You'd like to think that poverty, such a serious issue, historically and currently, would be at the top of the list in this, hell, in every election, but well... it's not.
In fact, only one of the two campaigns was willing to discuss the issue:
Poverty in this country in this magnitude is inexcusable and should be the single-most important concern in this country today. But it's not. Not if you take your cue from the campaigns, and the debate questions poised during the three presidential debates. At least the Obama campaign was willing to answer questions posed in the above article.#TalkPoverty: The Obama Campaign Responds
Three months ago, anticipating that the media and presidential campaigns wouldn’t focus on the struggles of the poor and near poor in a substantive way, TheNation.com kicked off a new campaign: “#TalkPoverty: Questions for Obama and Romney.
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A thriving #TalkPoverty community developed online, and the Half In Ten coalition—comprised of 200 national and local organizations across the country—ran an excellent spin-off campaign to pressure debate moderators to ask President Obama and Governor Romney about their plans to address child poverty. Despite this vibrant campaign—and the outsized focus of the debates on the domestic economy—the moderators never asked a single question about poverty.
At the outset of the #TalkPoverty effort, I promised to hound both campaigns for answers. In the end, it didn’t really require hounding as far as the Obama campaign was concerned—they agreed to respond when I first contacted them. The Romney campaign, on the other hand, initially expressed openness before sending an e-mail last Thursday: “We will not be participating. Thanks for the offer.” It seems that the Romney campaign prefers to continue its strategy of speaking about “the poor” without saying anything of substance about antipoverty policies, or speaking in a manner completely untethered from reality, or outright lying.
http://www.thenation.com/blog/170950...aign-responds#
Something needs to be done about the poor, the hungry and the shelterless. Not just in this country but worldwide. Don't ask me what the answer is. My answer would require a complete reconstruction of world economic priorities. Imagine anyone going for that.