The State of Opportunity

On January 17th, Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity hosted a great forum in Washington, D.C. with pollsters—Celinda Lake, Jim McGlaglin and others—, members of the press and political analysts, including E.J. Dionne and Michael Gerson, to discuss whether and how growing poverty will affect the election in 2012. Following the event, I was interviewed to address that very question.

 Year after year, equal opportunity and fairness are critically important values on the minds of Americans. Surveys find a collective desire for greater economic equality, greater government involvement in employment and opportunity, and a more widespread distribution of wealth, but people don’t think that these values are reflected in the current economy.  For example, a November 2011 poll found that just over half of Americans said that a major problem in the U.S. is that “everyone does not have an equal chance in life.” The same number agreed with this statement in September 2010. More than two of three Democrats and one in two Independents agreed, but more than half of Republicans disagreed. 

 
 Photo by Steve Rhodes

Around the world, millions of people will be attending a host of events and ceremonies on December 10 to commemorate and continue the campaign for the basic rights of all people. To be a prosperous society, it is vital that every individual has access to opportunity. Opportunity and human rights are crucial for ensuring that people can provide for themselves, their families, and their country. In order for barriers to opportunity to be lifted, the government needs to implement a domestic human rights policy that ensures that every American is treated with fairness and equality.

By Alan Jenkins

As the Occupy movement enters its third month, it is moving into a new phase. Colder weather in the north, combined with aggressive push back from city officials around the country, is requiring the movement to adopt new, innovative approaches that include, but transcend, public presence as protest.