Egypt Election: Muslim Brotherhood Candidate Could Face...
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"So Rich, So Poor": Peter Edelman on Ending U.S. Poverty & Why He Left Clinton Admin over Welfare Law
Census data shows nearly one in two Americans live in poverty, and now the Congressional Budget Office warns things could soon get worse if President Obama and Congress remain at an impasse over the 2013 fiscal budget. House Republicans are calling for cuts to food aid, healthcare and social services, while protecting funds for...May 23, 2012 | Story -
Occupy G8: Peoples’ Summit Confronts World Leaders at Camp David, Urging Action on Poverty, Hunger
World leaders are convening at the heavily guarded Camp David in Maryland today for the G8 summit. Leading nonprofits such as Save the Children and Oxfam are urging G8 leaders to live up to a 2009 pledge of $22 billion towards food security in developing nations of which only a quarter has been met. Activists are also urging...May 18, 2012 | Story -
"War is the Enemy of the Poor": Cornel West and Tavis Smiley on Poverty, MLK , Election 2012
In part two of our interview with Tavis Smiley and Prof. Cornel West, they discuss growing up in working-class households. "I saw so much poverty growing up," says Smiley, who lived with 13 family members in a three-bedroom trailer and learned that even when he was not optimistic, he could be hopeful. "Hope needs...April 24, 2012 | Story -
Part 2: Tavis Smiley & Cornel West on Growing Up Poor, Occupy Wall Street and Trayvon Martin Case
In part two of our interview, Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West discuss growing up in working-class households and compare the amount of money spent on war and the 2012 presidential campaign to funding for programs that assist the one in two Americans who are now poor. They also discuss the Trayvon Martin case and Ted Nugent’s...April 19, 2012 | Blog Post -
Tavis Smiley & Cornel West on "The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto"
The latest census data shows nearly one in two Americans, or 150 million people, have fallen into poverty — or could be classified as low income. We’re joined by Dr. Cornel West and Tavis Smiley, who continue their efforts to spark a national dialog on the poverty crisis with the new book, "The Rich and the Rest...April 19, 2012 | Story -
Amidst Soaring Poverty, New MLK Monument Should Be Seen as "Testament to [His] Unfinished Work"
A new report by the University of New Hampshire reveals that nearly 22 percent of America’s children live in poverty. Another study by the the Pew Hispanic Center found that Hispanics now make up the largest group of children living in poverty: 6.1 million Hispanic children are poor, compared with five million non-Hispanic...October 19, 2011 | Story -
Rev. Jesse Jackson on Taxing the Rich, Occupy Wall Street Protest and Palestinian Statehood
On Monday, President Obama proposed a new tax on millionaires as part of his plan to close the deficit and responded to opponents who have labeled his plan "class warfare." Republicans have vowed to defeat the tax, even as one in six Americans live in poverty. We speak with Rev. Jesse Jackson about how Obama’s...September 20, 2011 | Story -
U.S. Census Reports Reveals One in Six Americans Are Poor, One in Five Children Live in Poverty
A new U.S. Census Bureau report reveals the number of people living in poverty last year surged to 46.2 million—one in six Americans—the highest number since the Bureau began tracking such data more than 50 years ago. According to the report, blacks and Hispanics together accounted for 54 percent of the poor, with whites...September 14, 2011 | Story -
"A Declaration of War on the Poor": Cornel West and Tavis Smiley on the Debt Ceiling Agreement
The veteran broadcaster Tavis Smiley and the author and Princeton University Professor Cornel West are in the midst of a 15-city, cross-country trek they have dubbed "The Poverty Tour: A Call to Conscience." The tour comes on the heels of last week’s deficit agreement, which has been widely criticized for excluding...August 09, 2011 | Story -
Cornel West & Tavis Smiley on Obama: "Many of Us Are Exploring Other Possibilities in Coming Election”
We speak with veteran journalist Tavis Smiley and Princeton University Professor Cornel West about President Barack Obama and the 2012 elections. "He’s rightly associated much more with the oligarchs than with poor people," says West. Adds Smiley, "I don’t think the President would be hurt, necessarily—the...August 09, 2011 | Story -
Why is Glenn Beck Obsessively Targeting Frances Fox Piven?
For more than a year, Fox News host Glenn Beck has been increasingly targeting Frances Fox Piven, a 78-year-old distinguished professor of political science and sociology at the Graduate Center, City University of New York. Beck has repeatedly accused her of advocating violence and of hatching a plan in 1966 to overthrow the...January 14, 2011 | Story -
Prisoner Advocate Elaine Brown on Georgia Prison Strike: “Repression Breeds Resistance”
At least four prisons in Georgia remain in lockdown five days after prisoners went on strike in protest of poor living and working conditions. Using cell phones purchased from guards, the prisoners coordinated the nonviolent protests to stage the largest prison strike in U.S. history. There are reports of widespread violence...December 14, 2010 | Story -
As GOP Appears to Win Extension of Bush-Era Tax Cuts for Wealthy, Rev. Jesse Jackson Calls for "War on Poverty"
The Senate has failed to advance a bill that would have extended the deadline to file for federal unemployment insurance through next year. This leaves some two million unemployed Americans without jobless benefits after this month. The White House, meanwhile, has signaled it’s willing to compromise on Republican demands...December 01, 2010 | Story -
Chilean Economist Manfred Max-Neef on Barefoot Economics, Poverty and Why The U.S. is Becoming an "Underdeveloping Nation"
We speak with the acclaimed Chilean economist, Manfred Max-Neef. He won the Right Livelihood Award in 1983, two years after the publication of his book Outside Looking In: Experiences in Barefoot Economics. "Economists study and analyze poverty in their nice offices, have all the statistics, make all the models, and are...November 26, 2010 | Story -
Cornel West on Charles Rangel, Bush & Kanye West, and Why Obama Admin "Seems to Have Very Little Concern for Poor People"
Princeton University professor and author Cornel West join us to talk about Rep. Charles Rangel (D-NY) being censured for ethics violations, President George W. Bush saying the worst moment of his presidency was when Kanye West called him a racist, and President Obama’s policies toward the poor. "The Obama administration...November 19, 2010 | Story -
Judge Instructs Fed Agencies to Resume ACORN Funding
A federal judge has reaffirmed her earlier ruling blocking the congressional effort to defund the anti-poverty group ACORN. On Wednesday, Judge Nina Gershon cemented a decision from last year that such action amounted to an unconstitutional “bill of attainder.” Judge Gershon has asked all federal agencies to allow ACORN funding...March 12, 2010 | Story -
Photographer Kike Arnal & Ralph Nader on "In the Shadow of Power: Poverty in Washington, DC"
Washington, DC is the most powerful capital city in the world. But it’s also a city that is deeply divided between a wealthy and extremely influential minority and an impoverished and largely disenfranchised African American majority. The seat of global power is also home to a population that remains largely invisible to...March 02, 2010 | Story -
In the Shadow of the Olympic Flame: A Report from the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, the Poorest Neighborhood in Canada
The 2010 Winter Olympics have wrapped up in Vancouver, Canada. The Olympic flame has been doused, and a return to normalcy has begun for a city thrust onto the world stage. Democracy Now! producer Aaron Maté traveled to Vancouver to look at an issue lost in the two-week spectacle, the struggles of a low-income community in the...March 02, 2010 | Story -
Welfare Recipients Forced to Sell Food Stamps to Buy Basic Necessities
A new investigation from ColorLines Magazine supported by the Nation Institute’s Investigative Fund shows that some poor families are forced to sell their food stamps on the black market for cash in order to survive this prolonged recession. We speak to journalist Seth Wessler, whose investigation focuses on the impact...February 19, 2010 | Story -
Amnesty International Head Irene Khan on "The Unheard Truth: Poverty and Human Rights"
Saturday marks the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The poverty rate here in the United States has now risen to 13.2 percent, the highest level in eleven years. And around the world, two billion people, or a full third of humanity, are poor, living on less than $2 a day. One billion live in extreme poverty, earning...October 16, 2009 | Story
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By Amy Goodman with Denis Moynihan
Gen. John Allen, commander of U.S. Forces Afghanistan, spoke Wednesday at the Pentagon, four stars on each shoulder, his chest bedecked with medals. Unlike Allen, many decorated U.S. military veterans left the streets of Chicago after the NATO summit without their medals.
Web Exclusives
In an extended interview, David Bronner, president of Dr. Bronner’s Magic Soaps, discusses the history of the company, why they put sustainability and social justice ahead of profits, the organic and GMO labeling movements, the U.S. war on hemp, and why they refuse to sell out. [includes rush transcript]
Human Rights Watch’s Kenneth Roth examines why the U.S. has not pressured Bahrain to release pro-democracy activists. He also discusses Syria and the conditions in Israeli jails and courts that prompted 1,550 Palestinian prisoners to go on a hunger strike. [includes rush transcript]
