Poverty and the Economy: Why Aren’t We Outraged?

As we’ve watched the economic crisis unfold in Greece this year, and Greek citizens taking to the streets to protest the financial situation there, we’ve wondered why the same thing hasn’t happened in America.  Why haven’t we heard more outrage from the increasingly squeezed American people? We’re joined today by two big thinkers, who have their own ideas on why we’re reacting –  or not reacting –  as we are to America’s economic downward spiral.  Barry Schwartz  is professor of social theory and social action at Swarthmore College, and the author of “The Paradox of Choice: Why More Is Less”  and the co-author of “Practical Wisdom: The Right Way to Do the Right Thing.”  And  David Shipler  is the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of “The Working Poor: Invisible in America” and “The Rights of the People: How Our Search for Safety Invades Our Liberties.”