Category Archives: Poverty

Sequestering Meals on Wheels Could Cost the Nation $489 Million per Year through Increased Costs to Medicaid

The Center for Effective Government finds Meals on Wheels sequestration could cost taxpayers $489 million per year through increased costs to Medicaid. “Sequestering Meals on Wheels funds could cost taxpayers far more than it saves. While across-the-board spending cuts that … Continue reading

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3.5 Million American Children Live in Extreme Poverty: Below $2 a Day per Person Threshold

The following represents extreme poverty findings from a study by Edin and Shaefer as reported by Wonkblog: “Using data from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), a Census program that tracks samples of tens of thousands of households … Continue reading

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Study: Balanced Budget Amendment Equals Great Economic Damage

What would happen if a balanced budget amendment (BBA) was passed and implemented? The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities quotes estimates from  a Macroeconomic Advisers analysis: If the 2012 budget were balanced through spending cuts, those cuts would total … Continue reading

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Less Than Equal: Racial Disparities in Wealth Accumulation

Abstract Income inequality understates the size of the economic gap between whites and minorities in the United States. In 2010, whites on average had two times the income of blacks and Hispanics, but six times the wealth. Analyses of wealth … Continue reading

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States Refusing to Expand Medicaid Will Hurt Veterans

Via Sy Mukherjee -> “A new Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and Urban Institute study concludes that states refusing to expand Medicaid will leave over 200,000 low-income, uninsured veterans and two-thirds of uninsured veterans’ spouses without access to affordable health coverage. … Continue reading

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Staggering Facts About the Educational Experiences of Young Men of Color

The College Board Advocacy & Policy Center reports an alarming statistic: “Nearly half of young men of color age 15 to 24 who graduate from high school will end up unemployed, incarcerated or dead.” References Lee, John Michael, & Ransom, Tafaya. (2011). The … Continue reading

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Length of Time in Poverty, 1978 -2009

Poverty remains a huge social problem in America. The 2010 US Census estimates 46.2 million people in the United States were in poverty and the nation’s official poverty rate was 15.1%.  I’m interested in finding the number of years people are … Continue reading

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Ryan’s Latest Radical and Mathematically Impossible Budget Proposal

I’ve been reluctant to give Paul Ryan’s new budget proposal any mention as his proposal is so awfully mathematically flawed that it’s difficult to take the proposal seriously. Nevertheless, Ryan was a vice presidential candidate so it’s difficult to ignore … Continue reading

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Prominent Economists Who Believe Runaway Inequality Can Cause Financial Crises

Ritholtz collects a list of prominent economists who believe in the association of economic inequality and financial crises “A who’s-who’s of prominent economists in government and academia have all said that runaway inequality can cause financial crises: Robert Shiller Joseph Stiglitz Andrew … Continue reading

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Why is the Middle Class Angry?

There’s little doubt that there’s a great amount of frustration and anger in our society. If I had to pick one graph that explains the anger and frustration, especially among the middle class, it would be the following graph depicting … Continue reading

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