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What happened to liberal politicians? Sadly, they got smart.

PMO Photo by Adam Scotti

Whatever happened to liberals? Sadly, they got smart.

For this insight I'm indebted to U.S. journalist Thomas Frank, whose 2004 book, What's the Matter with Kansas? explained the success of right-wing populism in the George W. Bush years and whose recent, Listen, Liberal, described the Hillary Clinton debacle in advance. He lectured in Toronto last month. It served as a booster shot.

I was always perplexed by Obama's infatuation with "smart guys" like Bill Gates or Larry Summers. I'd assumed anyone who knows these certified smarties must also know they come with limits and are less than advertised.

Tags:
workers liberals economic inequality poor politicians Intelligence political ideology professional class

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Green Majority Radio
Green Majority Radio

Rules are for the poor… suckers!

April 11, 2016
| The Panama Papers scandal is all over the news, but what are the implications for the environment, and possibly more importantly why does no one seem surprised?
Length: 53:46 minutes (49.24 MB)
Redeye
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Economic Inequality: It's Far Worse Than You Think

July 15, 2015
| While everyone knows that the rich have a lot more money than the poor, we appear to have no idea just how big that gap is. A new article takes a look at our misconceptions about inequality.
Length: 16:00 minutes (14.66 MB)
Redeye
Redeye

Book: 'The Poor Get Prison'

May 29, 2015
| As the economy of the U.S. continues to stagnate, the banks have escaped scot free and the poor are targeted. Karen Dolan is author of a new report about the criminalization of poverty.
Length: 16:35 minutes (15.19 MB)
Photo: Christopher Porter/flickr
Solidarity and persistence in the Welfare Food Challenge
By
Vanessa Brcic
| October 22, 2014

My clinical, community, and research work revolves around the relationship between poverty and health. I am privileged to hear the stories of patients who are struggling. I get it, I think to myself, and I'm committed to making a change. Do I need to do the Welfare Food Challenge to help me do this? Probably not. But perhaps I can learn something.

Read more
in their own words

Nameless and homeless: Affordable housing -- if not now, when?

Remember their names:
Eugene Upper
Erwin Anderson
Mirsalah Aldin-Kompani
and hundreds more who died
on Toronto streets since '97

- From Nameless-Homeless, an unpublished rant in progress

Here's the grim context. Today, it's widely acknowledged that the "deinstitutionalization" of psychiatric survivors has been a total failure and fraud; it was from the very start. Why? Because of government incompetence and negligence, poor urban planning, and public indifference to "discharged" psychiatric survivors and other poor, marginalized and stigmatized people in our communities.

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Tags:
Toronto homelessness Ontario housing social housing poor psychiatry special diet allowance psychiatric survivor anti-psychiatry

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Poverty Olympics is no Games

A large group of supporters came out to watch the Poverty Olympics on Sunday, Feb 7. The event's aim is to ensure that increased poverty is not British Columbia's Olympic legacy.

Related rabble.ca story:

End poverty. It's not a game: The Poverty Olympics
Tags:
homelessness Vancouver politics welfare 2010 Olympics poor Poverty Olympics
When in doubt, blame unions
July 1, 2009 |
Instead of blaming financiers for the economic mess, many commentators and many members of the public-at-large are turning instead on another scapegoat: unions and their members.
Tags:
unions recession poor

Barbara Ehrenreich: How corporations and local governments use the poor as a piggy bank

Quote:
Individually the poor are not too tempting to thieves, for obvious reasons. Mug a banker and you might score a wallet containing a month's rent. Mug a janitor and you will be lucky to get away with bus fare to flee the crime scene.
Tags:
corporations inequality payday loans poor income local government Barbara Ehrenreich class war

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We welcome your comments! rabble.ca embraces a pro-human rights, pro-feminist, anti-racist, queer-positive, anti-imperialist and pro-labour stance, and encourages discussions which develop progressive thought. Our full comment policy can be found here. Learn more about Disqus on rabble.ca and your privacy here. Please keep in mind:

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Poor Peoples' Assembly: Toronto: Sat March 19

Smile

Tags:
activism poverty poor

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We welcome your comments! rabble.ca embraces a pro-human rights, pro-feminist, anti-racist, queer-positive, anti-imperialist and pro-labour stance, and encourages discussions which develop progressive thought. Our full comment policy can be found here. Learn more about Disqus on rabble.ca and your privacy here. Please keep in mind:

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