Fifty years ago, members of the largest middle class in our history were astonished to learn that there was poverty in their midst. Michael Harrington’s The Other America focused awareness of this issue and sparked an effort to overcome the problem. Eventually Lyndon Johnson declared a War on Poverty, and actual poverty rates declined to 11.1 percent in 1973. But poverty rates have continued to fluctuate and are now at an alarming 15 percent. It was recently reported that 46 million Americans are now counted as poor. As bad as that is, this number would be nearly doubled without programs such as food stamps and Social Security. Join Democratic Socialists of Central Ohio, in collaboration with Simply Living, the Free Press, Green Education Fund, Jobs with Justice, and other supporters to explore these issues, and discuss how we deal with poverty as a community and as a country.
Panelists at the event include: Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, Director, Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks; Fadhel Kaboub, Assistant Professor, Economics Department, Denison University; Kevin Boyle, Professor, History Department, Ohio State University; Bob Fitrakis, Professor, Columbus State Community College, writer, publisher of the Free Press. Held at Progress Ohio, 172 East State Street, on October 3rd at 7:00 p.m. For more information call 614-288-5738 or email smorgen@juno.com.