A recent editorial in the Washington Post explained how the Bush administration has tried to preempt debate about federally sponsored health insurance for children. I include an excerpt: States were told this month that they will no longer be allowed to enroll children whose families earn above 250 percent of the poverty level unless they […]
Author Archives: Scott Hughes
Linda Seger Posts about Poverty
In a recent blog on The Huffington Post, Linda Seger wrote about poverty in the United States. I don’t like the partisanship of the article. I don’t like seeing this important issue dragged into the hell of bipolar politics. Nonetheless, I like the way the author of the article personalizes poverty through a second-person narrative, […]
Donate Your Mind, Not Your Money
Throwing money at the problem won’t work. In fact, it can make matters worse. Some major charities unwittingly undermine local markets by temporarily flooding them with low-priced goods. For example, by flooding a market with free or under-priced food, the local farmers and food sellers can’t compete and go out of business. Thus it goes […]
West Bank Poverty Spawns Child Beggars
Laurie Copoans recently wrote an article about how West Bank poverty spawns child beggars. I include an excerpt: Israel’s massive barrier of walls and fences separating it from the West Bank has made it harder for adult laborers to enter Israel, so families wracked by poverty are increasingly sending their children instead. Children as young […]
Customers Have No Money
Shockingly, big companies like Walmart and Home Depot have announced low sales and financial losses. The reason? They say that their customers do not have enough money to spend. Inflation, high interest rates, and a failing housing market have taken away middle class America’s spending money, and may mark an oncoming economic recession; this in […]
A Future Without Homelessness
An August 8th Boston Globe editorial explored the idea of a future without homelessness. I include an excerpt: WE DON’T have to study homelessness,” state Representative Byron Rushing says of a new state commission that he proposed to address the issue; good research is already available. Instead, the commission has to answer two questions. What […]