Park Avenue: money, power and the American dream - Why Poverty?

740 Park Ave, New York City, is home to some of the wealthiest Americans. Across the Harlem River, 10 minutes to the north, is the other Park Avenue in South Bronx, where more than half the population needs food stamps and children are 20 times more likely to be killed. In the last 30 years, inequality has rocketed in the US -- the American Dream only applies to those with money to lobby politicians for friendly bills on Capitol Hill.



How much inequality is too much? To find out more and get teaching resources linked to the film, go to www.whypoverty.net

President John F. Kennedy in 1962 on the need for Medicare

 This video is a short clip from a speech given in 1962 by President Kennedy, at a huge public rally in support of his proposal, later known as Medicare, to provide health care insurance for the elderly, as part of the Social Security system. Here, the President explains the need for the Medicare program, and also defends it against false attacks by opponents. Medicare was not enacted into law until 1965, during the term of President Lyndon Johnson, approximately two years after the assassination of John F. Kennedy in 1963. The arguments made by President Kennedy are also pretty good reasons why our country should have a program of universal health care, by expanding Medicare to cover all citizens of all ages.

Wealth Inequality in America

Published on Nov 20, 2012

Infographics on the distribution of wealth in America, highlighting both the inequality and the difference between our perception of inequality and the actual numbers. The reality is often not what we think it is.

MSNBC Krystal Ball’s timely rant on Union Membership

25 Jan 2013

MSNBC Krystal Ball’s Timely Rant On Union Membership – Americans, Wake the “F” Up!

Union membership rates are at a 97-year low. She correctly implies that unions are to Democrats what big business and the wealthy are to Republicans. She correctly states that as labor unions go, so goes the middle class. One of her best statements was:
"The America we know and love is the America we know and love because of unions. They fought for better wages, equal pay, equal rights, worker safety, and even the weekend. They continue to fight today for the vision of America articulated so eloquently by the President".

Who Stole the American Dream?

The promise of a prosperous middle-class life with decent work, rising living standards, and the potential for a better future has long been the foundation of the American dream. But as America continues to struggle to recover from the Great Recession, it has become clear that the middle class is in jeopardy – and many of the policies of the last 40 years are to blame.



More here:

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Wall Street greed

14 May 2012 | The Ed Show | MSNBC

Bill Moyers essay: It pays to be rich

Published on Apr 13, 2012 by MoyersandCompany With help from the government, the tax code, and their own money, there's no limit to how rich the super-rich aim to be -- disconnecting themselves further and further from the American people as a result. Bill Moyers examines the gap.

How TV Ruined Your Life: Aspiration

8 Feb 2011 | From Dallas to Grand Designs, television continually rubs desirable lifestyles in your face, making you feel inadequate in the process.

The #OccupyWallStreet Statement, read by Keith Olbermann

Occupy Wall Street: the next viral video

DC Douglas has put together a brilliant 3-minute video which boils down the situation and just what the hell should be done about it.

Sanders skewers the ‘class warfare’ of America’s ‘economic royalists’

China Wants To Construct A 50 Square Mile Self-Sustaining City South Of Boise, Idaho

"One of these "special economic zones" would be just south of Boise, Idaho and the Idaho government is eager to give it to them. China National Machinery Industry Corporation (Sinomach for short) plans to construct a "technology zone" south of Boise Airport which would ultimately be up to 50 square miles in size. The Chinese Communist Party is the majority owner of Sinomach, so the 10,000 to 30,000 acre "self-sustaining city" that is being planned would essentially belong to the Chinese government. The planned "self-sustaining city" in Idaho would include manufacturing facilities, warehouses, retail centers and large numbers of homes for Chinese workers. Basically it would be a slice of communist China dropped right into the middle of the United States."

Contact Idaho Sen. Michael Crapo (R)
239 Dirksen Senate Office Building
(202) 224-6142; 228-1375
Boise: (208) 334-1776
Tell him you are against a communist Chinese cheap labor camp of imported Chinese workers that takes away jobs from Americans. Most Americans can unite behind this, as China is still our ideological enemy. Call or write today!


Read it here.