McCain: Government can’t solve all problems

McClatchy Newspapers

INEZ, Ky. — In the heart of Appalachia, in the town where Lyndon Johnson declared the war on poverty but where poverty still reigns, John McCain told voters Wednesday that the government couldn’t solve all their problems.

“Government has a role to play in helping people who through no fault of their own are having a hard time,” McCain said. “But government can’t create good and lasting jobs outside of government. It can’t pay lost wages. It can’t dig coal from the earth. It can’t buy you a house.”

McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee who’s on a weeklong tour of what he calls America’s “forgotten places,” faulted previous politicians for taking a top-down approach to fighting poverty. He said a better approach from Washington would be “to listen to and learn from you, about what you’re doing to grow your economy and increase opportunities here, and to find out what government is doing and not doing to help your initiatives.”

He called for providing Internet service to underserved areas. Under McCain’s plan, the government would reward companies that provided that service with tax breaks and faster depreciation of their investments.

McCain reiterated his previous calls for ties between businesses and community colleges to train needed workers, for encouraging professionals to go into teaching and for more use of the Internet to teach those in remote areas.

Finally, McCain promised to return to Inez if he’s elected and hold another town-hall meeting to hear from Martin County residents about how he’s doing in his efforts to help them.