Sanders to Host Inequality Town Hall Monday Night

WASHINGTON - Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will host a nationally televised town hall focused on inequality in the United States on Monday in partnership with The Guardian, NowThis, The Young Turks and Act.tv.

Sanders, along with filmmaker Michael Moore, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, economist Darrick Hamilton and other experts, will discuss poverty in America, the 40-year decline of the middle class, the growing power of corporate interests and how we can build an economy that works for all Americans.

The event will be live streamed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube by Sanders, Warren, Moore, The Guardian, NowThis, The Young Turks and Act.tv, which have a combined following of nearly 50 million people. Sanders last town hall on Medicare for all was seen by 1.1 million people live and ultimately by more than 2 million people.

"The corporate media has failed to let the American people fully understand the economic forces shaping their lives and causing many of them to work two or three jobs, while CEOs make hundreds of times more than they do. Instead, day after day, 24/7, we’re inundated with the relentless dramas of the Trump White House, Stormy Daniels, and the latest piece of political gossip," Sanders wrote in The Guardian today. "We urgently need to discuss the reality of today’s economy and political system, and fight to create an economy that works for everyone and not just the one percent."

The event is open to the press and public. Guests interested in attending can find more information here.

WHO: Sen. Bernie Sanders, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Michael Moore, Darrick Hamilton and other experts

WHAT: Town Hall on Inequality in America: The Rise of Oligarchy and Collapse of the Middle Class

WHERE: Capitol Visitors' Center Congressional Auditorium (CVC-200) and live streamed on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

WHEN: Monday, March 19 from 7 to 8:30 p.m. EDT.  

PANELISTS:

Elizabeth Warren, Senator from Massachusetts

Elizabeth Warren has made her life's work the fight for middle class families. She is recognized as one of the nation's top experts on bankruptcy and the financial pressures facing middle class families. Before coming to the Senate, she was one of the leading experts on personal bankruptcy and authored The Two-Income Trap, among other books.

Michael Moore, filmmaker and author

Michael Moore is an Academy-Award winning documentary filmmaker, activist, and author. In films such as Roger & Me, Capitalism: A Love Story and Where to Invade Next, he has examined globalization, gun ownership, health care, and domestic and foreign policy.

Darrick Hamilton, Professor of Economics and Urban Policy, The New School, New York City

Professor Darrick Hamilton teaches economic and urban policy at the New School in New York. Both his academic work and activism is aimed at promoting greater economic, political, and social inclusion. His work examines inequality and identity, racism, and socioeconomic outcomes.

Catherine Coleman Flowers, founder, Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise

Ms. Catherine Coleman Flowers is the founder of the Alabama Center for Rural Enterprise Community Development Corporation. Ms. Flowers has called attention to the lack of environmental and climate justice in poor rural communities, including exposing how some communities live surrounded by raw open sewage. Last year she invited the UN’s Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty to Alabama, and he characterized what he saw as “uncommon in the first world.”

Cindy Estrada, Vice President of the United Auto Workers Union

Cindy Estrada is a longtime union organizer and social activist. She was first elected as vice president in 2010 and is the first Latina elected to serve as an International officer. Cindy developed a passion for the labor movement while listening to her grandparents and other family members talk about their experiences working on farms and inside the factories of Detroit. Their stories were the first of many that have guided Estrada in her dedication to empower workers and show them they deserve a seat at the table to raise and resolve workplace problems and improve their working conditions.

Professor Gordon Lafer, Political Scientist, University of Oregon

Dr. Gordon Lafer, a political economist, is a Professor at the University of Oregon's Labor Education and Research Center and a Research Associate with the Economic Policy Institute. He has spent many years working as a union organizer and has seen how people have been mistreated or ripped off by their employers. His most recent book is The One Percent Solution: How Corporations Are Remaking America One State at a Time (Cornell University Press, 2017).