Thursday, September 18, 2008
Michelle Obama discusses economy
A forum in Richmond focused on economic issues facing women and retired people.
Associated Press
Michelle Obama hugs Lilly Ledbetter during a forum Wednesday in Richmond focusing on economic issues concerning women.
Related
roanoke.com/politics
RICHMOND -- The wife of Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama told a Richmond-area audience Wednesday that her husband will push for pay equity for women and take other steps to ease economic pressures on working families if he wins the Nov. 4 election.
Michelle Obama presided over an economic roundtable discussion before an invitation-only crowd at the Greater Richmond Convention Center, where she was joined by three women facing various financial pressures and by an Alabama woman who took her fight for pay equity to the U.S. Supreme Court.
"It's their stories that really are shaping my experience on this campaign trail and really expanding how Barack is looking at these issues," Michelle Obama said to an audience of about 170 people.
Michelle Obama's visit marked the latest effort to rally support for the Democratic ticket in Virginia, which has become a hotly contested state in the presidential race. Women voters are getting more attention from both candidates, particularly since Republican John McCain tapped Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate.
McCain's campaign on Wednesday announced the formation of a Virginia Women for McCain-Palin coalition, with chairwomen in more than 50 localities. Former Virginia first lady Susan Allen is heading the group.
Michelle Obama also appeared Wednesday at a campaign rally in Charlottesville with Jill Biden, the wife of Democratic vice presidential candidate Joe Biden.
Economic issues dominated the Richmond event, though little was said about the turmoil on Wall Street that sent the stock market plunging again Wednesday.
The issue of pay equity was raised by Lilly Ledbetter, a retired Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co. employee in Alabama who has become an outspoken advocate. Ledbetter learned near the end of her career that she had been paid less than most of her co-workers, despite receiving her company's top performance award, and took her cause to court.
"In the end, I couldn't ignore the discrimination," said Ledbetter.
She initially won a $3 million jury verdict, but the U.S. Supreme Court overturned it after determining that Ledbetter waited too long to file her claim. The U.S House of Representatives has passed legislation that would allow plaintiffs to bring pay discrimination cases up to 180 days from their latest unequal paycheck, rather than their initial paycheck. The legislation was bottled up in the Senate by a Republican filibuster.
Obama supports the legislation. McCain opposes it. McCain contends that opening the statute of limitations period would flood the court system and burden employers, "who will have no choice but to charge consumers more for goods and services in order to pay for the swarm of new lawsuits that will only serve to fatten the pockets of trial lawyers," spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said.
McCain's campaign also cited an analysis indicating that the average salary for women on Obama's Senate staff is less than the earnings of male staffers, while women on McCain's staff had average salaries greater than men on the staff. But McCain has more women in senior positions on his staff than Obama, and it is not clear whether either senator is paying staffers differently for equal work.
Michelle Obama was joined onstage in Richmond by Ledbetter, Virginia first lady Anne Holton, and three Richmond-area women who talked about their financial challenges. Mary Henley, 78, explained that her husband died in April as they drove to their part-time job cleaning offices. She fought back tears as she described the difficulty she has had making ends meet on Social Security benefits and her modest job earnings.
"I was left with a lot of debt," said Henley, adding that she has considered filing for bankruptcy.
Michelle Obama said there are "thousands of seniors" like Henley who have insufficient savings and pensions despite lifetimes of hard work. She said Barack Obama would eliminate income taxes for seniors making less than $50,000 a year.
Taxpayers such as Henley also could benefit from Obama's health care plan and his proposal to provide $500 in matching tax credits on the first $1,000 of retirement savings, according to the campaign.
"This isn't the dream we have for our parents and grandparents, and so many people are in this condition," Michelle Obama said after hearing Henley's story.
