This year, I’ve been focused on how anti-poverty activists can move from a defensive battle defined by trying to save what needs to be saved during these budget debates, to an offensive one, laying out a vision that inspires ongoing, unified action and builds a vibrant movement that connects with people in their communities.(Photo: Lenina Nadal/flickr)

Farmworkers pick tomatoes in Immokalee, Florida. (AP Photo/Luis M. Alvarez)This is a tough moment in the fight against poverty. 

(Photo by Katrina Ohstrom)I never liked riding the bus as a kid. With its limited possibilities for adult supervision, the school bus was the venue of choice for kicking someone’s ass or exploring the more psychological expressions of adolescent torment. One day a boy my age looked at me defiantly across the aisle and set his jeans on fire. The first time I heard the word “cunt” yelled with real conviction? On a school bus.

During the annual IMF and World Bank Spring Meetings, IMF Head Christine Lagarde and IMF Leadership are calling for wealthy countries to invest in job programs and reject or moderate austerity policies. The IMF’s comments are focused towards wealthy developed nations, while policies continue for poor and middle income countries that exacerbate their financial crises. The IMF cites implementation of US and European austerity policies as the reason they cut economic growth projections of 0.2 percentage points in the US and around the globe.