Reframing the Poverty Debate

Over 200 scholars and anti-poverty leaders gathered in Chapel Hill, N.C., last week for a two-day conference entitled "Challenging the Two Americas: new Policies to Fight Poverty." The event was sponsored by UNC-Chapel Hill's Center on Poverty, Work and Opportunity, directed by former U.S. Senator John Edwards.

The conference covered a variety of topics including economic inequality, housing policy, work, welfare reform and racial/gender gaps. Perhaps the most important theme that ran through the conference was that issues typically associated with poverty no longer apply exclusively to the poor. Rather, many of the same barriers like the lack of affordable housing and the absence of health insurance have worked their way up the income ladder and now threaten the well-being of America's middle-class families.

Click here to read a summary of the conference that appeared in The New York Times.