More than 20 million people in the United States are living in extreme poverty at this moment.
That means that the income for a family of 4 is half below the poverty line, or $11,000. Six million people’s incomes consist only of food stamps. These are shocking numbers, and Peter Edelman says most people are not familiar with the bleak reality of why extreme poverty exists. Edelman is the author of “So Rich, So Poor: Why it’s so Hard to End Poverty in America” (New Press/2012) and he’s the Associate Dean of the Georgetown Law Center. He joins host Frank Stasio to analyze the roots of deep poverty in America.
This program originally aired on June 19, 2012. For a link to the audio, click here.