Without Rubin's lobbying, GOP legislators would have weakened the program. Third, he helped develop Clinton's plan to add 100 empowerment and enterprise zones to the current total of 69. Firms that invest in the zones are given generous tax breaks. Rubin says a more ambitious urban program is doomed because there isn't enough money to pay for it and the nation has not had happy experiences with sweeping urban initiatives. He argues it is more important to implement programs that have been proven effective locally.
Many critics doubt it.
Shafroth and other urban advocates see no commitment from the White House or Congress to relieve the cities' most urgent problems, like absorbing health-care costs for the poor. They argue that many valuable urban programs, such as community block grants and other direct housing assistance, have been underfunded while Washington pushes tax cuts and other initiatives to help middle-class suburbanites. To Rubin, the project was proof that such areas can be improved through public-private partnerships. Rubin has also brought some of the inner city into his office. He created an intern program at the Treasury Department for students from two Washington high schools.