I don’t know if you mean it the way I hear it:

we have a collective responsibility on a national level to hold out a hand and help the poorest in the nation,

I hear a call for the Federal Government to solve this problem. I disagree, I think each community needs to solve this problem even if no help is coming from the Federal Government. Cities, Counties and State can pass laws and raise taxes they don’t need the Federal Government’s help. Federal Government help comes with strings attached that often negate the benefits of the monies received. Already half of the States have minimum wage laws that set the minimum wage higher than the Federal Government.

Affordable housing and better public schools should be a local/state concern not a National concern. Yes, we should hold out a hand to help our poor neighbors not expect some faceless bureaucracy to help the poor. To make this really work the poor need to not be clustered but need to spread out. If you neighbors are poor and you are poor there is not much help that can be spread around.

TEK