“This book serves as a counterpoint to [those] who luxuriate in denying the reality of America’s poor… Poverty of all colors abounds unchecked in our cities, suburbs, and rural communities… Poverty is no longer confined by class or color; like an unrestrained deadly virus, it doesn’t discriminate… [And] we are dangerously close to cementing a permanent American catastrophe…Our intent with The Rich and the Rest of Us Is to make [people] think about the pervasiveness of poverty, its real causation, and the threat it poses to our democracy. We want to raise awareness about poverty and discuss how best to end it—in our lifetime.”
-- Excerpted from the Introduction (pgs. 10-11)
