On Martin Luther King Day, let’s make a commitment to eliminate poverty

It’s been 43 years since Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated and 25 years since a holiday was created in his honor.

Two years ago, I wrote about King last book, in which he called for the elimination of poverty by adoption of a guaranteed annual income for all. King said poverty stands in the way of achieving racial equality.

 In 2009, the U.S. poverty rate was 14.3 percent, with about 43.6 million people living in poverty. It increased 1.1 percent or 3.7 million people over 2008. The number of people in poverty is the largest number in the 51 years that the government has collected the data.

Some estimates indicate the poverty level is more likely to be about 17.1 percent.

From 1980 to 2005, more than four-fifths of the increase in Americans’ income went to the top 1 percent of earners. Productivity among low and middle-income American workers increased, but their incomes didn’t.

What can citizens do to help eliminate poverty in the United States? Here are some suggestions:

• Make donations to your local food banks and homeless shelters.

• Volunteer at a Head Start program.

• Join organizations that help the poor such as Hungry in America.

• Donate to a local scholarship fund for low-income students.

• Join efforts to revitalize low-income areas of your community.

• Run for your local city council or school board, and be a voice for programs to help poor people

• Support organizations that help bring economic development to the poor in environmentally sensitive ways.

• Help children and teens in need.

• Donate to and volunteer at libraries.

• Support health care reform so more people can get coverage.

 Do you have other ideas? Let me know.