If we can land a man on the moon, we can end poverty. No matter who wins the election in November, no matter which party controls Congress, the minds, the will, and the resources that resulted in “one giant leap for mankind” can be marshaled to effect the lives of the poor in the most far-reaching and profound way imaginable.
The next President needs to call a summit, The Presidential Poverty Summit, and devote focus and resources unseen since Neil Armstrong made an entire country believe in itself. Approaching the issue of poverty from a variety of disciplines, led by an array of experts, will launch a dialogue that can lead to the articulation of a comprehensive plan to attack this suffering in all the many ways that are needed. There is no one path into or out of states of being impoverished. Assembling experts from different fields who can talk to one another, interact with one another, and make symbiotic their disparate approaches, is the way forward. The tools are there, the programs exist, and the people with the knowledge are available. The next President can supply the key, otherwise missing, ingredient… the will. Cast aside gridlock, there is too much at stake, too many lives on the edge, to avoid the opportunity that can lead, together, to an historic societal change.
Within 90 days of taking office, the President can bring to the White House leaders from a number of necessary disciplines. On Day One of the Summit, an agenda will be set. Days Two and Three will be spent in intensive group discussions, led by designated experts, with invited representatives from each represented community. On Day Four each group will draft its own ten-point plan that can be implemented to alleviate the trauma of poverty from their perspective, and then on Day Five all the groups will reconvene for a general convocation at which all of the plans will be reviewed and integrated. A week to remember will be the result.
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With apologies to those identified and those not, consider a line-up anchored by these dedicated individuals from these key disciplines:
The Leader
For a generation, Vice President Joe Biden has been the conscience of our government’s policies affecting the most vulnerable. He authored the Violence Against Women Act, he championed numerous access-to-justice initiatives for the poor, and he oversaw the launch and growth of the national IMPACT Project, an unprecedented national pro bono program that has brought heightened legal services to the poor in eleven cities around the country. His experience, his insight, his moderation and his ability to reach across party-lines, makes him the moderator, leader, and voice of this effort.
The Legal Community
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Acknowledging that lawyers are the unsung heroes in the battle against poverty, understanding that only the justice system can address the immediate needs of those most vulnerable, invited to the summit should be a number of key attorneys. Bryan Stevenson, the Executive Director at the Equal Justice Initiative is the most eloquent and inspiring voice about the power of justice to impact poverty. James Sandman is the president and CEO of the Legal Services Corporation, the country’s largest umbrella organization of legal aid providers serving the poor. Gary Blasi is a retired law professor from UCLA whose career has been dedicated to addressing homelessness and poverty. Joining the discussion should be legal aid and law firm leaders invited to participate by the principals of this group, including members of the Association of Pro Bono Counsel, a national network of professional attorneys whose expertise helps hundreds of thousands find much-needed, life-saving pro bono representation.
A Broad Range Of Experts
In addition to the legal community, there are many other groups whose participation and experience would be valuable additions to the Summit. Politicians, economists, educators, institutions of faith, business leaders, union leaders, job creation organizations, housing departments, builders, welfare advocates, mental health professionals, environmentalists who focus on the degradation of our low income communities, medical personnel, and community health organizations will all be important contributors. The bottom line is that we have a moment in time to address the overriding issue of our generation. The next President has the authority to bring together a mass of expertise, fueled by Presidential will, to address issues of poverty as never before. With the right people in the room, one week of uninterrupted focus is all we ask.
It could change our country forever.
David Lash
David A. Lash serves as Managing Counsel for Pro Bono and Public Interest Services at O’Melveny & Myers LLP. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are his alone.