Tampa, Florida has more homeless people per capita than any city in America. Yet you won't hear much -- if any -- talk from the podium on the Frank Lloyd Wright-inspiredconvention set aboutAmerica's poverty crisis.
And this lack of attention won't be exclusive to the GOP. You can expect more of the same (or is that actually less of the same?) when the Democrats descend on Charlotte next week -- after all, President Obama hasn't devoted even one speech to the subject of poverty since he moved into the White House.
This bipartisan back-turning is why we are reviving the Shadow Conventions
a national conversation on three issues that neither party was seriously addressing: the corrupting influence of money on our politics, the persistence of poverty in America, and the disastrous war on drugs.
Twelve years later, both parties are still largely ignoring these issues. As a result, each of these problems has gotten worse:
In 2000, 31 million Americans lived below the poverty line. In 2010, it was over 46 million -- including 16.4 millionchildren -- a figure that is expected to rise when the new census figures are released this fall. Thisis the largest number of people living in poverty in over half acentury.
The drug war numbers are similarlytroubling: There are over 100,000 more arrests per year for possession of marijuana than therewere in 2000 -- yet over 6 million more Americans are using illicit drugs today. A quarter of all prisoners in U.S. jails are there because of a nonviolent drug offense. And while African Americans represent just 12 percent of all drug users, they make up 59 percent of those in state prison for a drug offense.
As for the increasing role money plays in our political campaigns, the founding democratic principle of "one man, one vote" has been replaced by the arithmetic of special interest politics: Thousands of lobbyists plus billionsof dollars equal access and influence out of the reach of ordinary Americans. While $54 million wasspent by outside groups on the 2000 presidential race, that number has already reached $318million in 2012. And, thanks to Citizens United, that includes large piles of money funneled through super PACS and "dark money" groups.

this is one issue with our current system

value is determined by financial status

if you arent earning enough to have the right representation, you will be sentenced more harshly

if you arent earning enough to pay an income tax, you will be treated as if your voice shouldnt count about anything which uses tax money

so, that creates a sub class who is insignificant politically speaking, those working just to earn a living (And to keep someone ELSE financiall secure)

but who dont earn enough to be politically valuable (pay an income tax or have attorneys to keep them out of paying for their discrepancies)

I worry that that class will grow under Republican leadership who seem to believe in the 'bootstrap' philosophy which most of them have never had to actually employ in their own lives,,,

I grew-up during the "boom years" of the 50's when jobs were plentiful. (Before corporations starting shutting down plants in the USA and moved our manufacturing base overseas.)..My parents and other parents had just stepped out of the Depression when I was a youngster and World War II was over...I barely even recognize our country today. Everything seems so "dog eat dog" at times. And I don't have any faith in either party...I try to study the faces of the delegates at the Republican convention and watch their reaction to all the speeches...Everyone seems to "buy" all the promises and hype. And there are big "cheers" when it comes to talk about "cuts" and even more "cuts." (Until the "cuts" affect people directly in their own personal lives.)...I live in a "depressed" area with few jobs. (And wages are low for people who are employed.) I see more and more homeless people now...I know that some people just "whiz by" and don't pay a bit of attention to the less fortunate. But I never forgot the stories my parents and grandparents told me about life during the Depression. (Or stories about "harsh conditions" during the "Dust Bowl" in Kansas and Oklahoma etc.)...Where is the caring today? And the sense that we're all "in it" together?

replaced and off balance


by the 'me me me, mine mine mine' culture,,,

It sounds like most people tried to "pull together" during the Depression. There was more caring and a sense of unity that's missing today. Sad!

I wasnt alive during the depression, but I have heard my mom espouse the same belief regarding how 'community' has changed

not that there arent still places that are throwbacks to that culture, but the mainstream seems to be more about the

I


instead of the


We