Obama vs. McCain - Urban Policy
How is urban policy represented on the respective campaign websites of John McCain and Barack Obama? This was the simple question I asked myself while reading about Obama’s economic policies. I half expected to come out empty handed on both websites, and in actuality, half was the appropriate word.
[Image courtesy of ABC News.]
A while back I echoed the sentiments of the NY Times that urban conditions and policy often go unnoticed in federal politics. Shortly after this I discovered Campaign in the City: Mayor’s on the Issues. Intiated by The Nation and Drum Major Institute, it attempted to define an urban agenda for the upcoming election.
These are only two of the many outlets through which people have called upon the candidates to address urban issues. So far, only half of the political spectrum has responded.
First, let me share my discoveries of Barack Obama’s urban policy.
Many of us know that the first step towards “recovery” is recognition, and thus only consider something a problem when we are aware of and can define the problem. This is exactly the strategy employed by Obama.
According to the urban policy page on his website, the problem is as follows:
Failing Commitment to America’s Economic Centers: Today, government programs aimed at strengthening metropolitan areas are spread across the federal government with insufficient coordination or strategy. Worse, many federal programs inadvertently undermine cities and regions by encouraging inefficient and costly patterns of development and local competition.
As such, Obama’s plan to address this problem is laid out in the following manner, with full descriptions of each bullet point omitted:
Strengthen Federal Commitment to our Cities
- Create a White House Office on Urban Policy
- Fully Fund the Community Development Block Grant
- Do No Harm
Stimulate Economic Prosperity in our Metropolitan Regions
- Support Job Creation
- Enhance Workforce Training
- Increase Access to Capital for Underserved Businesses
- Create a National Network of Public-Private Business Incubators
- Convert our Manufacturing Centers into Clean Technology Leaders
- Strengthen Core Infrastructure
- Improve Access to Jobs
- Invest in a Skilled Clean Technologies Workforce
HOUSING
- Create a New FHA Housing Security Program
- Create Fund to Help Homeowners Avoid Foreclosures
- Lower People’s Interest Payments by Creating a New Mortgage Interest Tax Credit
- Provide an Additional $10 Billion of Mortgage Revenue Bond Authority
- Increase the Supply of Affordable Housing throughout Metropolitan Regions
POVERTY
- Establish ‘Promise Neighborhoods’ for Areas of Concentrated Poverty
- Increase the Minimum Wage
- Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit
- Help Low-Income Workers Enter the Job Market
STRENGTHEN LIVABILITY OF CITIES
- Build More Livable and Sustainable Communities
- Control Superfund Sites and Data
- Use Innovative Measures to Dramatically Improve Efficiency of Buildings
- Foster Healthy Communities
URBAN EDUCATION
- Support Teachers in Urban Schools
- Expand Early Childhood Education: Obama has a comprehensive “Zero to Five” plan to provide critical supports to young children and their parents by investing $10 billion per year
- Reduce the High School Dropout Rate
CRIME AND LAW ENFORCEMENT
- Support Local Law Enforcement
- Reduce Crime Recidivism by Providing Ex-Offender Supports
- End the Dangerous Cycle of Youth Violence
- Address Gun Violence in Cities
- End Racial Profiling
STRENGTHEN HOMELAND SECURITY
- Allocate Funds Based on Risk
- Prepare Effective Emergency Response Plans
- Improve Interoperable Communications Systems
- Safeguard Mass Public Transportation
SUPPORT FAMILIES
- Provide a Tax Cut for Working Families
- Strengthening Fatherhood and Families
- Support Parents with Young Children
- Expand High-Quality Afterschool Opportunities
- Expand the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit
- Cap Outlandish Interest Rates on Payday Loans and Improve Disclosure
- Encourage Responsible Lending Institutions to Make Small Consumer Loans
Whether you agree with every point is less important than the fact that his team appears to have given serious thought to the condition of urban cores. I say “less important” because, relative to John McCain, having considered urban issues at all puts Obama one step ahead.
John McCain’s issues page does not list anything in regard to urban centers. Instead he lists his thoughts and plans for the following categories.
- Economy
- Energy
- National Security
- Healthcare
- Iraq
- Climate Change
- Veterans
- Immigration
- Education
- 2nd Amendment
- Judicial Philosophy
- Technology
- Fighting Crime
- Natural Heritage
- Agricultural Policies
- The Sanctity of Life
- Space Program
- Ethics Reform
This is the actual order in which he presents these issues, compared to Obama who lists his issues alphabetically. So, at least McCain gives us an indication of his priorities. Thus, the complete oversight of urban issues becomes really telling. I even gave McCain the benefit of the doubt, and scanned through his other issues to see if they address urban policy in a tangential manner. Nope. This guy really is ALL foreign policy and domestic threat management.
Although if we really want to play the game of politics, and ideas of maximum return on investment, we can look at historical voting patterns which suggest a bias toward the Democratic party. He’s human after all, and without the proper incentives he is likely to pick and choose where he spends his energy. However, given the growing number of urban dwellers and the increasing role cities will play in the sustainability movement, I do not see how a presidential candidate can ignore the issues of urban centers.
Given this feeling of mine, I wrote his campaign the following note:
Does John McCain have an urban policy? Considering that 50% of the world now lives in urban areas, which is equally reflected in the states, it would appear that urban cores deserve as much focus as foreign policy. This point only becomes stronger when considering the “greening” of America. Cities have the most to offer toward reducing our carbon footprint due to economies of scale. Sure we have enough land and ocean front to keep drilling for oil and the erection of wind turbines, but that has more to do with eliminating our dependence on foreign oil than pursuing sustainability. Cities offer density, mass transit, collective infrastructures, and see higher GDP per capita than dispersed areas. Therefore, cities need to be addressed at all levels of government, and leaves me baffled as to why John McCain’s website does not address urban policy. Is this oversight, or has he chosen to ignore urban centers and the people living in them?
I doubt I will get a response, even their disclaimer warns that you are not likely to receive one. Thus, if anyone works for or knows anyone that works for the McCain campaign, I invite them to use this as a platform to respond and/or discuss urban issues.
Screen shots were taken of each candidate’s campaign websites this morning. These screenshots were captured using a site, Browsershots, that tests a website across a range of browsers.
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Comments
I was similarly impressed by watching footage of Obama’s CEO’s for Cities speech in Miami. He spoke that as a former community organizer in Chicago, he was long familiar personally with the struggle for federal attention:
“You need a partner in the White House… You shouldn’t be succeeding despite Washington. You should be succeeding with a hand from Washington. Neglect is not a policy for America’s metro areas. You need someone in the White House you can count on, just like your citizens count on you.”
Thanks Eric, I just found the video and had an opportunity to watch it. I would like to add 2 more quotes.
The first, follows directly after yours, “…neglect is not a policy for our metropolitan areas.” Which best sums up the intent behind this post.
Another that falls about halfway through the speech, “We have to stop seeing cities as the problem, and start seeing them as the solution,” which provides the notion of urgency that I hope will catch McCain’s attention.
Also, still no answer from the McCain camp.
its funny. I am writing a paper for a class im taking at VCU and we have to compare the policies of both Obama and Mccain towards urbanism, cities, etc. I found so much on Obamas’ priorities and i cant find anything from Mccain… im googling everything… thats what led me to your website and unfortunately im still empty handed!!!
To echo Kristen, I too am writing a paper on Obama vs. McCain urban policies and have found absoulutely no information on McCain’s urban policy. Obama clearly spells out every aspect of his urban policy. McCain on the other hand, barely mentions it. It is unmistakeably evident where his priorities lie. Kudos to President Elect Obama for taking the time to have a plan on such an issue that affects us all.
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Thank you for taking the time to create such an appropriate post. I sincerely hope both camps read your post and make a concerted effort to address this issue as it has the potential to help so many in so many ways.