Past Event


From Poverty to Prosperity

A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half


8:45 - 10:30 AM EDT

In February of 2006, the Center for American Progress convened a diverse group of national experts and leaders to examine the causes and consequences of poverty in America and make recommendations for national action. Thirty-seven million Americans live below the official poverty line. Millions more struggle each month to pay for basic necessities or run out of savings when they lose their jobs or face health emergencies. Poverty imposes enormous costs on society — costs that undermine our economic competitiveness and tear at our social fabric.

The Center for American Progress invites you to the release of the Task Force report “From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half.” In this report, the Task Force calls for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in the next 10 years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal.

Featured Speakers:
Senator Edward Kennedy (D-MA)
Representative Charles Rangel (D-NY)

Introduction by:
John Podesta, President and CEO of the Center for American Progress

Featured Panelists:
Angela Glover Blackwell, co-chair, Task Force on Poverty and President and CEO, PolicyLink
Peter Edelman, co-chair, Task Force on Poverty and Professor of Law, Georgetown University

Moderated by:
Mark Greenberg, Executive Director, Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty