The "Other America" continues to struggle in America

Carol Forsloff - America has a dirty secret. Just what is it and why aren't people talking about what can be done about something that's growing and deeply felt by millions of people?

"America's dirty secret," is the great poverty in America. Just who are poor these days, what might be their future and what can be done to help them are the issues being examined by the people who are raising concerns and attention to a growing problem in the United States and other countries across the world.

Leo Hindery, who writes for the Huffington Post predominantly in the areas of business and economics, detailed the plight of America's poor . Like Michael Harrington, who wrote the book The Other America, Hindery puts up a microscope of his own to look at the problems facing the United States in the midst of a recession and how the problems particularly impact the poor.

In conversations with two of his friends, civil rights activist David Mixner and former U.S. Senator Don Riegle (D-MI), Hindery points out their observations are that few folks are giving any real attention to who's really poor now and that too many government officials are missing the important concerns about the backyards of America, where people are hurting the most.

While Hindery agrees with Michelle Obama's interest in raising the nutritional standards for America's children, he points out the topic of hunger is more important than food quality to many people who aren't being noticed in the dwindling economy that forces them to remain at the bottom. He points out some startling statistics that show how many Americans are just inches away from being lost and poor themselves, with the following facts.

* 30% of the nation's 50 million homeowners have homes with values below mortgage balances, with an anticipated increase to 50% by the end of 2011.and this number could rise to an almost unbelievable 50% by year-end 2011.

* The serious unemployment figures don't consider the problems of persons of color, of immigrants, of out-of-school youth. Furthermore, as Hindery notes, 130 million workers and 19% of the labor force had an average loss economically of 15% in the past two years. As he examines unemployment figures, Hindery cites the average work of 34 hours rather than 40 puts the number of unemployed workers in economic terms at about 50 million.

* The average household income has not changed for more than 20 years for the bottom 60% of wage earners and 100 million people, which constitutes one third of the entire U.S. population, are now at or below 200% of the federal poverty line of $21,834 for a family of four.
Hindery recommends a number of solutions to the terrible problem of poverty in America. He observes the government should follow the FDR strategy with an "economic bill of rights." similar to that of the former President in 1944 and with the same intentions.

FDR is quoted by Hindery as being sensitive to the plight of the poor and recognizing how important it is that poor people receive attention, as he said while he was dying, "We cannot be content, no matter how high the general standard of living may be, if some fraction of our people -- whether it be one-third or one-fifth or one-tenth -- is ill-fed, ill-clothed, ill-housed and insecure." Hindery believes, as FDR, that the plight of the poor should be at the heart of economic recovery efforts.

Michael Harrington was credited with opening up America's eyes to the plight of the poor in the 1960's. His book, widely read by college students of the time, was part of the impetus for poverty programs under Lyndon Johnson,, that were shelved as the country became increasingly embroiled in war. Besides Harrington, a socialist, was discredited by those who equated his views with communism, although he protested, as did others, that his view was not totalitarian but compassionate towards the poor. Peter Manicas, a professor from the University of Hawaii, however, pointed out,

"Harrington was correct that no socialist revolution was on the agenda in the US. And he
was not alone is suffering from the deep difficulty of reconciling a radical vision with the means
available in American electoral politics. But it was not just socialism and the war on poverty that
took a beating in the 70s and 80s. So did liberalism and perhaps also democracy."

Hindery, FDR, and Harrington point out the suffering of the poor class and the potential of the safety moorings of middle class folks becoming undone during bad times. , The facts can't be denied, as statistics have shown, that many ordinary Americans are either poor or becoming poor in the present economy; and a few folks are raising the issue as a dominant one for the United States.

But the plight of the poor isn't just something that is happening in America. Authors point out how the world has lived with poverty throughout its history. Presently countries like Fiji struggle with the problems of poverty, as the Ecumenical Center for Research, Advocacy and Education points out. It also underlines, however, the values of a compassionate, inclusive society, something that is underlined as important by other agencies and organizations across the world who work to help the poor..