DETROIT, Sept. 30 (UPI) -- Calling Detroit "ground zero," the Rev. Jesse Jackson said middle-class Americans are under attack in a "depression, not a recession."
The recession hit Detroit harder than any other urban region in the U.S., Jackson said in a Detroit Free Press report.
"The middle class is under attack," Jackson said. "Detroit, Mich., is ground zero."
"This is a depression, not a recession, when you have 30 to 40 percent of residents in poverty … this is a state of emergency," said Jackson, in Detroit to meet with auto industry leaders at the annual Automotive Summit.
"Recovering means opening plants and reinvesting in America," Jackson said.
Rather than bailing out banks, stimulus funds should be used to create jobs and put people back to work, Jackson said. He also criticized food distributors for not making fresh food available in Detroit.
"With the government bailing out banks, you have government-subsidized wealth, which is government-induced poverty," Jackson said. "Stimulus should be given from the bottom up, not the top down."
He called on the owners of chain stores to invest in Detroit, and said some areas have no access to fresh food.
"There is not a national or regional chain food store in Detroit," Jackson said. "Detroiters spend $2 billion on food and retail outside of the city."
