MAYORS PLAN TO BOOST MIDDLE CLASS STRATEGY WOULD GET FEDS INVOLVED, PROVIDE SAVINGS FOR KIDS' EDUCATION.Byline: RICK ORLOV Staff Writer A task force of the nation's mayors is calling for the federal government to create a lifetime learning savings account Savings Account A deposit account intended for funds that are expected to stay in for the short term. A savings account offers lower returns than the market rates. Notes: for every child born in the country -- beginning with a $500 deposit -- as part of an overall strategy to ease poverty. The task force, chaired by Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa Antonio Ramon Villaraigosa (born Antonio (Tony) Ramon Villar, Jr. on January 23, 1953) is the mayor of Los Angeles, California. He is the first Latino mayor of Los Angeles since Cristobal Aguilar in 1872. , said the proposal calls for the government to match up to $500 a year in the accounts for 18 years to help pay for higher education higher education Study beyond the level of secondary education. Institutions of higher education include not only colleges and universities but also professional schools in such fields as law, theology, medicine, business, music, and art. or job training. The program could cost $23 billion a year, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. the U.S. Conference of Mayors' panel, which also called for increased federal investment in preschool and education to boost the middle class and reduce the number of working poor. The mayors said the federal government also should make more money available to underserved neighborhoods by offering tax credits and incentives to draw financial institutions to the areas. And they recommended changes in federal tax policy to increase deductions for the poor and broaden use of the Earned Income Tax Credit The United States federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit that reduces or eliminates the taxes that low-income married working people pay (such as payroll taxes) and also frequently operates as a wage subsidy for low-income workers. . Villaraigosa and mayors from around the country are scheduled to meet Friday in Florida to review the panel's proposals and others dealing with poverty. "The United States United States, officially United States of America, republic (2005 est. pop. 295,734,000), 3,539,227 sq mi (9,166,598 sq km), North America. The United States is the world's third largest country in population and the fourth largest country in area. is the most prosperous, economically competitive nation in the world," the panel said in its report. "Yet as mayors of America's largest cities, we are observing sweeping changes in this country that pose serious new challenges to the mobility of workers into the middle class as well as to American prosperity in general." The problems facing the middle class and cities are growing as the number of working poor rises. Complicating the situation is the growing cost of retirement for the baby boomer baby boomer also ba·by-boom·er n. A member of a baby-boom generation. Noun 1. baby boomer - a member of the baby boom generation in the 1950s; "they expanded the schools for a generation of baby boomers" boomer generation, increasing globalization globalization Process by which the experience of everyday life, marked by the diffusion of commodities and ideas, is becoming standardized around the world. Factors that have contributed to globalization include increasingly sophisticated communications and transportation of jobs and an increase in single-parent households. But with those problems come opportunities to create a better-skilled work force, officials said. "We believe the government must work with its private-sector partners to boost upward mobility and grow the middle class," the report said. rick.orlov(at)dailynews.com (213) 978-0390 MAYORS' LIST Poverty-fighting proposals by the U.S. Conference of Mayors: Invest $19.4 billion in universal preschool programs. Invest up to $650 per student in K-12 public schools. Invest in work force education programs. Create a Lifetime Learning Savings Account of $500 for every child born in the U.S. and match that amount of investment for 18 years. Offer incentives to create more banking opportunities in the inner city. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and increase minimum wages. CAPTION(S): box Box: MAYORS' LIST (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion