It has been 47 years since our country declared war on poverty, and there is still much to be done. For this reason, we must again think big about how to fight poverty in America.

President Barack Obama’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2013 sets a responsible course for rebuilding the economy so that it works for everyone, not just the privileged few.

The president’s budget for fiscal year 2013 lays out critical investments that will help more Americans join the middle class and encourage shared economic growth, all in the context of cutting $4.3 trillion from our deficit over the next 10 years.

Republican presidential candidates over the past few months engaged in 25 public debates, sharing their views on a wide range of issues from who best embodies the ideals of former President Ronald Reagan to why the wealthy deserve more tax breaks. Yet in all of these engagements, the candidates rarely took the opportunity to present a comprehensive strategy to support our nation’s young Americans.

U.S. Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, successfully pushed through the house a bill to stop welfare dollars from being spent in strip clubs, casinos and liquor stores. Melissa Boteach counters that “This vote represents yet another instance in the creeping trend of conservatives to demonize the poor”.

The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly approved a bill Wednesday evening sponsored by Rep. Charles Boustany, R-Lafayette, aimed at keeping welfare recipients from spending their government assistance at liquor stores, casinos or strip clubs. Melissa Boteach counters that “This vote represents yet another instance in the creeping trend of conservatives to demonize the poor”.

Attention adult cabaret owners, liquor store owners and clerks and operators of casinos or other gaming establishments: The Republicans in Congress have got it in for you—as if you didn’t know that already. More specifically, the conservatives are targeting a group of people that Rep. Charles Boustany Jr. (R-La.) thinks are your main clientele: Welfare recipients. And what he’s doing about it is introducing a bill to prevent recipients of the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program (aka “welfare”) from spending any of ill-gotten funds at your establishments—a “problem” that Boustany insists is “pretty rampant around the country.”

House Republicans don’t want Uncle Sam paying for any more lap dances. A bill that GOP leaders are bringing to the House floor Wednesday would require states to prevent welfare recipients from accessing or spending their benefits at strip clubs, casinos and liquor stores.

Following his big victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, in an unscripted moment of excitement, expressed his true feelings about those families at the bottom of our economy. He stated: “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.”

The House GOP passed legislation to ban TANF money from being used at strip clubs, liquor stores and casinos. In response, Melissa Boteach argues that this is a political ploy to perpetuate negative stereotypes surrounding poor people.