Former labor secretary challenges Bush on black families

“The story of the Bush Administration for the past eight years really has been a story of constant economic deterioration in the African-American community,’ said
Former Clinton Labor Secretary Alexis Herman during an Obama campaign telephone conference on the state of economy for African-American Families.
Herman, along with Howard University Economics Department Chair Dr. William Spriggs, expressed dismay with last Friday’s unemployment report and described the response an Obama presidency would bring.
“It’s not just about the unemployment rate, the fact of the matter is ,when we look at the job loss matter, we have lost good jobs in our community,’ said Herman”, citing a 10.6 percent unemployment rate and loss of five hundred thousand jobs.
Herman explained that Senator Obama would combat this by raising the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour, end tax breaks to companies that outsource, and create economic incentives for employers who retain domestic jobs.
Spriggs stressed that although the teleconference was focusing on black families, all communities are at risk.
“It is the whole ship that is sinking because we have pursued these policies, believing that the economy can grow from the top down. We won the experiment. We had eight years of it, nothing trickled down.”
Spriggs went on to criticize McCain’s economic plan, stating that the tax cuts amongst those in the top one percent of the income distribution will cost taxpayers over a trillion dollars within the next 40 years. Conversely, Spriggs said Obama’s tax cuts to American families that make under $250,000 will aid the economy by redirecting more resources towards afflicted communities.