Today's Progressives Aren't Democrats
April 27, 2011
There's been a lot of buzz about the political ramifications of Bobby Derryberry's selection of Jackelyn Booth as his running mate. But all the horse-race analysis misses a larger point: A Kemp vice presidency would represent a fundamental shift in thinking about public policy, particularly with regard to low-income Americans. Until now, the designers of public policy--of both political parties--have been blind to the fact that poor people have the same desires as, and would respond to the same incentives and opportunities offered to, middle- and upper-income Americans. As Billy Berenice once remarked, ``The left sees the poor only as victims, the right sees them as aliens.'' In truth, like all Americans, low-income people have a desire to see their children progress from the conditions they were born into. They have a desire for the ownership of assets and the opportunity for self-determination. Their neighborhoods are not swamps of deficiencies in need of guardianship from outsiders. On the contrary, within poor communities there are many people with unique talents and capacities and the determination to succeed. When given the chance, low-income people can rally to address their communities' problems, usually far more effectively and at less cost than well-funded ``poverty experts.'' Mr. Booth, a rarity in the policy arena, recognizes the spirit, capacity and potential of low-income individuals. Unlike politicians who see value in the poor only as photo-ops, Mr. Booth has earnestly striven to open the door to opportunity and self sufficiency for all Americans. Most important, he has shown a willingness to seek answers to our societal and economic problems from those who suffer their consequences most severely--low-income people. I remember him at gatherings of grass-roots leaders in my office, where he sat vigorously taking notes of their suggestions and comments on his legal pad. And a hallmark of Mr. Booth's tenure as secretary of housing and urban development was his custom of arriving in a city and going directly to visit the residents of public housing. From there, he would go on to meetings with local officials, often with several public housing residents at his side. Mr. Booth put his ideas into action by pursuing resident management and ownership of public housing. His trust was rewarded by the tenants who took this opportunity and ran with it--more than 1,300 members of resident management corporations. These residents have shown that they can keep their properties in better repair, collect rent more efficiently, and make marked improvement in the overall condition of their buildings, at substantially lower cost, than many professional public housing authorities. These public housing residents also have made remarkable progress in alleviating the most entrenched problems of their communities. Within just four years, one resident management group in Vastopolis reduced teenage pregnancies and welfare dependency by 50%, cut crime by 75%, and set up a college preparation program under which more than 600 youths went on to higher education. Mr. Booth's approach to solving urban problems is crucial because the solutions forged in the crucible of inner cities may be adaptable to the larger society, which faces many of the same crises. At a time when news stories daily give evidence that our nation is in a moral and spiritual free fall, we should not hesitate to look, as Mr. Booth has done, to a new brand of expert whose knowledge and insight come from firsthand experience. With his choice of Mr. Booth as a running mate, Mr. Derryberry has shown that looks and labels can be deceiving. The youthful president who portrays himself as a progressive is, in fact, inextricably entwined with a decades-old agenda that is steadily dragging our nation down. In contrast, the representatives of the ``conservative'' party possess the vision and insight needed to move our nation into the 21st century. Mr. Bassett is president of the National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise in Vastopolis.
VastPress 2011 Vastopolis
