Below are topics of local and national interest to all Americans.
The forum is free and open to the public. Light refreshments will be served.
When
Saturday, February 18, 2012
Registration begins at 1:30 p.m.
Program begins at 2:00 p.m.
Where
Hannah Community Center
819 Abbott Road, East Lansing
Executive Conference Room (second floor, south end)
Hear University of Michigan Professor Tom Weisskopf speak on the causes of the "Great Recession," including the collapse of the housing markets, the failure of financial services giants, and the extreme rise in income inequality. Professor Weisskopf will tell the eye-opening story of how they are the result of political, ideological and other human decisions -- learn what happened and why.
After a short break, there will be a workshop on engagement facilitated by Jocelyn Benson, Associate Professor of Law and Associate Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights, Wayne State University, founder and director of the Michigan Center for Election Law and Administration. You will be taught how to convey what you have learned.
Everybody Reads bookstore will have a table with hot books like Economic Collapse, Economic Change, Winner-Take-All Politics, and The Darwin Economy for more learning at home. Posters around the room will display the facts graphically. Graphs will show, for example, the steady climb of income inequality in the U.S. over 30 years in which the average income of the bottom 90% stayed flat while that of the top 1% grew astronomically. The graphs will show, too, how the rise in income inequality correlated with the decline in levels of unionization. Participants will also see that, among the world’s rich nations, the greater the degree of income inequality, the poorer is population health and the poorer is population mental health.