Earlier this year Dave and I spent 16 days in Norway. We expected to be awed by the beautiful coastline, spectacular mountains and dramatic fiords. What we didn’t expect was how much we would come to appreciate the Norwegian people and to be so impressed with their government. As you know if you’ve read my last few columns, I am convinced that inequality is the most serious problem we face in   [Read More …]

Life isn’t a monopoly game. There are no “Get-Out-of-Jail Free Cards,” and no “$200 Payouts” when you pass go.” On the other hand, the concentration of wealth seems to be a “Winner Takes All” game. How else would you explain the fact that 8 men own the same wealth as the 3.6 billion people who make up the poorest half of humanity.   Of even greater significance for us is the fact that 6 of   [Read More …]

Why aren’t all Americans worried about the growing problem of inequality? If we aren’t living paycheck-to-paycheck ourselves, it is easy to be oblivious to the problems of those who are because we just don’t see them. Ironically, on-site exposure to the poorest of the poor in other countries can open our eyes to the problems the poor face in America. That’s one of the reasons why my husband and   [Read More …]

“And a little child shall lead them.” On a traditional eighth-grade trip to Washington, D.C., dozens of students from South Orange Middle School in New Jersey refused to be photographed with Congressman Paul Ryan. One of those students, Matthew Malespina, said in an interview “that he chose not to be photographed with Ryan because he disagreed with the policies the speaker and his party are   [Read More …]

Inequality isn’t a new problem, but the current administration seems determined to make it worse. The subtitle for Trump’s new budget might as well be: “The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Poorer.” The Prison of Privilege is a pamphlet written by William R. Miller, Ph.D. and published by the Faith & Money Network. In it he refers to a book titled, The Spirit Level which he says   [Read More …]

Not all hunger problems are alike, but every child needs adequate nutrition to develop their brains and their bodies. Given the growing problem in our own country and the drastic cuts to nutrition programs in the President’s proposed 2018 budget, one wonders what it will take for Congress to say, “STOP IT MR. PRESIDENT. Our children deserve a healthy future.” Food security is a federal   [Read More …]

Franklin Delano Roosevelt, 32nd President of the United States, guided our nation through the great depression. He frequently reminded us of our responsibility to care for the poor as when he said, “The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little.” It is important to remember his example   [Read More …]