Maxine Waters recently took to the microphones to demand that the Obama adminstration pay closer attention to the economic plight of African-Americans:
Politico reports that Waters has long had a testy relationship with Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and may not be on the best of terms with Obama. In any case, Obama himself addressed this topic in an interview with USA Today:
Recall that Waters is under an ethics investigation for her advocacy on behalf of a particular minority-owned bank, OneUnited, in which she and her husband owned stock and which got $12 million in TARP funding.
Well, she hasn't let that slow her down at all:
"There are those who choose not to speak about African-Americans or the working class," Waters said. "We can no longer be in denial that certain sectors of our population, including the African-American community, are feeling the recession to a greater extent."Waters and nine colleagues from the Congressional Black Caucus boycotted a vote at the House Financial Services Committee, and have threatened to scuttle Democratic bills if their concerns are not addressed.
Politico reports that Waters has long had a testy relationship with Obama Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, and may not be on the best of terms with Obama. In any case, Obama himself addressed this topic in an interview with USA Today:
"I will tell you that I think the most important thing I can do for the African-American community is the same thing I can do for the American community, period, and that is get the economy going again and get people hiring again," Obama said.In addition to black unemployment, Waters is concerned about black-owned enterprises, such as newspapers, banks and car dealerships.
Recall that Waters is under an ethics investigation for her advocacy on behalf of a particular minority-owned bank, OneUnited, in which she and her husband owned stock and which got $12 million in TARP funding.
Well, she hasn't let that slow her down at all:
From her press release:
Minority-owned banks have not been able to benefit in the same way from the assistance provided to some of the larger institutions that have been deemed "too big to fail". Some of the onerous and preventative aspects of the federal programs lock out minority-owned banks. If the federal government is going to be in the business of assisting financial institutions in a time of crisis, more should be done to insure that small, and community banks, who lend to the African American community, have the opportunity to participate.Also of note is her focus on black-owned newspapers:
Emphasis mine. If I have it straight, she would have the government buy advertising in black-owned papers to promote her legislative efforts. So everybody wins.
There has been a sharp reduction in the number of African American-owned newspapers by 40% over the last decade. Like other businesses, access to capital has been a challenge for this industry as well. With declining ad revenues, newspapers everywhere are struggling to survive. Along with the African-American broadcasters, who have also suffered declines by up to 40%, they are the primary means of communication for our community. As such, the federal government must make a focused effort to increase its advertising in the African American community on all issues relating to our work.
Waters is ALWAYS only out for herself and whatever will get her on the news.