Obama economic plan courts working women

By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published July 16, 2008 at 5:41 p.m.
Updated July 16, 2008 at 11:53 p.m.

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The Obama campaign reached out to Colorado's working women Wednesday, pitching an economic plan aimed at boosting wages and improving benefits.

More than 50 women gathered for a round-table discussion at Aurora Community College, where state Rep. Morgan Carroll, D-Aurora, highlighted Sen. Barack Obama's proposals to close the wage gap between men and women, provide seven days of paid sick leave for 22 million women who currently have none and increase the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011, among other things.

The plan also calls for helping 8.7 million women business owners nationwide create jobs.

"Women in the country are facing tough economic times, and many are working two to three jobs," Carroll said. "His economic plan is designed to give working women the opportunity to not just get by, but to get ahead in our economy."

Several people who attended the round table had hoped to meet Michelle Obama, who was scheduled only to take part in fundraisers at the Grand Hyatt Hotel, said campaign spokeswoman Jennifer Stutsman.

The round-table discussion, moderated by Carroll, gave women who backed Sen. Hillary Clinton a briefing on Obama's platform on women's issues.

Panelists and audience members alike urged Obama's advisers to develop a plan that would provide access to affordable health care.

"I hope any elected official can look at themselves in the mirror and say, 'I'm glad my constituents have the same quality health care as I do.' That's what I'm looking for in our next president," said Julie Hutchinson, a nurse who served on Gov. Bill Ritter's task force for nurse and patient care.

washingtona@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5086

Obama's eight-point plan

1. Provide a tax cut of up to $500, or $1,000 per family, to 71 million working women nationwide.

2. Seek to close the wage gap that leaves women earning 79 cents for every dollar earned by men.

3. Increase the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011.

4. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit for 5 million working women.

5. Extend child-care tax breaks to an additional 135,000 working mothers in Colorado and 7.5 million nationally. A mother with two children earning $50,000 a year would receive a $2,100 child-care tax cut.

6. Provide quality after-school and summer learning programs to an additional 2 million children, including 9,712 children in Colorado.

7. Assist 8.7 million women business owners, including more than 183,000 in Colorado, by setting capital gains rates to zero.

8. Require employers to provide seven days of paid sick leave to 22 million working women who have none.

• July 16, 2008

  5:49 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  demmud writes:

  Another example of why Morgan Carroll should be District 29's senator.

• July 16, 2008

  7:13 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Alive writes:

  Well look at the racist scum artstarzz polluting this thread. The boy is a little slow is he not?

• July 16, 2008

  8:03 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  jay045 writes:

  Yes, I am appalled that Obama would be for free education of children, and abolition of children's factory labor. The horror!

• July 16, 2008

  8:15 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  catlady writes:

  Here's one thing Obama and his baby mama won't tell you:
  Women who don't get knocked up out of wed lock,who don't marry creeps are far less likely to need these handouts and government mandates they are proposing. Instead of pissing away good money after bad choices let's educate the next generation and prevent the problem.

  Catlady's plan-
  1)Convince young women to stay in school and keep their pants on. Seriously. It is not a virtue to be a skank.
  2)Get rid of Welfare for unmarried women who get themselves knocked-up. Why should the US tax payer fund the consequences of your stupidity? You play...you pay.

  And Tommy, Stalin was actually a very skilled speaker. He was so convincing that he was able to slaughter millions of his countrymen without a challenge.

  Mrs.A- RMN is on the Obama knob.

• July 16, 2008

  8:25 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  catlady writes:

  Employers tell Obama to take his plan and shove it...they ain't employing women no more.

  And as an economist AND a woman there is a very legitimate reason women earn less. We take more unpaid time off. (to raise kids, care for elderly loved ones and such) It's not sexist, its just true. Facts are that once women exit the child rearing years they do earn very nearly (last study I read it was with in 2%)of what men earn. And I personally earn more than my husband and have since I entered the less likely to be birthing babies years.

• July 16, 2008

  8:27 p.m.

  titancain writes:

  (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

• July 16, 2008

  8:28 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  catlady writes:

  You are right there Tommy. Stalin was for change. I'm for change too, but not the kind the Obamanation is proposing. I'm surprised anyone would support a change for the worse. I thought GWB was bad, but the Dems have worked hard enough to actually cough up something worse.

• July 16, 2008

  8:35 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  catlady writes:

  Titancain,

  Cindy McCain has actually done a lot of real good in this world. Take her generous charitable donations and her hands on work with Operations Smile for example. Michele Obama can't hold a candle to Cindy McCain. Plus, Michele Obama is a racist who hates white people. Read her Mater's thesis, its clear she hates whitey. Cindy McCain has adopted and raised a specially-challenged third world orphan of color. Cindy McCain may have had a face lift, but it is no worse than that stretch good old Bella Pelosi had. It's a shame we judge older women on their looks and they feel a face lift is necessary.

• July 16, 2008

  8:38 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  catlady writes:

  Okay, all this deleting is kind of Big Brother. Big Brother is watching. First Mrs. A- then Titiancain. Vaporized. Orwell is right...they do control the media and therefore reality.

• July 16, 2008

  8:50 p.m.

  mt writes:

  (This comment was removed by the site staff.)

• July 16, 2008

  9:49 p.m.

  Suggest removal

  Mike846 writes:

  Catlady...I like your style, not to mention the fact you're right on. Once again the Left trots out the old "victim" mentality: "Its not YOUR fault; it's the fault of SOCIETY." No one wants to take responsibility for their own actions, and the consequences. Liberals want equality of OUTCOME, not equality of opportunity. All the stuff they spout today they've been spouting since "Landslide" Lyndon Johnson started the Great Society. How's that worked out? The Dems were preaching energy independence when Jimmy Carter was President. But they've consistently blocked action that would get it done. They preach equality, but their actions create a permanent underclass by virtue of rewarding self-destructive behavior. Folks, you've seen example after example of how this stuff doesn't work. How long before you vote these idiots out of office? As for Obama, he's already proven to be more of an old-school politician than most of the others. I don't mind him changing his positions; what I mind is his lying about it and saying he didn't change. He ran under the Far Left banner to take out Hillary, and now he's running for the Center for the general election. Wake up folks. McCain ain't my first choice, but I'll vote for him just to avoid the further socialist plans of BHO, Pelosi, and Reid. Mike

• July 17, 2008

  10:08 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  P_Denver writes:

  More "form over substance" from the Obamas. Nothing new.

• July 17, 2008

  10:36 a.m.

  Suggest removal

  jay writes:

  wow....lots of tinfoil hat theories about "communism" and some really mythical rhetoric about the gender wage gap, but not a lot of talk about obama's new policy stances.

  are the tax cuts going to do enough benefit to justify the additional debt?

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