Celebrities and political figures are among the thousands of people living on daily food budgets of $1.50 during the Live …
poverty
Why Aren’t More Families Signing Up for Cheap Internet Service?
A little over a year ago, Comcast introduced Internet Essentials, in which low-income families are eligible for home Internet service for just $9.95 per month. While roughly 2.3 million families in the U.S. qualify for Internet …
Food Stamps: More Benefit to Big Food Than to the Poor?
The federal government is spending millions to encourage more Americans to apply for food stamps, or rather the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), which replaced food stamps. Ads paid for with tax dollars are …
Why Don’t More People Use These Free Services?
If you take advantage of your local library’s e-book lending services, or make use of your cable company’s “TV Everywhere” option that allows you to access shows on the web at no extra charge, you’re in the minority. In fact, …
When Consumers Pay More Due to Race or Gender
Is there a “woman tax”? By some account, women pay over $1,300 more annually than men for everything from deodorant to sneakers to health care. They’re not the only group that pays a premium, though. Men are charged thousands …
5 Most Surprising Findings From the 2010 Census
Over the past 10 years, our population growth has slowed, we’ve found it increasingly hard to leave home to start a career, and our salaries have decreased for the first time on record. But, it’s not all bad news.
America’s Poor: Why a New Measure Shows More People are Living in Poverty Than we Thought
In this week’s magazine story on poverty in the U.S., I briefly mention that the way we typically count the poor is far from ideal. The official U.S. poverty line dates back to the 1960s, when Mollie Orshansky, an economist at the Social Security Administration, came up with a measure based on how much money a family had to spend on …
Opportunity Nation: How Those Below the Poverty Line Can Move Up
For years, many Americans have been stuck below the poverty line, unable to build the kind of assets needed to propel themselves up the economic ladder. This systemic problem brought together authors, government officials and financial experts in New York City last week at an event called Opportunity Nation, hosted at Columbia University.
Welfare Soars in Ritzy Suburbs
Suburban Ghetto: Poverty Rates Soar in Suburbia
For well over half a century, the American dream has typically centered on life in the suburbs. A move to the idyllic suburbs—picket fences, sidewalks, cul-de-sacs, the whole deal—has traditionally signified success, a move …
More Young Adults Are Poor, Live With Their Parents
It’s not your imagination: It really is more crowded at mom and dad’s place. The Census Bureau made headlines yesterday with news that the nation’s official poverty rate hit 15.1%, the highest since 1993. Tough times have also translated into a rise in adult children moving back into (or never leaving) their parent’s homes. In the spring
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U.S. Poverty Rate at its Highest Since 1993
The fragile economy pushed more Americans into poverty last year, according to the Census Bureau, as median household income fell from the year before.
