President Obama just wrapped up a big speech at the liberal Center for American Progress on how the chasms between rich and poor are undermining the country. He says this is a “profoundly unequal” economy, pledges to push for an increase in the federal minimum wage, cites Pope Francis’ scathing critique of capitalism, and argues that class matters as much as race:
The fact is this: The opportunity gap in America is now as much about class as it is about race. And that gap is growing…So if we’re going to take on growing inequality, and try to improve upward mobility for all people, we’ve got to move beyond the false notion that this is an issue exclusively of minority concern.
(Incidentally, this is a similar point—classism is as much a barrier as racism—to the one Kanye West has been trying to make in recent interviews, except that West can’t help but argue it from an egocentric millioniare fashion-obsessed celebrity perspective.)
On the policy front, Obama briefly mentions the need for “targeted initiatives” to address racialized income gaps, but doesn’t explain what those might be. And as Colorlines points out, he glosses over how people of color have been deliberately cut out of the benefits of America’s post-war economic growth.
What say you, Slog?