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Fight
poverty
by
investing
in
opportunity
The
State
Senator
Tim
Scott
May
19,
2016
Growing
up
in
poverty
was
not
fun.
To
be
certain,
there
was
a
lot
of
love
in
my
house,
and
I
will
never
be
able
to
repay
my
mother
for
the
sacrifices
she
made
to
keep
a
roof
over
our
head.
But
when
you
are
using
the
oven
to
heat
your
house,
or
your
grandmother
is
walking
miles
upon
miles
each
day
to
work
as
a
maid
because
she
could
not
afford
the
bus,
I
can
say
that
it
is
easy
for
hope
to
slip
away.
Over
the
past
seven
years,
poverty
in
our
nation
has
only
become
more
concentrated.
A
recent
study
by
the
Economic
Innovation
Group
shows
that
more
than
50
million
Americans
are
living
in
“distressed
communities,”
including
1.4
million
South
Carolinians.
Between
2010
and
2013,
these
distressed
communities
lost
6.7
percent
of
their
jobs,
and
8.3
percent
of
their
businesses
closed,
while
prospering
ZIP
codes
saw
job
growth
of
17.4
percent
and
business
growth
of
8.8
percent.
The
study
looked
at
seven
factors
—
percentage
of
the
population
25
or
older
with
a
high
school
degree,
housing
vacancy
rate,
adults
not
working,
poverty
rate,
median
income
ratio,
change
in
employment
percentage
and
the
percentage
of
change
in
the
number
of
businesses
—
in
order
to
drill
down
to
the
root
causes
of
poverty.
In
Columbia,
39.1
percent
of
the
population
lives
in
a
distressed
ZIP
code.
So
while
the
poverty
rate
is
24
percent,
or
a
quarter
of
the
population,
the
percentage
of
Columbia
residents
who
live
in
communities
either
already
in
poverty
or
in
danger
of
slipping
into
poverty
is
much
higher.
In
other
areas
of
the
state,
this
problem
is
even
more
pronounced;
Williamsburg
and
Barnwell
counties,
for
example,
the
entire
population
lives
in
a
distressed
ZIP
code.
As
someone
who
comes
from
one
of
these
distressed
communities,
I
have
built
my
agenda
in
the
Senate
around
helping
those
in
poverty.
My
first
bills
focused
on
education
and
workforce
development,
with
the
goal
of
ensuring
that
every
child
has
access
to
a
quality
education
and
that
we
encourage
the
growth
of
apprenticeships
and
other
technical
skills
as
our
state’s
manufacturing
sector
booms.
Now,
I
have
introduced
the
Investing
in
Opportunity
Act,
bipartisan
legislation
to
stimulate
job
growth
and
entrepreneurship
in
low-income
communities.
My
Senate
colleague
Cory
Booker,
D-N.J.,
and
friends
in
the
House
of
Representatives
Pat
Tiberi,
R-Ohio,
and
Ron
Kind,
D-Wisc.,
joined
me
to
introduce
this
important
bill
that
will
encourage
long-term
investment
in
areas
that
have
been
left
behind
after
the
great
recession.
This
innovative
approach
will
streamline
our
tax
code
in
order
to
encourage
dollars
to
be
reinvested
in
areas
that
need
it
most,
while
creating
a
framework
for
bringing
in
new
capital.
It
does
not
create
a
new
government
program
or
expand
the
federal
bureaucracy,
and
it
focuses
on
encouraging
investment
of
private
dollars.
The
Investing
in
Opportunity
Act
opens
the
door
to
private
capital
in
the
following
ways:
- Removes
barriers
to
investment
through
a
temporary
capital
gains
deferral
in
exchange
for
reinvesting
in
distressed
communities.
- Encourages
investors
to
pool
resources
through
newly
created
“opportunity
funds”
—
established
specifically
for
making
investments
in
distressed
communities.
- Concentrates
capital
by
establishing
“opportunity
zones”
—
geographically
targeted
low-income
areas
that
will
be
designated
by
governors.
- Provides
incentives
for
investors
to
make
long-term
commitments
to
these
communities.
We
know
that
most
families
living
in
these
communities
are
just
looking
for
the
chance
to
succeed,
the
opportunity
to
reach
the
American
Dream.
Unfortunately,
the
possibility
of
doing
so
has
diminished
over
the
past
decade,
and
that
is
a
trend
we
must
stop.
The
Investing
in
Opportunity
Act
is
an
important
step
toward
bringing
success
back
to
all
of
America,
and
with
bipartisan
support
on
both
sides
of
the
Capitol,
we
have
a
real
opportunity
to
move
forward.
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