The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto

Cornell West and Tavis Smiley

Tavis Smiley said on "Face the Nation" Sunday that poverty in America "threatens our very democracy," and that it threatens our national security.

"There seems to be a bipartisan consensus in this town - and you know how hard that is to do - but a bipartisan consensus that the poor just don't matter, that poverty is just not an important issue," Smiley said. "We cannot abide another campaign for the White House where the issue of poverty isn't raised higher on the American agenda."

Cornell West said the political system is to blame: "We've got a political system that's broke and, you know, both parties tied to big money, and so the problem is we make our choices relative to those two parties, or we offer third party possibilities. . . . But most importantly we need a massive job program. We need an investment in education, quality jobs and housing. Do away with discourse about austerity, [and] focus on massive investment, research and development, infrastructure, and job creation."


The duo also appeared on the Colbert Report and talked about their new book.


I'm sure you'll see Cornel West and Tavis Smiley make the rounds, as they continue their efforts to spark a national dialog on the poverty crisis while publicizing their new book, The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto.