A panel of experts speaking Jan. 12 at GW’s Lisner Auditorium had a formidable task.
“I want to be bold tonight to talk about eradicating poverty in this country,” Tavis Smiley, a PBS broadcaster, said in his introduction to the discussion he was moderating, “Remaking America: From Poverty to Prosperity.”
Over the next two and a half hours, panelists hashed out the systemic problem of poverty in the United States and offered their solutions for a live C-SPAN broadcast and standing-room-only audience in Lisner. Experts included Cornel West, democratic intellectual and author; personal finance expert Suze Orman; filmmaker Michael Moore; Barbara Ehrenreich, author of Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America; Majora Carter, an urban revitalization strategist; Vicki B. Escarra, president and CEO of Feeding America; and Roger A. Clay Jr., president of the Insight Center for Community Economic Development.
They began by discussing the scope of the problem. Half of America is in poverty or near it, said Mr. Smiley. Some states and populations, including Hispanics and African Americans, are hit harder than others. The middle class is the “new poor,” and the gap between the super-rich and the super-poor is widening. Poverty doesn’t discriminate, the panelists agreed. “The face of poverty is the person sitting next to you,” said Ms. Orman. “It’s every single color.”
So how’d we get here? Panelists had more than a few theories. Americans live in a capitalist system driven by corporate greed, said Dr. West. And it’s a system that wants them to be poor, said Ms. Ehrenreich. “The surprising, shocking, disgusting thing is that not only do we not help people who are having trouble and sliding down, but we kick them a little further,” she said. Big banks take advantage of Americans, said Ms. Orman, with their high, unforgiving interest rates. Then there are the inadequate politicians who are too cozy with Wall Street, added Mr. Moore. And the cuts to important anti-poverty programs, said Ms. Escarra.
The panelists didn’t just point to the problems, however. They also offered a slew of solutions.
Ms. Orman focused on personal finance; good planning can bring and keep Americans out of poverty, she said. “My job is rebuilding America one wallet at a time,” she said, imploring Americans to get savvy with finances, talk about how to best save money, and make a financial plan.
Meanwhile, Mr. Moore’s frank suggestions were more broadly focused. He wants to tax the rich more, and take money out of politics so leaders aren’t tied to Wall Street. They aren’t leaders, but followers, he said. “They follow the money.” Dr. West commented on the importance of having leaders who are “courageous, prophetic and progressive”—those who will stick up for the poor.
Ms. Escarra wants to be able to rework the food system so Americans have access to the healthy fare they need, decreasing the need for food programs for the impoverished.
Mr. Clay said he wants to see more jobs focused on the small-business level, with the country’s resources becoming more evenly distributed among its citizens. Ultimately, Mr. Clay said, “We need a totally new system.”
Regardless of whether they become directly involved in the country’s poverty problem, Americans can pressure lawmakers and leaders to commit to addressing poverty—no matter what, adults will always have their very important right to vote, panelists said.
The timing of the Jan. 12 discussion was especially appropriate, GW President Steven Knapp said in his introduction. “It is particularly fitting that this discussion is occurring at the time of year when we celebrate the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.,” Dr. Knapp said, adding that Dr. King had the “courage and wisdom to address the pervasive inequalities that continue to divide our nation.”