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Poverty

China's slow trains for the poor

by Jennifer Pak
Apr 20, 2021
There are 81 no-frills train routes left over from the Mao era to service far-flung areas. Who rides them?
A villager boards a slow train with a television strapped to his back in 2015. The train connected communities in Sichuan and Yunnan provinces that were not frequently served by China's modernized rail network.
Qian Haifeng
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Diaper banks have been struggling to keep up with demand

by Erika Beras
Mar 30, 2021
Diaper banks provide free diapers and often other infant supplies to parents who need them. This year, they're busier than ever.
Kids use anywhere from five to 12 diapers a day (or more) for the first three years of their lives. That’s an expense of at least $80 a month. And that doesn’t include wipes.
Brandon Bell/Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

States where it's harder to get unemployment benefits may see higher rates of poverty

by Mitchell Hartman
Jan 28, 2021
A new study finds that in the least generous states, more families have fallen below the poverty line during the pandemic.
Olivier Douliery/AFP via Getty Images
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Economic Anxiety Index®

Majority of Americans believe economy is rigged

by Samantha Fields
Oct 16, 2020
More than 80% of Black Americans and nearly 70% of women say the economy is rigged in favor of certain groups. Experts say they're right.
Protesters in Los Angeles in May 2020.
Apu Gomes/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID-19

The pandemic threatens to push more people in Mexico into poverty

by Rodrigo Cervantes
Oct 1, 2020
And Mexico doesn't pay unemployment insurance.
One economic researcher says almost 1 in 5 people in the Mexican labor force have lost their jobs. Pictured: Andres Tolentino Hernandez, who lost his job at a printing workshop when the virus hit.
Alfredo Estrella/AFP via Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

Many are still waiting for unemployment, months later

by Samantha Fields
Sep 25, 2020
For many of those who have now gone months without a paycheck or unemployment, things are dire.
Hundreds of people waited in long lines in Kentucky in June for help with their unemployment claims, months after they had initially tried to file.
John Sommers II/Getty Images
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COVID & Unemployment

Unemployment benefits are all over the map

by Gabriel Cortes
Aug 27, 2020
So we created an interactive map of unemployment benefits and average rent across all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
A sign at a gas station tells customers it is closed. Unemployment has reached alarming levels in the United States.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images
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Reimagining the Economy

Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on rebuilding trust between the city and its people

by David Brancaccio , Meredith Garretson and Daniel Shin
Aug 17, 2020
Lightfoot wants to "unwind" Chicago's "addiction to fines and fees" so as to not drive people into bankruptcy and out of the economy.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
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EEC: Econ 101

How to help the poor amid COVID-19? Give them money, says Nobel laureate Esther Duflo

by David Brancaccio and Rose Conlon
Apr 9, 2020
If a segment of the population stops buying things, it could lead to a much larger economic crisis, Duflo warned.
Nobel laureate Esther Duflo points to direct cash transfers in coronavirus response.
Jonathan Nackstrand/AFP via Getty Images
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Check Your Balance ™️

A tax refund is a lifeline for a lot of Americans

by Samantha Fields
Mar 4, 2020
Last year, after the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 went into effect, a lot of people saw their tax refunds shrink or disappear.
Joe Raedle/Getty Images
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