Alison sends this, a report from The Opportunity Agenda that says Americans, while balancing a belief in equality for all, and the ability of people in this country to make their own way (the old “pull yourself up by your bootstraps” thing), are ready to talk a little more seriously about eliminating poverty.
From the study:
- 7 in 10 (72 percent) of surveyed Americans said that reducing poverty is an “extremely/very important” issue for the next president of the United States, but
- Just under 6 in 10 (57 percent) express the same belief about reducing the “gap between the rich and the poor.”
- (60 percent) still believe in the power of hard work and other individualistic ideals
- Nearly 6 in 10 Americans (57 percent) believe that the American Dream no longer holds true, up from 48 percent in 2014.
For the second year, I am teaching a senior seminar at University of New Haven on researching and writing about poverty. I. Can’t. Wait.
Dating Jesus 
Not a fan.
But I’m not going to be too critical because the days of doing the same thing over and over and over again and convincing people something different is going to happen are coming to an end. So a reformist prescription to reframe public discourse on poverty in a way that’s friendly to one particular ideology and economic system really isn’t worth much to people actually Living The Dream.
One way or another, the talking about poverty is going to end. Sooner than later by the look of things. That ain’t gonna be pretty.