Half in Ten

Today we launched Half in Ten: From Poverty to Prosperity, a new campaign to cut poverty by 50 percent over the next 10 years. We are pleased that Senator John Edwards has taken the role of National Chair of this ambitious new project. This effort brings together four organizations with the experience, knowledge, and resources to make our goal a reality: ACORN, the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the Coalition on Human Needs, and the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights.

The multi-year campaign will focus on the issues facing the poor and middle class in America, building an effective constituency to advocate for specific policy changes. Working from the recommendations of the Center for American Progress’s 2007 Poverty Task Force report, the first years of the campaign will focus on:

• Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Child Tax Credit
• Raising both state and federal minimum wages
• Increasing the number of low-income families receiving child care assistance
• Increasing eligibility for unemployment insurance

According to modeling by the Urban Institute, the expanded tax credits, minimum wage increases, and child care assistance alone would cut poverty by a full 26 percent.

For more information please visit our website, www.halfinten.org.