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Princeton University professor Cornel West told Martin Bashir from MSNBC that, ultimately, the war for entitlements will be “fought on the streets” by the Occupy movement.

“I think the problem is that the poor children, keep in mind it’s 42% of poor children who live at or near poverty, it’s 25% in poverty. Our audience needs to keep that in mind,” West started.

Regarding new entitlements for the poor, West said, “Poor children need more than just a $1,000 for their family, they need a war against poverty to make it a major priority in the way which we have a priority for Afghanistan, and a priority to bail out banks, and a priority to defend corporate interests when it comes to environmental issues.”

After heaping praise on the Occupy movement for raising awareness, West said, ”It’s a major question of priorities here. That’s why the Occupy movement is so important because some of this is going to be fought in the streets. Civil disobedience does make a difference,” he said.