Poverty's intractability seen spreading to higher-income groups

Published: 2008-05-09

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Different societal ills command the national spotlight when they threaten to migrate from the underclass to the middle class. It was that way with illegal drugs like LSD and marijuana 40 years ago, and it is that way today with poverty. With many symptoms of a poorer America having manifested themselves in recent months -- among them the housing foreclosure crisis, a weak U.S. dollar and escalating food and energy prices -- a typical American could very well think, "Ooh, maybe I can be poor," according to Sister Simone Campbell, a Sister of Social Service who is executive director of Network, the Catholic social justice lobby. Sister Simone was one of the speakers at a recent conference, "Poverty, Families and Policy in the U.S.: Where Do We Go From Here?" held at The Catholic University of America in Washington, and sponsored by the university's Life Cycle Institute.

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