A California man is going to great extremes in hopes of reducing poverty. Gregory Cox is walking nearly 2,000 miles from his hometown to Chicago to promote his book. Cox claims the book, titled "Schizophrenic Rescue", outlines a plan to eliminate poverty in one generation.
Cox calls is an embarrassment that so many people are living in poverty. Economists may be skeptical of Cox’s ideas, but it’s hard not to admire his conviction. Cox wrote the book and published it himself, but then questioned if it would sell, "I thought, well, let’s walk across the United States and see if I can generate interest…I mean, I’m a salesman, let’s do some door to door selling."
Today, on his 63rd birthday, Cox passed through Des Moines. He’s picked Chicago as a final destination, because he’s hoping to meet Oprah Winfrey. So far, Oprah hasn’t responded to his requests and Cox doesn’t believe that will change. Cox says, "I won’t be disappointed if I don’t meet her, I’ve had one of the most remarkable experiences of my life."
Cox disagrees with Oprah Winfrey – who has said education is the key to ending poverty. Cox has been walking now for eight weeks, and says it’s been brutal. One of his biggest challenges was surviving a storm in Colorado. Cox says he was pelted with sleet and then a wind gust picked him up and tossed him across a road.
Cox started the walk in April after taking a cortisone shot in his knee, and he had another shot while in Nevada. A friend is following Cox in a Volkswagon RV, to help him bypass construction zones and other areas they deem impassable by foot.