Posted on

Poverty Facts Released

The Urban Institute recently released a report called “Poverty Facts, 2004.”

According to the report:

In 2004, 36.6 million people—or 12.6 percent of the U.S. population—were poor. The “poverty gap”—the amount of additional income required to remove all Americans from poverty—was $105.6 billion. Poverty rates were highest for African Americans, Hispanics, women, and persons under 25. Without government benefits, 61 million people would be poor. Social Security and other social insurance programs remove 21 million people from poverty. Means tested programs remove 3 million people from poverty. If food and housing assistance were counted as income for poverty purposes, an additional 7.6 million people would be counted as not poor.

Full report: Poverty Facts, 2004

Posted on

Portland Considered Most Bicycle-Friendly City in North America

Portland has become an urban planner’s dream lately–with their urban growth boundary and celebrated environmental planning.

Now Portland’s considered North America’s most bicycle-friendly city.

Amy Goodman, host of Democracy Now, recently interviewed Scott Bricker, Executive Director of Portland’s Bicycle Transportation Alliance and Elly Blue, a Portland-based transportation activist about what makes Portland so bicycle friendly.

Amy’s guests were there to promote the Towards Carfree Cities Conference coming up in June.

Interview: Portland Considered Most Bicycle-Friendly City in North America
Above image from www.StreetsBlog.org.

Posted on

Capitalism IS Charity?

On the Neoliberal Attack on Philanthropy
Bill Gates with Muhammad Yunus

You would understand it if you heard a right-wing libertarian like Ron Paul or Paul Wolfowitz say:

I believe that ‘government,’ as we know it today, should pull out of most things except for law enforcement and justice, national defense and foreign policy, and let the private sector, a social-consciousness-driven private sector, take over their other functions.

But Muhammad Yunus, founder of the Grameen Bank, and recent Nobel Peace Prize winner, wrote that in his book Banker to the Poor. Continue reading “Capitalism IS Charity?”