Betsy DeVos is the featured guest at the annual Acton Institute Dinner on October 18

Current Secretary of Education and former board member of the Acton Institute, Betsy DeVos will be the featured speaker at the 27th Annual Acton Institute Dinner on Wednesday, October 18 in Grand Rapids.

DeVos, who served on the Acton Institute Board from 1995 – 2005, will be speaking at the event, which will be held at the DeVos Hall in downtown Grand Rapids. The event is a mere $175 a plate per person or for the more ambitious members of the capitalist class, you can spend $7,500 for a table of 10 people, recognition in the program and an invitation to receptions before and after dinner.

The text that accompanies the invitation states:

A Grand Rapids native, Betsy DeVos is a proven leader, an innovator, a disruptor and an advocate. In education, in business and in politics, Betsy has been a pioneer in fighting to remove barriers, to enact change and to create environments where people have the opportunity to thrive.

No surprise that the Acton Institute describes a fellow member of the capitalist class and the religious right this way. Betsy DeVos has indeed been a pioneer in the fight to remove barriers, barriers to amassing more wealth for her family and other members of the West Michigan elite. Betsy DeVos is also a disruptor, a disruptor of the lives of the working poor, communities of color, the LGBT community, organized labor and public education.

She will share the stage at the Acton Institute Annual Dinner, by Acton founder Rev. Robert Sirico. Sirico is one of the most committed apologists of capitalism and believes that Christianity is completely compatible with the so-called free market. Rev. Sirico also acts as a sort of spiritual counselor to the brother of Betsy DeVos, Erik Prince.

The visit to Grand Rapids by DeVos for the Acton Institute’s Annual Dinner provides a perfect opportunity for people to engage in active resistance. For those interested in organizing some kind of action, send me a message jsmith@griid.org.