The U.S. poverty rate stands at 14.3 percent, which is the highest in 15 years. PBS' Tavis Smiley and Professor Cornel West join Morning Joe to discuss their 6-day, 18-city "Poverty Tour," which focuses on the country's poor and how deficit reduction will impact them.
Tavis Smiley, PBS host: “…we don’t talk about the poor because they are a throwaway population. They’re disposable. Too many poor people are being rendered more and more invisible in this country every single day. I’ve said consistently it’s the telling of truth that allows suffering to speak…As bad as things are now, they are going to get exponentially worse when these cuts kick in.”