BETTENDORF, Iowa
Democrat Barack Obama offered a package of proposals Wednesday aimed at halting growing income inequity, including an overhaul of bankruptcy laws and tax breaks to make college more affordable for the middle class.
The presidential candidate and Illinois senator said his proposals, part of an “American Dream Agenda,” are designed “to put some wind at the backs of working people, to lower the cost of getting ahead and to protect and extend opportunity for the middle class.”
“Americans don’t expect government to solve all of our problems,” said Obama. “But you’re tired of a government that works for special interests and not for you.”
Obama said the goal of his package is to reverse a growing trend in government policies favoring the wealthy. He tied together some proposals he’d already offered with a new focus on bankruptcy and college costs.
“We need to give working families a break,” said Obama. “For 25 years we’ve seen gaps in wealth grow larger while our tax code favors wealth over work.”
Obama said he would reverse recent changes in the nation’s bankruptcy laws which he said favored credit card companies over consumers, giving new protections for those who go into debt for medical expenses.
