Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today sent a letter asking President Barack Obama to support a massive new jobs program in order to combat the growing ranks of the poor and near-poor in Northeast Ohio and the nation. In the letter, Kucinich calls for a Works Progress Administration-type of plan to put America back to work and to help achieve the work begun by the Stimulus package. Kucinich also invited the President to visit Northeast Ohio to see the reality of the effects of poverty in Northeast Ohio.

“The foreclosure crisis has drained any equity in homes, jobs are precarious and can be lost at any time, and dollars that pay for less and less have to be stretched further and further,” writes Kucinich.

September 29, 2009

In recent weeks, data coming out of the Census Bureau have revealed a disturbing trend of increasing economic insecurity throughout this nation. An article in today’s Cleveland Plain Dealer titled, “Ranks of the near-poor grow in NE Ohio, census data show” confirms what I have witnessed and what my constituents have been telling me for over a year: they feel they are being pulled toward the economic precipice. The foreclosure crisis has drained any equity in homes, jobs are precarious and can be lost at any time, and dollars that pay for less and less have to be stretched further and further.

As we approach the one-year anniversary of the bailout, it has become abundantly clear that our communities are not enjoying the fruits of the recovery that Wall Street has enjoyed. As the $787 billion stimulus continues to trickle out to states and localities, banks enjoy the enormous flow of billions of dollars in financial support from the bailout as well as trillions of dollars of spending and liabilities from the numerous initiatives of the Federal Reserve.

I believe the angst expressed throughout the country at health care public meetings over the summer reflects a larger, underlying concern about economic security. The private sector simply is not providing the jobs and economic opportunities for my constituents. The government must fill that gap. Our communities desperately need a massive jobs program focused on rebuilding our country’s infrastructure. I urge you to do more to reinforce the economic security of American families like those in Cleveland who find themselves being pulled closer to poverty. I urge you to sponsor a massive, WPA-style program to put millions of Americans back to work to revive our economy.

I commit to work with you towards this end. I further invite you to tour my Cleveland-area district with me to see first-hand the physical reality of poverty that the Census information reveals.

Kucinich to Obama: ‘We Need a Federal Jobs Program, See for Yourself’