Adina Berliant
In 2018, 14.7 million (nearly one in ten) U.S. workers, most of whom were in service jobs, were paid so little that they couldn’t afford food.
‘Unless government takes immediate, bold action, food-insecure Americans will be hit even harder, and their troubles will likely extend long beyond the life of the epidemic.’
‘Hunger is linked to a host of downstream negative physical, emotional, and social effects. Knowing this, how does America allow one in seven of our children to struggle with hunger?’
‘Make no mistake about it: If this proposal is implemented as proposed, it will increase poverty – and the worst symptoms of poverty such as hunger, homelessness, and early deaths – in New York City and nationwide.’
‘In many of the nation’s big cities, hunger and homelessness remain rampant. But given that Mayor de Blasio is enacting so many progressive policies to combat poverty, why are these problems still pervasive here?’
‘Condemning Neo-Nazis and Klansmen is (or at least should be) an easy first step. Yet, if we as a nation want to fully reject racism, we must commit ourselves to the proposition that every American is entitled to an equally long and healthy life.’
‘Campaigning and governing is now indistinguishable from fundraising. The vast majority of e-mails and letters that I now receive from elected officials are either thinly veiled fundraising pitches or overt ones. The last e-mail I received from Obama as President was a fundraising pitch.’
‘We should appeal to the nation’s fundamental altruism, explaining how all of us will benefit from a more inclusive America. Simply scapegoating the one percent just won’t cut it.’
Joel Berg argues that the focus on the 1 percent, and the claim by Bernie Sanders that his backers represented grassroots America, both blur the realities of class, identity and politics in 2016 America.
In an excerpt from his forthcoming book, Joel Berg takes a hard look at his allies on the Left—from Occupy to Bernie Bros—whose tactics are often less compelling than their politics.
Democrats avoid talking about poverty. Republicans back policies premised on outdated ideas about the poor. And the media doesn’t take either side to task.