Where he does have a point is in infrastructure investment and training/education investment. Take Detroit or another Rust Belt city where poverty is high. Companies aren't going to set up operations there because the infrastructure is crap and because there is no supply of skilled labour there. But this is not really due to "them". A half-century of economic change resulted in capital flight and these municipalities becoming straight up broke. Investment can't come from that level of government. The state and federal level aren't in the financial position to roll out the massive infrastructure and education investment plans that would be needed to help turn these cities around. Extending EI or bumping the minimum wage isn't going to make a dent in the unemployment numbers in these cities since there's hardly any jobs in the first place. Just imagine the costs that would be needed to clean up Detroit. Just dealing with their bankruptcy would cost $18 billion. Repairing and rebuilding their roads and highways would cost a couple more, and so would building/renovating hospitals and schools. Then you have to hire doctors, nurses, teachers, police, and you're going to have to get them from outside the city. So who here wants to move to Detroit?