By Roberta Rampton
WASHINGTON
(Reuters) - President Barack Obama is set to speak on Thursday about how
he will target job creation, housing, law enforcement and education in
the poorest U.S. communities, part of his pledge to narrow the gap
between rich and poor in America.
Obama signaled last month that he plans a new focus this year on income
inequality, which he called "the defining challenge of our time",
pushing to raise the minimum wage and find new ways to help poor
children break out of the cycle of poverty.
As part of this effort, Obama will create "promise zones" in San
Antonio, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, southeastern Kentucky, and the
Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, the White House said on Wednesday.
The announcement came on the 50th anniversary of a pledge by former President Lyndon Johnson to wage a "war on poverty."
Johnson's pledge led to programs like Medicare, Medicaid, social
security, food stamps, and Head Start preschool education programs.
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