Well we didn’t have to wait long to hear about some of the ideas to combat poverty did we? Today President Obama rolled out the first one. It is called Promised Zones, and will focus on 20 badly depressed areas. The first 5 they are rolling out are:
- San Antonio
- Philadelphia
- Los Angeles
- Southeastern Kentucky
- The Choctow Nation in Oklahoma.
The other 15 have not been mentioned yet, or if they have I haven’t seen them. The folks in these zones will get preferential treatment with respect to applying for Federal grants, more coordinated Government assistance and possible tax incentives that are approved by Congress.
While this is a good start, it seems a little short on the details. But I am encouraged that there seems to be some plans in place here already. Next week they will announce other measures that will try to boost high technology by connecting colleges with companies that do that and also Obama is speaking with 2 CEO’s about plans to train and hire long term unemployed people. Hopefully more (any?) details on all of these things will come out in the coming days. It would be a shame if this was just being politicized for election purposes, which is what I think of when I hear lots of ideas and no real details. I want to be wrong but after years of failed promises from our leaders I am not sure how people are expected to believe anything from them without actually seeing it. There is a trust between politicians and the regular people that I think is at an all-time low now.
While it was never great (since the 50’s when people really began to question what the Government was doing and what it was involved in) now it is virtually non-existent. Hopefully some of that can change this year and making peoples live better economically will go a long way towards that. Now we just have to see what will happen. But in the meantime, we can all do small random acts of kindness to help us get there. While this doesn’t involve the government at all, remember that we are all just people at the end of the day and we all know what is right and wrong. If you can do it, do it! This doesn’t have to involve money, it could be almost anything. You will feel much better about yourself and you will be making a difference. Try it and see. I would love to hear from you!
Orin Rosenfeld
President
Rosenfeld Realty Advisors
9858 Glades Rd. Suite 209
Boca Raton, FL 33434
Phone: 561-756-1665
Fax: 561-470-0707
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