Capitalism's unequal distribution of wealth and resources necessarily engenders economic "winners" and "losers." But the poor in the United States are often described solely in terms of moral failures: they're lazy, irresponsible and just don't want to work hard for success. Indeed, openly blaming the poor for poverty has been en vogue since Reagan's acidic "welfare queen" remarks. However, in A People's History of Poverty in America, Stephen Pimpare takes a decidedly less accusatory look at the history of poverty in our country. Told from the perspective of the poor themselves, the moving stories of hard work, bad luck, and almost insurmountable institutional inequalities brim with a quiet dignity.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Wealth and poverty in early church and society edited by Susan R. Holman
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1 hold on first copy returned of 1 copy
| Location | Call Number | Availability (what's this?) |
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| Webster 3rd Floor | BR 115 W4W39 2008 | REQUEST IT |
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Friday, November 7, 2008
Rising poverty and high growth. economy
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The revised benchmark by the World Bank is the average of the national poverty lines of the worlds’ 15 poorest countries. The ADB’s benchmark is Asia-specific based on surveys from 16 Asian countries. When these benchmarks are used for estimating poverty levels in India, the situation becomes grave and uncomfortable. By using the first poverty line, the estimated number of poor in India during 2004-05 was 456 million or 41.6% of the total population.
According to the second poverty line, the number of poor in India was 622 million, which is 54.8% of the population. Evidently, these estimates are significantly above the official estimates of 27.5% indicated by the Planning Commission. Among the states, Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, MP, Orissa indicate that around 40% of the population is below the poverty line.
A deeper probe into the poverty statistics measured by the World Bank, the ADB and the Planning Commission reflects poor achievements on inclusive growth despite attaining a growth momentum of as high as 8-10% by the country over the last few years. In the past quarter century, the poverty rate has slowly declined by somewhat less than one percentage point a year. But the number of poor have remained stubbornly large. Moreover, the decline in poverty was faster during the ’80s than during the ’90s and in recent years. Clearly, India has not experienced the spectacular declines in poverty, expected in an emerging economy with high growth.
2008 - the International Year of the Potato: Potato Can Provide Food Security
| UN Says Potato Can Provide Food Security, Eradicate Poverty | |
| Geneva 06 November 2008 |
Schlein report - Listen (MP3)
As the International Year of the Potato 2008 winds down, the United Nations is appealing for continued global attention on the role the potato can play in providing food security and eradicating poverty in helping to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. It said the potato is a staple, nutritious food that can provide poor people with an inexpensive food that can stop hunger and keep people healthy. Lisa Schlein reports for VOA from Geneva.
To many people, the potato is an object of fun. Couch potato comes immediately to mind. But, the United Nations thinks the spud is a stud as far as it's ability to feed and preserve the planet. It goes so far as to say that the potato can help save the lives of many of the world's poor and hungry. " alt="Sweet potatoes, 23 Oct. 2008
" src="http://www.voanews.com/english/images/AFP_Sweet_potato_23OCT08.jpg" border="0" height="193" hspace="2" vspace="2" width="190">Sweet potatoes, 23 Oct. 2008
Paolo Garonna is Officer in Charge of the U.N. Economic Commission for Europe. He noted the U.N. General Assembly resolution that launched 2008 as the International Year of the Potato stressed the link between the potato and the Millennium Development Goals. more
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