Reclaim Presents Film, Discussion on Income Inequality

Reclaim Northwest Suburbs is hosting the event, “Income Inequality: Documentary and Discourse”, on Tuesday, July 31, 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., at the Arlington Heights Memorial Library, 500 N. Dunton Avenue, in the Hendrickson Room, 2nd Floor. The viewing of the 2013 Robert Reich documentary, Inequality for All, will be followed by a panel discussion on the topic of income inequality and the rise in suburban poverty.

The documentary, Inequality for All, is narrated by Robert Reich, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at University of California Berkeley and former Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration, who explains the topic of income inequality and the history behind it in a clear and concise way. He described the topic on the documentary website: “As in the 1920’s, so much of the nation’s income and wealth are going to the top, that the vast middle class doesn’t have the purchasing power to keep the economy going. There’s no way you can sustain the economy over the long-term without a strong, vibrant and growing middle class.” He stated, “Half of the US's total assets are now owned by just 400 people – 400!” – and Reich believes that this is not just a threat to the economy, but also to democracy.

“People are stressed. Their debt obligations are staggering, they’re working harder and longer than ever before. People need to understand what’s happening to them - because from their perspective, the picture looks pretty bleak,” he explained.

The panelists, who are experts and leaders from the local community, will answer questions related to the problem of growing income inequality and its impact on local families. The panel includes Thakar S. Basati, Founder, Partners for Our Community; Jeannine Love, Roosevelt University Professor and expert in social policy; Jon Rapp, Social Worker at Journeys/The Road Home; Jim Slusher, Deputy Managing Editor for Opinion, The Daily Herald; and Ram Villivalam, Democratic Candidate for Illinois’ State Senate, 8th District.

In the United States, income inequality, or the gap between the rich and everyone else, has been growing markedly by every major statistical measure for the past 30 years. Workers’ wages have stagnated as the cost of living has risen disproportionately while during the same time period executive pay has skyrocketed. The discussion at the event will focus on how the economic and labor policies that changed over the past 30 years brought us from the most prosperous years with the least income inequality following WWII to the period of the highest income inequality between the rich and poor which is seen today.

Reich in the film emphasizes the urgency of the problem and what can be done to change course and bring balance back to our economy. As he stated in an interview in The Guardian, “The economy is not like the weather. It's not inevitable. It's not determined. An economy does not exist in nature. We don't have to settle. And, crucially, it can be changed.”

To understand the full effect of income inequality, the following statistics bring to light how the problem has affected the average American household:

Almost half of US families can’t afford basics like rent and food, according to a recent study by the United Way ALICE Project reported by CNN. Nearly 51 million households don’t earn enough to afford a monthly budget that includes housing, food, child care, and health care. That’s 43% of households in the U.S.

A 2014 Bankrate survey, which mirrored Fed data, found that only 38% of Americans could cover a $1,000 emergency room visit or a $500 car repair with money they’d saved. A Pew Charitable Trusts report that 71% of households were concerned about having enough money to cover everyday expenses.

According to the Pew Research Center, the wealth gaps between upper-income families and lower- and middle-income families are at the highest levels recorded. In 2016, the median wealth of upper-income families was seven times that of middle-income families, a ratio that has doubled since 1983. Upper-income families also had 75 times the wealth of lower-income families in 2016, compared with 28 times the wealth in 1983.

The richest 400 Americans now own more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined.

Regarding the rise in suburban poverty, the Social IMPACT Research Center reports that in 1990, about one third of the Chicago region’s poor population lived in the suburbs. By 2011, the share of the region’s poor population living in the suburbs grew to half, meaning nearly equal numbers of people experiencing poverty live in the suburbs as in Chicago.

Today, the United States doesn’t have nearly as much upward mobility as other Western nations. In the US, statistics show 42% of the kids born into poverty will stay in poverty.

Reclaim Chicago and its chapters throughout Chicagoland are supported by The People’s Lobby and National Nurses United. The People’s Lobby organizes people at the grassroots on issues ranging from austerity and budgets to mass incarceration, good jobs, climate change and campaign finance reform. National Nurses United, with 6,500 Registered Nurses in Illinois and close to 185,000 members across the country, is the largest union and professional association of RNs in U.S. history.

The event is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, refer to https://www.facebook.com/event... and for more information on Reclaim Chicago, refer to www.reclaimchicago.org To sign up for the event, click on the link here https://www.thepeopleslobbyusa...