Austerity in America: The Fall of Camden, NJ
Monday, May 16th – 7pm
The A-Space, 4722 Baltimore Ave., Philadelphia, PA
Camden, New Jersey went from a diverse and mighty industrial city–home to 55,000 of good paying industrial jobs–only to become the one of the nationʼs most segregated and poorest
In 2002, the New Jersey state government claimed it needed to take over nearly all of the cityʼs functions–legally disenfranchising every resident–only to leave a trail of failed development schemes and enough financial ruin that the city recently laid off half of its police and fire departments.
Join us for an intriguing discussion about capital flight, severe austerity, urban development, and political corruption.
Panelists include:
Dr. Howard Gillette – Professor of History at Rutgers University-Camden and author of Camden After the Fall: Decline and Renewal in a Post-Industrial City.
Tom Knoche – Community organizer, Camden activist, and author of Common Sense for Camden: Taking Back Our City.
Dan Sidorick – Adjunct Assistant Professor of History at Temple University and author of Condensed Capitalism: Campbell Soup and the Pursuit of Cheap Production in the Twentieth Century.
Part of the Philadelphia Industrial Workers of the World’s Philly Labor Talk Series.
Contact walt.weber.iww@gmail.com with questions. This event is FREE!
Kucinich on the Bailout
HUD Claims Reduction in US Homeless
Many homeless advocates dispute HUD’s recent announcement that the number of homeless people in the US decreased by 12 percent between 2005 and 2007.
It seems that “the declines occurred because HUD changed guidelines in late 2006 for counting the homeless, requiring an interview with each person counted. In 2005, counters could use their judgment to determine if a person was homeless.”
It’s easy for the the government to reduce the amount of homeless people by changing the definition to include less people. Some cities include people who are living with relatives, because they don’t have a permanent home. The Federal government, however, decided not to include them anymore. Problem solved.
Claiming that there’s less homeless people is dangerous because Bush will now claim that cities don’t need as much help or funding. HUD, and the right, shouldn’t be so quick to tout easily disputed “accomplishments.”
