I’ve just read–two years after everyone else–Katherine Boo’s powerful book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers. It won the 2012 National Book Award, and a blurb
Tag: Poverty
Is capitalism really the best economic system?
From the time we were children, we have been indoctrinated to think of capitalism as the best economic system on the planet, synonymous with
Invisible and hurting
Many of my friends have been incredibly generous with donations of food, money, toiletries and blankets to the St. Louis Homeless Winter Outreach volunteers.
Pope Francis makes headlines by making us think about poor people. Imagine that.
“Pope Ramps Up Charity Office to Be With Poor.” That was a headline in the November 29th St. Louis Post -Dispatch. Pope Francis is making
Despite some recovery, poverty rate stays stagnant
It’s interesting while reading about “15% of Americans living in poverty” on the CNN website that it’s doubtful that 15% of the readers are
Federalism that works
Check out below the first sentence of an article in the Aug. 13, 2013 St. Louis Post-Dispatch: ST. LOUIS • The city has received an
Missouri’s hypocritical war on poor people
If you qualify for TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] in Missouri, don’t try to use your benefits card at an ATM near a
Like other cities, Atlanta has a suburban poverty problem
You can’t always judge a book by its cover. In our culture, the term ““inner city” conjures images of condemned buildings and dilapidated public
Wealth inequality in America is much worse than you think
We love good infographics here at Occasional Planet because they help us see patterns that escaped our awareness, and understand and digest information. Here’s
Fast food and big-box workers demand a living wage
On November 23, Black Friday, workers in thousands of Walmart stores went on strike for higher wages and better benefits. On November 29, in