Scott Shackford on the Limp Promises of Obama's 'Promise Zones'
(copelaes / Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND)
As part of President Barack Obama's pivot to income equality for his final term, he announced five communities to be designated as "Promise Zones," areas with high levels of poverty to receive special attention for federal grants. But, as Scott Shackford notes, like Republican Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul's similar proposal for Detroit, the president's program shows no sign of addressing the root government regulatory problems that suppress private economic growth in these communities. A federal tax break is welcomed by just about everybody, but it does little for the excessive and oppressive state and local regulations, fees, and rules that make economic recovery impossible.