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 […]
Category Archives: American Poverty
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, […]
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 […]
Crime & Poverty Editorial
A recent Black Star Editorial explores the relationship between crime and poverty. I include an excerpt: There is a perfect correlation between crime and poverty. Much has been written about the recent brutal murders of three college students and the wounding of one other in Newark, New Jersey, by a gunman or gunmen. While some […]
Higher Minimum Wage Won’t Eliminate Working Poor
Barb Kucera recently wrote an article, in which she points out that the higher minimum wage won’t eliminate working poor. I include an excerpt: On July 24, the federal minimum wage rose from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour, with subsequent increases to $6.55 in 2008 and $7.25 in 2009. Minimum wage workers in Minnesota and […]
Measuring Poverty in America
Douglas J. Besharov recently wrote about measuring poverty in America. I include an excerpt: Each year, the Census Bureau reports on the nation’s poverty rate, based on the number of people with incomes below the official poverty line, adjusted annually for inflation. In 2005, the poverty line, which varies by family size, was $15,577 for […]