult and relating them to Hitler..Mc Cain said he doesnt speak for him but WELCOMES his support. However he rejected the talk show host the other day. STRAIGHT TALK EXPRESS IS REALLY DERAILED.
and this is relevant because.................
Seems like Hilary is stealing a line from the Edwards' campaign. Anyway, she didn't do much to stop her husband from dismantling welfare and leaving millions of single mother's and children without the safety net to protect them from sliding further in to poverty than they were in before. Just like Reagan they create a problem that does not exist and then offer a solution to make matters worse and to justify the further transfer of wealth to the rich and wealthy. She remains a corporatist and her motherly and compassionate writing is not going to change her true colors now.
Of all the things I hate about George W. Bush, none bothers me more that his unwillingness to admit a mistake. In Hillary Clinton I see exactly the same character flaw. Why does she continue to defend her vote for war in Iraq? Does she care about Iraqi children? John Edwards voted for the war too, but he apologized and called his vote a mistake. Why won't Hillary do the same? The Democratic party deserves better. I'm voting for Obama.
If you bothered to watch the last debate, you might have noted she said the very words you maintain she hasn't said. I don't know how many times she has to say it in order for it to penetrate the filtered minds of Obama supporters.
For Hillary to say that she wishes she could have her Iraq vote back, or "if I knew then what I know now I'd have voted differently" is not the same as apologizing for her vote. Words matter, as Hillary admitted during the debate. Remember, she insisted that "rejecting" Farrakan is different from "denouncing" him.
Demonax,
Spoken like a true Obamabot....more righteous rhetoric from Obama lama ding dongs who do not get it.....
How's the Resko story and the royal canadian 'Outies' working for you these days....
Marian Wright Edelman also said when President Clinton signed off on the welfare reform bill, "His signature on this pernicious bill makes a mockery of his pledge not to hurt children."
Homelessness amongst children in California appears to way up compared to before welfare reform. 25% of the individuals served in a drop-in shelter here in Sacramento are children or youth.
The programs that feed poor children are totally inadequate, cut to the bone. In this area of Michigan, soup kitchens are filling in the need to feed the poor. The working poor, that is.
By 2020?
Is there any sign that she favors redistributing income to end poverty?
This is an critical issue. At the end of Jimmy Carter's term the top 1% got about 8% of all income. At the end of the 12 years of Reagan/Bush the top 1%'s share had risen to 14%. At the end of the Clinton presidency it was 21%. Now it's about 25%.
With so much income going to the top 1% it will be impossible to deal with poverty. Universal health care, the educational attainment gap, drugs and gang violence, the mental health crisis amongst the poor, rebuilding the economic infrastructure -- all of these and much more won't happen if the economic system primarily benefits the top 1%.
Werner - interesting how you say top 1% "got". How about "earned". The top 1% also pay about a third of the federal tax burden. The top 20% pay over 90% of fed taxes. The top income earners are the ones frankly that are respnsible for creating jobs in this country and fuel the economic system, provide health insurance to their employees (most), provide pensions. The injustice you imply is completely dishonest.
Good one ...
Hillary, I voted for you in Texas early voting and so did my family and most of my friends.
Obama's made a lot of hay out of saying he didn't vote for the Iraq war. He wants us to ignore that he wasn't a U.S. Senator at the time of the vote. He wants us to take his word for it.
Bill Clinton bailed America out of the billions of dollars in debt that Bush 41 and Reagan left us.
I can only assume you'd use the same advisors to do the same.
But as I have sadly learned, America is more misogynistic than it is racist.
I wish you the best.
Do you mean to insinuate that it would be better if America were more racist than misogynistic?
In point of fact Obama says he spoke out in opposition of the war from the beginning not voted against it, something he did not have the opportunity to do as he was engaged in state legislature not federal. You need not take his word for it, it is public record. Even HRC is not questioning the fact. He did so, by the way, while running for office at great risk to his campaign as people like w, and unfortunately Hillary, were supporting war and his view was highly unpopular. We now all see that he was right.
Though so few HRC supporters want to face it this campaign is not about racism or misogyny, it is about character and judgment. Hillary is running a Rovian campaign after it’s effectiveness has been used up by w. Obama has shown better of both character and judgment and is winning because of it.
At great risk to his career? Oh, really, his original opponent withdrew, the guy he actually ran against was in the race 3 weeks...how was he at risk? He wasn't, he didn't really have a viable opponent. And in the race before that he got all the opponents thrown out of the race so had no chance of losing. This is really the first time he has risked anything, really, and he doesn't give many straight answers for such an open and honest person, as he presents himself. This campaign, with an actual viable opponent, as soon as he started losing after NH, he played the racist card on the Clinton's, he admitted it on TV at the debate following SC. His minions still make little remarks as if the Clinton's had actually said something bad, and it shadow's how the neo-con's rewrite history, and keep saying their version until everyone thinks that's what happened. I wish someone would speak up when they say that stuff and respond "oh, you mean when you guys pushed the racist storylines for 2 weeks?' and see how they respond. I notice when rewrites happen, after 7 years of them, and Obama does it and it's a bad sign.
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
