Category Archives: Poverty

This category corresponds with the Poverty Book Discussion sponsored by the Cedar Valley Citizens for Undoing Racism commencing in the summer of 2013. The primary text to spark conversation is The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto by Tavis Smiley and Dr. Cornel West. Comments on other texts will be featured and the discussion of poverty broadly speaking will be ongoing indefinitely.

SAVING DEMOCRACY: OUR CONUNDRUM

Posted on January 19, 2023 by mdbwell

It appears we are living in a society in which, if one has comparative wealth, one can wield power and influence that are immoral, unconscionable, and often unlawful. It is not the case that logic and ethics win the day. Often, it … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty, Social Ethics | Tagged democracy, fascism, holistic organization, income inequality, love of money, Poverty, totalitarianism, wealth | Leave a comment

Prince of Peace & Father of Mindfulness

Posted on January 27, 2022 by mdbwell

With the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, Martin Luther King, Jr., had to determine what direction he was subsequently to pursue. After all, the previous year, he was able to celebrate the enactment of the accommodations bill; the … Continue reading →

Posted in International Affairs, Poverty, Race Relations, War & Peace | Tagged Bodhisattva, Buddhism, Fellowship of Reconciliaton, Gandhi, human-rights, Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968), Mindfulness, nonviolence, Poverty, Pres. Lyndon Johnson, Racial discrimination, Ramparts magazine, Thich Nhat Hanh (1926-2022), Vietnam War, War on Poverty | Leave a comment

A CHANGE MUST COME!

Posted on September 22, 2021 by mdbwell

We must ask ourselves why people who are on or below the middle rungs of the economic ladder do not support social uplift processes that would help them become more financially solvent. Continue reading →

Posted in International Affairs, Poverty, Social Ethics | Tagged American Dream, capitalism, Christian socialism, Democratic Socialism, human-rights, income inequality, Martin Luther King Jr., Poverty, revolution of values, Walter Muelder | Leave a comment

REWORKING THE G-20 AND THE UNITED NATIONS

Posted on September 10, 2021 by mdbwell

It is not simply an idealistic dream to give voice to the voiceless or a home to the homeless. . . . We must listen to all voices. Continue reading →

Posted in International Affairs, Poverty, Social Ethics | Tagged African Union, Civil Rights Movement, European Union, Fierce urgency of now, G-20, income inequality, Jeffrey Sachs, Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., Organization of African Unity, Poverty, violence | Leave a comment

KING’S “REVOLUTION OF VALUES”

Posted on January 20, 2020 by mdbwell

At the end of the classic Civil Rights Movement that fought for desegregation in public accommodations and safeguarding the right to vote, Martin Luther King, Jr., began to focus on the plight of northern cities. The issues there were manifold: … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty, Race Relations, War & Peace | Tagged Civil Rights Movement, haves and have-nots, King Holiday, lack of vision, Martin Luther King Jr., militancy, Poverty, Racism, radical, revolution of values, social justice, war | Leave a comment

Has Capitalism “Worked”?

Posted on June 7, 2019 by mdbwell

It’s laughable to me when critics of socialism parrot the cliché that “it has never worked anywhere in the world.” Usually, that prosaic statement is made not from primary research, but from lazy borrowing from others—who more than likely also … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty, Social Ethics | Tagged apostles, Barbara Ehrenreich, capitalism, compassion, Cornel West, Democratic Socialism, economic freedom, free enterprise, Harvey Cox, haves and have-nots, J. Philip Wogaman, Jane Addams, Jesus, Letty Russell, livable wages, Manning Marable, Martin Luther King Jr., mixed economy, poverty elimination, prophets, social services, Socialism, W. E. B. Du Bois, Walter Muelder | Leave a comment

WHAT ATE YOUR CHRISTMAS PLANS?

Posted on December 22, 2017 by mdbwell

Recently, a friend asked me regarding my plans for the holiday season. The text message was written hurriedly, for he and his wife were leaving for the weekend. I received the question, “What ate your Christmas plans?” Of course, I … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty, Social Ethics | Tagged American Experiment, arrogance, corruption, economic exploitation, ethics, lower class, middle class, oppression, resistance, richest Americans, structural discrimination, tax cuts, underclass, working class | Leave a comment

America, Wake Up!

Posted on February 11, 2016 by mdbwell

In the last section of the final chapter of his June 1967 book, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, Martin Luther King, Jr., focuses on the evils of racism, economic exploitation, and militarism. Analyzing and assessing the … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty, Social Ethics, War & Peace | Tagged beloved community, capitalism, Civil Rights Movement, Demagoguery, Democratic Socialism, Discrimination, Distributive Justice, human-rights, income inequality, Macbeth, Martin Luther King Jr., nonviolence, Poverty, Racism, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Revolution, Rip Van Winkle, Values, Washington Irving, White Privilege, William Shakespeare | Leave a comment

INCOME INEQUALITY: OBAMA V. FRANCIS

Posted on December 25, 2013 by mdbwell

I have always admired and respected Catholic social teaching, especially with regards to helping the so-called least of these. Concern for the needy and the disinherited in the United States and in the world has been a continuous focus of … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty | Tagged Capitalism v. Socialism, Defining moment of our time, income inequality, Minimum wage, Pope Francis | Leave a comment

POVERTY AT HOME & ABROAD

Posted on July 17, 2013 by mdbwell

In 1958, John Kenneth Galbraith detailed income inequality and an imbalanced economic system in his book, The Affluent Society. People who did not actually read the text considered it a homage to what makes America great. Contrariwise, Galbraith demonstrates that … Continue reading →

Posted in Poverty | Tagged capitalism, income inequality, Poverty, wealth gap | Leave a comment

Category Archives: Poverty

Prince of Peace & Father of Mindfulness

INCOME INEQUALITY: OBAMA V. FRANCIS

POVERTY AT HOME & ABROAD

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