Badger InstituteBadger Institute
  • Home
  • Issues
    • Taxes
    • Education
    • Crime & Justice
    • Spending & Accountability
    • Economy & Infrastructure
    • Licensing
    • Healthcare
    • Civil Society
  • Mandate for Madison
  • Research
  • Magazines
    • Diggings
    • Wisconsin Interest
  • Events
  • Media
    • Podcast
    • Fact Sheets
    • Viewpoints
    • Press Releases
    • Badger in the News
    • Video
    • Audio
    • Testimony
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Team
    • Visiting Fellows
    • America’s Future
    • Careers
  • Newsletter
  • Donate
  • Contact Us

Subscribe for Updates

Get the latest news and updates from Badger Institute.

What's New

Wisconsin lawmakers in the dark on broadband

March 16, 2023

The underfunded part of Wisconsin public schooling

March 16, 2023

If we don’t pay for roads, we don’t get mobility

March 9, 2023
Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Instagram
TRENDING:
  • Wisconsin lawmakers in the dark on broadband
  • The underfunded part of Wisconsin public schooling
  • If we don’t pay for roads, we don’t get mobility
  • Assembly Speaker calls for tolling to fund Wisconsin infrastructure
  • Foreseeing the Future of Wisconsin’s Flat Tax
  • Wisconsin voters will be asked about welfare work requirements
  • A state without convictions
  • Why Wisconsin Needs a Flat Tax and Education Reform
  • Donate
  • Newsletter
  • Contact
Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn Instagram
Badger InstituteBadger Institute
SUPPORT OUR MISSION
  • Issues
    • Taxes
    • Education
    • Crime & Justice
    • Spending & Accountability
    • Economy & Infrastructure
    • Licensing
    • Healthcare
    • Civil Society
  • Mandate for Madison
  • Research
  • Magazines
    • Diggings
    • Wisconsin Interest
  • Events
  • Media
    • Podcast
    • Fact Sheets
    • Viewpoints
    • Press Releases
    • Badger in the News
    • Video
    • Audio
    • Testimony
  • About
    • Our Mission
    • Board of Directors
    • Team
    • Visiting Fellows
    • America’s Future
    • Careers
Facebook Twitter YouTube LinkedIn
DONATE
Badger InstituteBadger Institute
Home » Media » News » Robert Woodson: Milwaukee Key to New U.S. Approach to Fighting Poverty
Economy and Infastructure

Robert Woodson: Milwaukee Key to New U.S. Approach to Fighting Poverty

By Badger InstituteJune 28, 2014
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest

Milwaukee and some of its unheralded community groups and violence-fighting programs hold “the key to changing this country,” according to Robert Woodson Sr., one of America’s most influential and outspoken voices on welfare myths and finding new ways to combat poverty.  

“I really believe that Milwaukee holds the key to changing this country because civil order is on everybody’s mind,” said Woodson in a Milwaukee speech sponsored by the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. “You cannot have economic development, education, unless there’s peace in the streets. And the peace can only come when predators can be converted to ambassadors of peace. And that’s what the groups I named do every day. And collectively, they can be an immune system that can be copied throughout this nation.”

Woodson is the winner of both a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship and a Bradley Prize, as well as the Presidential Citizens Medal. A one-time civil rights activist and director of the National Urban League’s Administration of Justice Division, he has also served as a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute.

Founder and president of the Center for Neighborhood Enterprise in Washington, D.C., he has spent much of the last year taking Congressman Paul Ryan – who is about to release a book entitled Where Do We Go From Here?  – on a “listening and learning” tour of some of America’s most impoverished neighborhoods.

Among the organizations they visited in Milwaukee was Running Rebels, a successful, life-altering, community organization founded by Victor Barnett that was featured in a recent edition of WPRI’s Wisconsin Interest. Woodson also spoke of the success of Violence-Free Zones, youth violence reduction and high-risk student mentoring programs he has helped establish in Milwaukee schools, and that he believes should become a national model.

In his June 26 talk at the Wisconsin Center in downtown Milwaukee, Woodson also spoke at length on detrimental effects of the “poverty industry,” welfare, and lack of political competition in many American  neighborhoods. Among his comments:

  • “Rather than concentrating on problems that were solvable, the poverty industry focused on problems that were fundable. And so the priorities as to what would be focused upon were determined by what the funding streams were. And so what happened was that poor people became a commodity.” Audio
  • Policymakers “said it was racist for black families to be held to the same standard as the rest of America.  Welfare moved from a safety net, an ambulance service, to an entitlement to then reparations . . .  In fact they said what we should do is encourage dependency. They called it creative dependency.” Audio
  • “There is this myth that somehow welfare was in response to downturns in the economy. If you . . .  look at the facts, welfare exploded at a time when the economy was exploding. As a consequence families were torn apart. This was part of a deliberate policy on the part of social planners at the time” in the 1960s. “That is why we are in this mess we are in today. It was an assault on the cultural institutions that held these communities together.” Audio
  • “What insulated the black community was the moral and spiritual institutions. That was the glue that kept them together so that they were able to withstand the storms of racism and discrimination. But again in the sixties the influence of these institutions began to get torn asunder, with the consequence of what we have today.” Audio
  • “The problem in our inner cities right now is there is not enough political competition going on. And the way this is promoted isn’t by asking people to join in your philosophy. You must demonstrate to people that you are willing to add value. When you add value to them, they will add value to you . . .  We have got to understand and promote these grassroots leaders.” Audio

Video highlights of Woodson’s speech can be found in the multimedia section at www.wpri.org.

News
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn Tumblr Telegram Email
Badger Institute

Related Posts

Wisconsin lawmakers in the dark on broadband

March 16, 2023

The underfunded part of Wisconsin public schooling

March 16, 2023

Assembly Speaker calls for tolling to fund Wisconsin infrastructure

March 2, 2023
Categories
Top Posts

Local pols filling old budget holes with massive COVID aid

December 8, 20221,449

This is not four years ago

November 10, 20221,287

A state without convictions

January 12, 2023644

Billions in federal spending in Wisconsin unaudited; results never measured

November 9, 2022488
Archives

Sign Up for Top Picks

Our weekly e-Newsletter with the latest items and updates

Connect with Badger Institute
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn
About Us
About Us

The Badger Institute is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit institute established in 1987 working to engage and energize Wisconsinites and others in discussions and timely action on key public policy issues critical to the state’s future, growth and prosperity.

Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube LinkedIn

Sign Up for Top Picks

Our weekly e-Newsletter with the latest items and updates

What’s New

Wisconsin lawmakers in the dark on broadband

March 16, 2023

The underfunded part of Wisconsin public schooling

March 16, 2023

If we don’t pay for roads, we don’t get mobility

March 9, 2023

Assembly Speaker calls for tolling to fund Wisconsin infrastructure

March 2, 2023
© 2023 Badger Institute | Privacy Policy | Disclaimer | Sitemap

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience.

Privacy settings

Privacy Settings

This site uses functional cookies and external scripts to improve your experience. Which cookies and scripts are used and how they impact your visit is specified on the left. You may change your settings at any time. Your choices will not impact your visit.

NOTE: These settings will only apply to the browser and device you are currently using.

CRM Software

Customer Relationship Management Software

Google Analytics

Google Analytics is a web analytics service offered by Google that tracks and reports website traffic. Google uses the data collected to track and monitor the use of our Service. This data is shared with other Google services. Google may use the collected data to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network.

You can opt-out of having made your activity on the Service available to Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. The add-on prevents the Google Analytics JavaScript (ga.js, analytics.js, and dc.js) from sharing information with Google Analytics about visits activity.

For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms web page: https://policies.google.com/privacy?hl=en

Powered by Cookie Information