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PBS television and radio host Tavis Smiley believes poverty is the greatest threat to American democracy today. It is a matter of national security, he says. 

A presidential debate exclusively about poverty is needed, Smiley told a Minneapolis audience at Wednesday's Westminster Town Hall Forum. Smiley co-authored "The Rich and the Rest of Us: A Poverty Manifesto" with Cornel West. 


Smiley was a featured speaker at Minneapolis' Westminster Presbyterian Church, Thursday, Oct. 1, 2015. It was part of the Minneapolis Idea Exchange. MPR News editor Toni Randolph was the event's moderator.

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The PBS television and radio host spoke in Minneapolis this week.

PBS television and radio host Tavis Smiley told a Minneapolis audience at the Westminster Town Hall Forum Wednesday that poverty is the greatest threat to American democracy today, and it's a matter of national security to address it. He called for a presidential debate exclusively about poverty.

Tavis Smiley: Poverty threatens American democracy

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