social safety net

It was 62 years ago that President Lyndon B. Johnson made food stamps — now known as SNAP benefits — a permanent government program. But significant changes are coming.

Survivor benefits include the young children of deceased workers.

Jeff Dixon is a sociologist. When it comes to the impact that AI adoption may have on the U.S. labor market, he has a bad feeling.

The program is supported by the vast majority of Americans, but, unless changes are made, it will start running out of money to pay full benefits in 2033.

Despite being run by the states, roughly 70% of Medicaid funding comes from the federal government.

In more than a dozen states, less than 80% of SNAP applications are being processed on time. Before the pandemic, the numbers were much better.

China’s government is making employers pay more into its social welfare system, just as the economy is stalling.

Journalist Alissa Quart says America’s myths about self-reliance have overshadowed the roles that communities play in financial success.

And for teens, says Lina-Maria Murillo, “you’re essentially cutting them off from making major decisions about the future.”

Author Anne Helen Petersen compares being single in the United States to living in a hostile climate like the Arctic.