Thursday, February 19, 2009

President Obama's Middle Class Task Force

The Obama Administration has begun working on several different initiatives to help get the country back on its feet due to the lack of effective leadership of the previous administration. My interest has been peaked by one of the administration's initiatives - the middle class task force that will be led by Vice President Biden.

The newly formed task force will address problems middle class America is experiencing. Vice President Biden is the chairman of the task force. The president stated "the strength of our economy can be measured by the strength of our middle class" and I agree.

The Vice President and members of the task force including Jared Bernstein who is the Executive Director of the task force will work with several federal agencies that address issues affecting the middle class. The President's goals for the task force are:

1. Expanding education and lifelong training opportunities
2. Improving work and family balance
3. Restoring labor standards, including workplace safety
4. Helping to protect middle-class and working-family incomes
5. Protecting retirement security

The first task force meeting will be held on February 27, 2009 to discuss Green Jobs: A Pathway to a Strong Middle Class.

The Census Bureau states the median income for Americans is $50,000 a year. The Vice President describes the middle class as "any family that can’t afford to miss more than two or three paychecks without financial difficulty".

For more information visit the newly formed task force website AStrongMiddleClass.gov.

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