Last week, Alan Jenkins, Executive Director of The Opportunity Agenda, co-hosted an episode of MSNBC Live. With the regular host, Carlos Watson, Alan took the opportunity to inject values into the current health care debate.
He told Carlos, "I’m surprised that Obama hasn’t been telling the big story rooted in values. He was so good at that during the campaign. Candidate Obama could tie those wonky details, like the public option, to a big values based story that we could all relate to. And he really has failed to do that in this case."
Also on the show, Alan and Carlos spoke with Maya Wiley, Executive Director of the Center for Social Inclusion.
She spoke of the continued needs and disparities in New Orleans, particularly in health care, four years after Hurricane Katrina. The situation offers a concrete example of how stimulus dollars are critical for expanding opportunity.
"There are huge amounts of federal dollars pouring in that can be used for infrastructure development, low income and affordable housing, job training—that could be a huge boon to New Orleans, if the state and local officials make the decision to use them well."
Click on the above images for clips from the show. Visit The Opportunity Agenda website for more.