Food costs up, White House rivals talk poverty

By Jeff Mason

CHAPEL HILL, N.C. (Reuters) - With food prices rising and economic woes dominating the U.S. presidential race, White House candidates are focusing attention on an issue that does not usually grab campaign headlines: poverty.

Republican John McCain, the Arizona senator who has wrapped up his party's presidential nomination, spent last week touring "forgotten places in America" to highlight his commitment to helping the poor.

Among Democrats, New York Sen. Hillary Clinton promised earlier this month to create a "poverty czar" as president while Illinois Sen. Barack Obama called last weekend for rich nations to increase their food aid dramatically.

There are an estimated 36.5 million poor people in the United States, one of the richest countries in the world. The Institute for Research on Poverty, citing census data from 2006, says that is 12.3 percent of the U.S. population.

Though all three candidates have drawn attention to the issues, they disagree along traditional party lines.

McCain argues that cutting taxes and reducing wasteful government spending could free funds for training programs for the unemployed. He has proposed a program for better Internet connections for poor people in small towns.

Obama and Clinton, on the other hand, have laid out programs that include raising the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour by 2011 from $7.25 in 2009, investing in early childhood education and boosting affordable housing.

University of Virginia historian Guian McKee said despite McCain's trip, the Democrats' proposals were harder hitting, especially in the area of job creation.