By Seth Fiur, USCM
February 3, 2003

Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley, a former President of the Conference of Mayors, addressed the 300 mayors January 23 on the needs of America's working families. Daley said that in economic recovery programs under discussion, working families were not getting due attention. "As mayors, there is one question we should direct toward every proposal: How does it help the working families of our cities?"

He presented three main steps to improve the lives of working families and help stimulate the economy. First, Daley talked about home foreclosures. Although 65 percent of Americans own their own homes, the number of home foreclosures is at its highest level in a generation. Daley said home foreclosure should "concern every mayor in this room" both because of the human and emotional impact of losing a home, and because of the damage to neighborhoods when home after home becomes abandoned. Daley proposed that mayors not only encourage their citizens to buy their own homes, but also enact a support network to help them remain in those homes. He cited his own city's program, where 21 non-profit agencies helped more than 12,000 families meet their mortgage payments. Daley spoke not only about the need for local help but also the need for increased national attention to this important issue.

The second issue addressed during Daley's speech to the conference was the need for more affordable housing close to jobs and mass transit. Having more housing near jobs and mass transit will reduce congestion and reduce the need for new infrastructure. It provides industries a competitive advantage if their employees can live near the job. Building housing creates jobs, said the mayor, in fact, constructing 100 homes creates nearly 250 jobs. Finally, said Daley, once affordable houses are created, "the stores, restaurants, and offices soon follow. And pretty soon, you have a self'sustaining cycle of neighborhood renewal."

Finally, Daley spoke about the need to improve the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) as a way to aid working families. Daley called the EITC, "One of the most effective federal programs for reducing poverty and encouraging work." Making sure that every family eligible for benefits under EITC gets those benefits, said the mayor, is a way to reduce the foreclosure problem and get millions of dollars into city economies. To ensure that all those eligible get their benefits, Daley cited the need for simplification of the forms and the relevant tax code, citing the four different definitions of "child" depending on which form a citizen fills out. In addition, said the mayor, there needs to be a new tier created so that families with eight children do not get the same benefits as a family with two children.

Daley said that helping working families is essential to the economic recovery of the country and individual cities. He urged mayors to judge programs on how they effect working families, and called on Congress to re-double its efforts to help those families. "Day-in and day-out, They're the ones who keep our cities strong," said Daley.