A tax refund is a lifeline for a lot of Americans

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.
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Food stamp change could cut 700,000 from SNAP

Dec 5, 2019
Unemployment is at historic lows but some workers still face hurdles to work.
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Anti-hunger advocates eye latest food insecurity data

Sep 4, 2019
The USDA's report on "Household Food Security in the U.S." uses a variety of measures to gauge whether households are food insecure, such as whether people have had to skip a meal or reduce the size of a meal for financial reasons.
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The child poverty rate today is the same as in 1990

Jun 17, 2019
In 2017, the child poverty rate was 18%. Go back nearly three decades to 1990: also 18%.
Children play as a woman, a member of the Navajo Nation, fills bottles of water at a public tap on June 05, 2019 in Thoreau, New Mexico.
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How we define affordable housing "makes absolutely no sense"

Jun 5, 2019
How did 30% of income become the accepted benchmark?
Starrett City, a 46-building housing complex, is pictured in Brooklyn, New York, in 2018.
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African Americans' wages nearly stagnant over decade

Apr 18, 2019
After adjusting for inflation, black workers' median weekly earnings have risen at a fraction of the pace of wages for white, Hispanic and Asian workers.
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Study looks at where the IRS audits more and less

Apr 15, 2019
“It is, in a way, a map of poverty in this country,” ProPublica reporter Paul Kiel says.
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For public good, not for profit.

Health improvements can lead to economic improvements.
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Urban Institute analyzes reach of social safety net

Feb 6, 2019
A new analysis by the Urban Institute finds that a quarter of Americans living in poverty don’t receive public assistance such as food stamps, subsidized housing, child care or cash benefits.
A sign in a New York City market window advertises the acceptance of food stamps.
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California’s devastating wildfires have made it harder for some day workers to find employment

Jan 1, 2019
Recent devastating wildfires burned down more than 300 homes in Malibu, California — one of the wealthiest cities in California. Many homeowners there employed gardeners and housekeepers who lost their jobs. Oscar Mondragόn, the director of the Malibu Community Labor Exchange, where day workers find work, says it’s too early to tell how many workers were […]
The ruins of an ocean view home are seen in the aftermath of the Woolsey Fire in Malibu, California.
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