LEFT BUSINESS OBSERVER HITS 20
DOUG HENWOOD, one of the most useful and remarkable voices on the left
for the past two decades has just published his 20th edition issue of
the Left Business Observer. One of the things we've always liked about
Henwood is his ability to make one think differently about money and its
effect on us. His anniversary issue is no different. For example he
notes that Tom Frank in the 'What's the Matter with Kansas' had argued
that "the white working class has been hoodwinked by Republican culture
warriors into voting against their economic interests." This has been a
case we have long made as well and is one of the reasons we support a
strong populist approach to politics.
But Henwood shoots two well-aimed holes in the argument:
- "[Richard Hofstadter] made the now largely forgotten point that
American Protestants have long had a deep sympathy for The Market. Since
they see humans as fallen, corrupt creatures always in need of a good
kick in the ass, they revere it as a wonderful mechanism of social
discipline, punishing the lazy and rewarding the hard-working. If people
are poor, it's because they're immoral, impatient, or wasteful.". .
.Henwood notes the acceptance of this fantasy explains "why there's been
so little political price paid for the economic march back to the 19th
century."
- "I'll confess that for a moment or two after the dot com bubble burst,
and Enron and the other corporate scandals were revealed, I'd hoped
there might be some moment of magical awakening. But it didn't happen
that way. And the reason it didn't happen was well anticipated by C.
Wright Mills in the Power Elite. Writing of of the routinization of
crisis and scandal, Mills declared there was really no energy for
sustained or productive outrage: 'Among the mass distractions this
feeling soon passes harmlessly away. For the American distrust of the
high and mighty is a distrust without doctrine and without political
focus; it is a distrust felt by the mass public as a series of more or
less cynically expected disclosures.'"
Henwood hopes to have a more upbeat tone for the 30th anniversary of
LBO, but in the meantime it's an excellent place to find why things work
the way they don't. . . and why they don't know matter how hard we try.
LEFT BUSINESS OBSERVER
http://leftbusinessobserver.com/
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PERCENTAGE OF POOR AMERICANS IN SEVERE POVERTY REACHES 32 YEAR HIGH
TONY PUGH, MCCLATCHY - The percentage of poor Americans who are living
in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working
Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between
the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen. A McClatchy
Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, found
that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty. A
family of four with two children and an annual income of less than
$9,903 - half the federal poverty line - was considered severely poor in
2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.
The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans
grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005. That's 56 percent faster than the
overall poverty population grew in the same period. McClatchy's review
also found statistically significant increases in the percentage of the
population in severe poverty in 65 of 215 large U.S. counties, and
similar increases in 28 states. The review also suggested that the rise
in severely poor residents isn't confined to large urban counties but
extends to suburban and rural areas. . .
Nearly two out of three people (10.3 million) in severe poverty are
white, but blacks (4.3 million) and Hispanics of any race (3.7 million)
make up disproportionate shares. Blacks are nearly three times as likely
as non-Hispanic whites to be in deep poverty, while Hispanics are
roughly twice as likely.
Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has a higher concentration of
severely poor people - 10.8 percent in 2005 - than any of the 50 states,
topping even hurricane-ravaged Mississippi and Louisiana, with 9.3
percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. Nearly six of 10 poor District
residents are in extreme poverty.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0223-09.htm
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
DOUG HENWOOD, one of the most useful and remarkable voices on the left
for the past two decades has just published his 20th edition issue of
the Left Business Observer. One of the things we've always liked about
Henwood is his ability to make one think differently about money and its
effect on us. His anniversary issue is no different. For example he
notes that Tom Frank in the 'What's the Matter with Kansas' had argued
that "the white working class has been hoodwinked by Republican culture
warriors into voting against their economic interests." This has been a
case we have long made as well and is one of the reasons we support a
strong populist approach to politics.
But Henwood shoots two well-aimed holes in the argument:
- "[Richard Hofstadter] made the now largely forgotten point that
American Protestants have long had a deep sympathy for The Market. Since
they see humans as fallen, corrupt creatures always in need of a good
kick in the ass, they revere it as a wonderful mechanism of social
discipline, punishing the lazy and rewarding the hard-working. If people
are poor, it's because they're immoral, impatient, or wasteful.". .
.Henwood notes the acceptance of this fantasy explains "why there's been
so little political price paid for the economic march back to the 19th
century."
- "I'll confess that for a moment or two after the dot com bubble burst,
and Enron and the other corporate scandals were revealed, I'd hoped
there might be some moment of magical awakening. But it didn't happen
that way. And the reason it didn't happen was well anticipated by C.
Wright Mills in the Power Elite. Writing of of the routinization of
crisis and scandal, Mills declared there was really no energy for
sustained or productive outrage: 'Among the mass distractions this
feeling soon passes harmlessly away. For the American distrust of the
high and mighty is a distrust without doctrine and without political
focus; it is a distrust felt by the mass public as a series of more or
less cynically expected disclosures.'"
Henwood hopes to have a more upbeat tone for the 30th anniversary of
LBO, but in the meantime it's an excellent place to find why things work
the way they don't. . . and why they don't know matter how hard we try.
LEFT BUSINESS OBSERVER
http://leftbusinessobserver.com/
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
PERCENTAGE OF POOR AMERICANS IN SEVERE POVERTY REACHES 32 YEAR HIGH
TONY PUGH, MCCLATCHY - The percentage of poor Americans who are living
in severe poverty has reached a 32-year high, millions of working
Americans are falling closer to the poverty line and the gulf between
the nation's "haves" and "have-nots" continues to widen. A McClatchy
Newspapers analysis of 2005 census figures, the latest available, found
that nearly 16 million Americans are living in deep or severe poverty. A
family of four with two children and an annual income of less than
$9,903 - half the federal poverty line - was considered severely poor in
2005. So were individuals who made less than $5,080 a year.
The McClatchy analysis found that the number of severely poor Americans
grew by 26 percent from 2000 to 2005. That's 56 percent faster than the
overall poverty population grew in the same period. McClatchy's review
also found statistically significant increases in the percentage of the
population in severe poverty in 65 of 215 large U.S. counties, and
similar increases in 28 states. The review also suggested that the rise
in severely poor residents isn't confined to large urban counties but
extends to suburban and rural areas. . .
Nearly two out of three people (10.3 million) in severe poverty are
white, but blacks (4.3 million) and Hispanics of any race (3.7 million)
make up disproportionate shares. Blacks are nearly three times as likely
as non-Hispanic whites to be in deep poverty, while Hispanics are
roughly twice as likely.
Washington, D.C., the nation's capital, has a higher concentration of
severely poor people - 10.8 percent in 2005 - than any of the 50 states,
topping even hurricane-ravaged Mississippi and Louisiana, with 9.3
percent and 8.3 percent, respectively. Nearly six of 10 poor District
residents are in extreme poverty.
http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0223-09.htm
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