Back to Future: The Nation’sCities : Will L.A. rioting awaken America?

The Los Angeles riot demonstrates the urgency for forceful, national and bipartisan action on the domestic agenda--especially jobs, housing and education.

This urban crisis should prompt President Bush and the leadership of Congress to rise above party loyalties and approve without delay legislation that restores the health and vitality of this and other cities.

Jobs must be No. 1 on this new national agenda. The deficit notwithstanding, the President and Congress must come to terms with the deterioration of the nation’s roads, bridges, airports, sewers and other parts of the infrastructure. To encourage reinvestment by banks and businesses, Bush and the Congress must provide tax breaks and other incentives that generate jobs.

Housing is a close second. Homelessness has become a seemingly permanent fixture on too many urban landscapes. The federal government must get back in the business of helping increase the supply of affordable housing in order to get as many poor people as possible off the streets.

Urban schools must receive greater attention from the President and Congress. Both deserve credit for boosting funding for Head Start, the respected preschool program for poor children. Urban public schools need similar support to pay for curriculum and capital improvements.

Fighting crime also requires a different approach. Washington tends to concentrate on strengthening law enforcement--yet violent crime still rises. The L.A. riot indicates that parallel attention must be paid to the rips in the social fabric that intensified the conflagration.

This urban wish list could conceivably cost billions of dollars at a time when the nation faces an astronomical deficit. The budget agreement requires that new revenues be raised to finance new projects. That would be especially difficult in this slow economic recovery; however, the projected $50-billion savings in defense spending over the next five years could provide initial funds for rebuilding cities if Congress approves, which it should.

President Bush has given short shrift to domestic problems during his first term. He has concentrated quite successfully on global concerns--to the detriment of concerns much closer at home.

In his national address Friday on the violence that is polarizing Los Angeles, the President seems to have shifted his attention to a situation that is capturing the world’s attention.

American cities have been hit hard during the last decade. Shortsighted federal policies and a lingering economic decline have delivered twin knockout punches to municipal treasuries. The Los Angeles riot proves that the plight of the cities is a national challenge.