November 1, 2024
The presidential elections are less than a week away. The results could affect everything from reproductive rights and the state of democracy to the programs and policies that support people experiencing poverty. The Shriver Center on Poverty Law spoke with a number of our advocates about how — or whether — the outcome of the 2024 elections will shape their work. Here’s a snapshot of those conversations.
What are some of the top concerns you’re hearing from your members in this election cycle?
It varies by region. If you’re in a red state, you might be particularly worried about reproductive rights and rollbacks to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. After the recent Supreme Court decision that empowers local governments to remove homeless encampments, there’s a broad concern about the criminalization of the unhoused. With the dangerous xenophobic rhetoric we’ve been hearing, a number of groups want to safeguard protections for immigrants.
To address some of those fears, we’re bringing the LIN coalition together to talk about strategy and learn what members are up against. There are defensive legal postures we can take to hold our ground on these important issues. On top of that, I try to remind everyone that marginalized groups, including Black people and the LGBT community, have protected each other in uncertain times for generations. We don’t have to reinvent the wheel. We have to build community.
Lastly, I would add that the xenophobia and racism we’ve seen is the latest manifestation of an old enemy. As advocates, organizers, and Americans who care about racial and economic justice, we have fought this enemy before. We will do it again, if we have to.
How do we hold presidential administrations accountable to people experiencing poverty?
There are legal strategies and a number of tools to employ as advocates. Those are all important, but I think the ultimate goal is to shorten the distance between marginalized communities and our elected officials. To get there, we need to democratize our own advocacy organizations by shifting power to people impacted by poverty and racism. At LIN, for example, I’m working closely with our members to understand their work as direct service providers and their relationships to the communities they serve. Our goal is to create space for people with lived experience to take leadership positions at LIN. From there, we can replicate that nationwide.
That power can be used to hold politicians accountable, from local school boards to state legislators and all the way up to the White House. It’s not easy. It can’t be done overnight, but it’s how we move the needle.
Are you seeing any proposals in this election cycle that could benefit low-income communities?
We’ve heard a good deal about the child tax credit. The COVID-era expanded child tax credit, which gave $3,600 to families with children under the age of six, cut child poverty nearly in half. On the state level, we won the passage of an expanded child tax credit that will help some 800,000 kids. The extra money empowers families with low income to make decisions for themselves, while easing some of their financial burdens.
Vice President Kamala Harris has said she wants to increase the credit to $6,000 for families with children under one year old. It’s less clear what the Republican ticket supports. The Trump campaign has said it would “consider” a $5,000 child tax credit for all families, after Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance proposed the idea in an interview with the CBS program Face the Nation.
Additionally, the Harris/Walz campaign has spoken about the “care economy,” which includes paid family and medical leave, an important benefit for working people with a newborn, sick child, or parent. It’s a policy we’re beginning to take on since the passage of paid leave, which entitles working people in Illinois to earn up to five paid days off a year to use however they choose.
Are the campaigns doing a good job of speaking to people near or at the poverty line?
Well, neither campaign speaks directly to people living in deep poverty. It’s not their targeted demographic. According to the Pew Research Center, both parties skew wealthier, with 47 percent of Republican and 44 percent of Democratic voters reporting household incomes over $100,000.
Sadly, when it comes to the people we care most about at the Shriver Center — people with housing insecurity, people who rely on benefits like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) to feed their families — their needs are not a focus.
Both candidates have talked about the need to build more housing to address the housing crisis. What effect would that have on the communities we serve?
It wouldn’t be enough to make a major impact on people below or near the poverty line. Even if we significantly increase the housing stock, we’re still in a capitalist structure where landlords extract more and more profit from tenants. Also, the problem with housing is not just a shortage of units. Take, for example, our local housing authority. Despite having available units, they have a long waitlist of qualified tenants, while the tenants they do have often face unlivable housing conditions because of poor management.
Are there policies you’re hearing in this campaign that would have an impact on your work?
Project 2025 — the document that serves as the conservative agenda, has certainly caught my attention! I’m particularly interested in the part about the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). The plan’s intentions to defund and dismantle HUD are laid out clearly and would have a devastating impact on people who face housing insecurity.
Regardless of who wins the elections, we plan on moving forward with a bold agenda aimed at protecting our most vulnerable populations. We just signed onto a proposal called the National Tenants Bill of Rights. It’s a coalition of groups with a plan to empower tenants. It calls for the right to organize and access habitable living conditions and affordable rent. We’ll be moving forward on that no matter who’s in the White House.
What have the campaigns said about health care that might have an effect on your work?
We’ve heard less specifics from the Republicans on health care. The Democrats’ plans are more concrete. Their proposal intersects with the work we’ve done in Illinois this year to wipe away debt for up to one million residents whose medical bills have fallen into collections. Gov. J.B. Pritzker, earlier this summer, removed medical debt from Illinoisans credit scores. Vice President Kamala Harris has led a similar effort in the White House.
I would just point out that we object to the very idea of medical debt. What we need is universal access to quality, affordable health care. If we have medical debt, that means we still have a lot of work to do.
But I digress! Broadly speaking, the health team encourages the expansion of coverage, including the use of Medicare to pay for elder care and to negotiate prescription drug prices — proposals pushed by the Democratic ticket. Additionally, in a Democratic administration, we could see an extension of enhanced subsidies for state and federal health marketplaces, which would lower the cost of insurance for working people. With a Republican White House, we would not expect an extension.
The bottom line is that no one should have to worry about their wallets when seeking the care they need. That’s why we’ll move forward with the implementation of a state-run health care marketplace, regardless of what happens on November 5.
How vulnerable is the Affordable Care Act?
Well, our associate director of health care justice, Stephani Becker, and I went through this in 2016. We joined a group of advocates in Illinois to really fight the attempt to repeal the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also called Obamacare. That involved months of working with our allies, holding rallies, and mobilizing everyday people. It led to the creation of Protect our Care Illinois, a coalition of 30 groups, including health justice advocates, providers, and small business representatives.
While the ACA’s individual mandate for coverage was removed, the attempt to repeal the law ultimately failed. It was a reminder that the states really do have power, and we wielded that power successfully. If the next administration attacks policies that keep our communities healthy, we’re prepared to fight it.
Why don’t we hear much about poverty or people living in poverty in presidential campaigns?
Well, the reasons are actually quite simple. Presidential candidates don’t focus on people living in poverty because people living in poverty don’t have the luxury to listen. They’re in survival mode. If you’re facing housing insecurity or you’re under investigation by the child welfare system, you’re not tuning into the debate. You’re not following the elections closely. You’re busy trying to feed your family on a limited income or finding a safe place to sleep at night.
Politicians are focused on getting elected. They discuss topics that appeal to the broader electorate, instead of what can be done to alleviate poverty and racism. It’s about the issues that will get politicians in office and keep them there.
How will the outcome of this election affect the work we do?
Regardless of the outcome, the Shriver Center will remain focused on continuing to use litigation and advocacy to fight for laws and policies that help people living in poverty. Through programs like the Racial Justice Institute, we will train other people to do the same and spread our movement across the country. We’re not going to stop doing what we’re doing. We’re already planning for our 2025 legislative agenda to move toward a more equitable future for all.
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Make sure to cast your ballot by Tuesday, November 5. The presidential campaign may dominate the headlines and our headspace, but there are a host of local elections and issues on the ballot this year. To find out where your local candidates stand on issues affecting poverty and racism, check out ballotready.org, a non-partisan voting source.
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