President John F. Kennedy once said about economic development that “a rising tide lifts all boats.” Kennedy was, of course, right, but he missed something really, really important: A rising tide lifts only lifts all boats when everyone has a boat.

This has never been clearer than it is right now. According to a shocking new study out of the Brookings Institution, around 12 million Americans survive on less than $2 per day. To put that number in perspective, 12 million people is about about 25 percent of the 46.5 million people living under the poverty line and about 4 percent of the U.S. population as whole.

Poverty statistics are notoriously difficult to work with, but that doesn’t change the fact this Brookings study is really, really disturbing. 12 million people living on less than two measly dollars a day in the richest country in the history of the world isn’t just shameful, it’s also the sign of policy failure of the highest order.

So where’d we go wrong? Why is deep, crushing poverty, something that’s pretty much unheard of in most Scandinavian and northern European countries, such a problem here in America?

Read more here.

-Thom

Free excerpt, read book for free at Truthout, buy the book!

Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 7pm and 10pm... The San Francisco Earthquake Threat to Nuclear Power Plants (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT or Free Speech TV, and catch past shows on Youtube)

Be sure to check out our new video: CARBON - narrated by Leonardo DiCaprio

Need to Know: Police brutality & Driving while Black

Community Square

"Gun don't kill people......."
Posted by Dexterous. Do you feel that children should learn to shoot?

"Shake, Rattle and Roll"
Posted by captbebops. Have you experienced an earthquake?

"The Power of Nightmares-the creation of the Myths of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda"
Posted by Palindromedary.

A friend of mine has a new book out that you may want to know about... Identity Theft Alert: 10 Rules You Must Follow to Protect Yourself from America's #1 Crime by Steve Weisman

Wednesday's Daily Stack

Article: "At Koch Retreat, Top GOP Senate Candidates Credited Koch Network For Their Rise" by Sam Stein.

Article: "Air America (radio network)" by Wikipedia.

Site: Free Speech TV

Site: Sirius XM - Progress

Site: Pacifica Network

Site: Drudge

Site: Common Dreams

Site: Alternet

Site: Raw Story

Site: TruthOut

Site: OpEdNews

Site: Daily Banter

Site: Huffington Post

Site: Daily Beast

Site: CATO Institute

Article: "Sherman Antitrust Act", 1890.

Article: "Enron scandal" by Wikipedia.

Law: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (1999) (Financial Services Modernization Act Of 1999).

Law: "Commodity Futures Modernization Act", 2000.

Article: "The tea party radio network" by Kenneth P. Vogel and Mackenzie Weinger.

Article: "Princeton Study: U.S. No Longer An Actual Democracy" by Brendan James.

Article: "Elizabeth Warren: 'The system is rigged'" by Joan McCarter.

Article: "Bill O'Reilly Is STILL Denying White Privilege Exists".

Article: "O'Reilly surprised "there was no difference" between Harlem restaurant and other New York restaurants " by Andrew Ironside, September 21, 2007.

Article: "Oprah Winfrey 'victim of racism' in Switzerland: Billionaire told she can't afford expensive handbag at exclusive Zurich store" by Matilda Battersby, 09 August 2013.

Article: "Jon Stewart Goes After Fox in Powerful Ferguson Monologue" by Josh Feldman.

Article: "Navy Discharges African-American Sailor For Refusing To Cut Off Her Natural Hair" by Judd Legum.

Site: Green World Rising

Site: theyrule.net

Case: "Buckley v. Valeo", 1976.

Article: "Constitution of the United States", article 3 section 2. "... the supreme Court shall have appellate Jurisdiction, both as to Law and Fact, with such Exceptions, and under such Regulations as the Congress shall make..."

Article: "First Amendment to the United States Constitution".

Article: "14th Amendment, July 9, 1868

Hour Two: What to do with a do nothing congress
- Todd Gaziano, Pacific Legal Foundation DC Center

Article: "Schoolhouse Rock! Revised: Obama Edition" by Todd Gaziano.

Article: "Obama Pursuing Climate Accord in Lieu of Treaty" by Coral Davenport.

Article: "Bergdahl Swap Violated Law, GAO Says" by Jeffrey Sparshott.

Article: "Obama tells Hispanic roundtable he can’t fix immigration alone" by Julie Mason, 9/28/11.

Article: "Eric Cantor, Paul Ryan & Kevin McCarthy: Plot To Sabotage US Economy with Frank Luntz" by keepemhonest.

Book: "When the Tea Party Came to Town: Inside the U.S. House of Representatives' Most Combative, Dysfunctional, and Infuriating Term in Modern History" by Robert Draper.

Article: "Are 12 million Americans living on less than $2 a day?" by Shawn Donnan.

Article: "The Powell Memo or Powell Manifesto".

Book: "The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It" by Thom Hartmann.

Article: "Generation Later, Poor Are Still Rare at Elite Colleges" by Richard Pérez-peña.

Clip: "Paul Weyrich - "I don't want everybody to vote" (Goo Goo)".

Video: "Ronald Reagan States' Rights Speech in Philadelphia, MS", August 3, 1980.

Article: "Exclusive: Lee Atwater’s Infamous 1981 Interview on the Southern Strategy" by Rick Perlstein.

Hour Three: Crime Scene - New Orleans
- Greg Palast, Billionaires and Ballot Bandits

DVD: "Vultures and Vote Rustlers - Vol 2." by Greg Palast.

Article: "Crime Scene – New Orleans" by Greg Palast.

Video: AFTA Bondholder Ad.

Article: "July Ocean Temperature Hits Record High—Again" by Anastasia Pantsios.

Article: "Earth’s Annual Resource Allotment Runs Out Today" by Anastasia Pantsios.

Article: "Scientists Create New Bio-Plastics from Food Waste" by Catherine Griffin.

Article: "The Amazing Benefits of Daydreaming on the Mind" by Scott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D.

Article: "Nature-inspired camouflage changes its looks with light" by Beth Mole.

Thursday on The Thom Hartmann Program, 12-3pm ET

It's a special edition of Brunch With Bernie...America's Senator...Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) will be here talking about all the important issues of the week and he'll be taking your calls too!

Plus, I'll have a conversation on the top issues of the day with attorney Mike Papantonio, host of Ring of Fire Radio...

And, the best of the rest of the news along with your calls right here on...

The Thom Hartmann Program, Occupying The Media 3 hours a day 5 days a week" for "we the people"

And don't forget...Democracy is NOT a spectator sport...it begins with you...

Thank you for being part of our ever growing community for News, Debate and Opinion on the Thom Hartmann Program.

Click here to subscribe to the Thom Hartmann Newsletter.

Sincerely,

Is there an epidemic of police brutality in the United States?

Vote here!

Buy Thom's newest book now!
Also on Kindle

"Crash of 2016" website

Watch Thom on: - MSNBC's The Cycle
- CNN's Crossfire
- Democracy Now!

Thom's newest book!

Why A Carbon Tax is Essential

Would You have Sex w/a Robot?

The Newest Corporate Benedict Arnold

Full Show 8/26/14: Burger King to Become Next Corporate Tax Dodger

Tonight’s “Politics Panel” talks Burger King’s plan to avoid paying U.S. taxes, the cost of the GOP’s lawsuit against our President and Rand Paul calling Hillary Clinton a “war hawk.” Thom discusses suburban poverty with The Brookings Institution’s Elizabeth Kneebone and in tonight’s “Daily Take” Thom discusses how a carbon tax would help slow the melting of our planet’s ice sheets.

Caller: How About Elections by Jury?

Is Global Warming Behind Toxic Algae & Biotoxin Outbreaks?

Millions of Americans Live Under the World Poverty Line

Listen Live

Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? Now on Facebook.