real_change unhinged '[change] is a *harder* task, though, because it demands something more difficult than writing a check, which is why in the end 'laundry list' proposals are largely pointless. it requires changing ways of thinking, and changing the ways in which power is exercised not only in american society generally, but separately in each one of the hundreds of individual cities and regions that make up our country. we need to change federal policy, to be sure - a task that is particularly challenging at a time where the current administration seems determined to reverse even the modest steps taken by its predecessor to challenge inequality - but that is only one small part of the picture. trying to frame an agenda that can truly address the complex, multi-dimensional body of challenges that have been outlined in the preceding chapters is a daunting task. the challenge itself seems particularly slippery. it is about poverty, which is about people, but it is also about the concentration of poverty, which is about place. it is about addressing the needs of adults who are disconnected from the mainstream of the american society and economy, but it must recognize that disconnection is part of a process that began long before, in childhood, perhaps even infancy; thus any solution must tackle the needs of children as well as adults. it is, as we must remind ourselves, not just about poverty but about opportunity, which inevitably raises questions about the way in which the larger society and economy work. it is a local issue, yet so much of what can be done locally hinges on national policy and the role the federal government plays.' - alan mallach 180817 what's it to you? who go blather from