What is a concrete tangible expression of poverty?

Kathleen Jamieson is an expert on U.S. politics and a regular guest on Bill Moyers Journal.

Recently Bill Moyers talked with Ms. Jamieson about John Edwards' failed presidential campaign. He asked her why Edwards' focus on poverty did not seem to gain political traction. I thought her answer was insightful and thought provoking:

"I don't think the argument about income inequality has found its concrete tangible expression that lets the country understand the nature of the problem. Income inequality is a-- is an academic abstraction . . . .

"But there are moments in which you grasp a problem in the particular and the problem won't let you go after that. There is one of those moments in the 1960 campaign interestingly enough, when John Kennedy, a wealthy candidate, says that he learned of children who took part of their school lunch home so that there would be food at home for the children. Occasionally, there are little vignettes that just simply cut through and they grab the moment. And suddenly, you understand something."

I think this is right. When we talk about poverty in this country we seemed trapped in cliches and false assumptions. This is particularly true when we talk about homelessness. As a result, it is difficult to have a productive conversation about the causes of poverty, and what we as a society can do about it.

We need to find a way to break these assumptions. We need to find and convincingly articulate a concrete tangible expression of poverty that unsettles the stereotypes and false assumptions that pass for truth.

Follow the link to watch Moyers' interview of Jamieson.