Democratic Governor (NM); Secretary of Commerce-Designee
Strategy to deal with poverty: unions; living wage; EITC
What we need is a strategy to deal with poverty. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit. Increase the minimum wage. Have a living wage in this country. Find ways to expand child care.
Find ways also to let Americans join a union. This will not only give them more health care but more accountability and the ability to protect themselves.
Source: 2007 Democratic Primary Debate at Howard University
, Jun 28, 2007
New Mexico ranked 48th worst in poverty, but moving forward
Q: New Mexico is ranked 48th in people living below the poverty line. 47th in median family income. 49th in people without health insurance. 46th in violent crime rate. You�re the very bottom of all those statistics of all 50 states, and you�re the
governor for 5 years.
A: We�ve made enormous progress in all of those areas. Let me talk about child poverty. I followed eight years of a Republican administration that did not invest in health care. What I have done as governor is I�ve insured every
child under five. I�ve gotten rid of junk food in schools. We�ve increased immunization rates. As president, I would expand the earned income tax credit. I have cut taxes for the middle class in New Mexico. I have cut taxes for working families. We have
significantly improved in the poverty area.
Q: But these rankings are troubling.
A: Well, we�re a poor state, but the fact is that we have been moving forward. We�ve increased spending on education and health care to attack some of those problems.