|
An
"Agenda
of
Opportunity"
to
Help
America's
Poor
By
Senator
Tim
Scott
Charleston
Post
&
Courier
January
11,
2014
When
I
was
growing
up,
my
now
93-year-old
grandfather
would
hold
the
paper
-
just
right,
in
plain
view
-
at
the
breakfast
table
every
day.
He
looked
like
an
executive,
or
a
doctor,
or
an
attorney,
hoping
an
impressionable
young
man
would
see
the
benefit
of
education.
But
my
grandfather
could
not
read.
The
circumstances
of
life
forced
him
out
of
a
segregated
classroom
in
the
third
grade
to
a
cotton
field
so
he
could
help
support
his
family.
He
has
now
lived
long
enough
to
see
a
grandson
elected
to
Congress,
and
a
great-grandson
graduate
from
Georgia
Tech
and
start
graduate
school
at
Duke.
That
is
the
power
of
opportunity
in
America.
In
a
single
lifetime,
families
can
go
from
not
being
given
a
fair
chance
to
read
to
graduating
from
college.
We
only
need
a
level
playing
field
to
start
from,
a
fair
chance
to
succeed,
and
an
appreciation
for
education
and
hard
work.
Last
week,
I
rode
a
public
bus
through
Charleston.
It
is
clear
people
are
hurting.
I
consistently
hear
deeply
personal
and
unique
stories
of
struggle
as
I
travel
our
state.
People
want
to
work,
they
want
to
get
ahead
and
they
want
a
better
life
for
their
children
and
grandchildren.
They
want
to
believe
the
greatest
of
all
America's
promises:
that
life
will
be
better
for
those
who
come
after
me
if
I
do
right.
America
was
built
and
is
still
being
built
by
folks
just
like
this.
They
stand
up
in
the
face
of
adversity
and
create
a
better
life
from
it.
The
questions
for
those
of
us
in
government
are
simple:
Are
we
part
of
the
solution
or
part
of
the
problem?
Are
we
an
ally
in
this
struggle
to
get
ahead,
or
do
we
unwittingly
make
it
more
difficult?
Are
we
trying
the
same
tactics
with
the
same
results?
Those
results
-
not
motives
-
are
worthy
of
challenge.
After
50
years
of
a
government-led
"War
on
Poverty,"
poverty
rates
are
increasing.
Our
country
faces
a
poverty
rate
of
15
percent
as
46.5
million
Americans
live
in
poverty.
Those
numbers
represent
significant
increases
from
2008,
when
39.8
million
were
living
in
poverty.
In
1974,
the
poverty
rate
was
11.2
percent.
These
numbers
reflect
a
hard
truth:
Regardless
of
intentions,
government-centric
efforts
to
alleviate
poverty
simply
are
not
working.
Were
this
a
military
conflict
we
would
have
changed
strategies
decades
ago.
But
somehow
we
fail
to
learn
and
continue
to
believe
that
if
only
we
spend
more,
criticize
others'
ideas
more,
and
become
even
more
dogmatic
about
our
own
perceived
solutions,
next
year
will
be
different.
It
has
not
been
different
in
half
a
century.
So
I
propose
a
new
way
forward:
robust
initiatives
giving
our
students
and
workers
the
greatest
chance
to
succeed
-
an
agenda
of
opportunity.
In
the
coming
months,
I
will
work
with
anyone
else
committed
to
building
a
better
future
to
develop
bold
ideas
that
break
away
from
our
past
failures.
This
includes
targeting
micro-financing
and
tax
reform
to
increase
economic
freedom,
expanding
school
choice
so
every
child
has
a
chance
at
a
quality
education,
and
providing
alternatives
for
single
parents
to
work
their
40
hours
a
week
by
allowing
for
wider
use
of
comp
time.
I
will
also
work
to
find
ways
to
help
redevelop
our
poorest
areas
without
pushing
current
residents
out,
bring
down
energy
costs
that
consume
a
quarter
of
after-tax
income
for
families
making
$30,000
or
less,
help
young
offenders
and
those
aging
out
of
the
foster
care
system
to
receive
the
vital
opportunity
for
education,
and
ensure
our
kids
who
want
to
attend
college
can
do
so
without
incurring
debilitating
debt.
With
these
ideas,
and
others
to
come,
communities
can
grow
and
thrive.
I
have
lived
a
family's
journey
from
cotton
to
Congress.
I
know
the
sense
of
empowerment
and
optimism
it
provides.
I
know
that
once
the
standard
is
set
in
a
family,
a
community,
a
state,
that
generations
to
come
will
set
even
higher
expectations
for
themselves.
Success
is
created
in
studio
apartments
and
garages,
at
kitchen
tables,
and
in
classrooms
across
the
nation
-
not
in
government
conference
rooms
in
Washington.
Tim
Scott,
a
Republican,
represents
South
Carolina
in
the
U.S.
Senate.
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