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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Category: Uncategorized

October 2, 2020

Half a year into the coronavirus-fueled recession, states are still struggling to pay unemployment benefits, leaving thousands waiting months for aid to arrive.

 

Of 274 cities measured by the Urban Institute for how well they include low-income and minority residents in the city’s economic prosperity, Houston ranked next to last.

 

Health officials are optimistic about Sacramento’s trends. But tough times may lie ahead.

 

If implemented nationwide, guaranteed income would represent a significant expansion of the American safety net and one that is not conditional on working or looking for work.

 

Hunger is one of the most urgent — yet hidden — crises facing the nation. In this special episode of All Things Considered, a look at how food insecurity has been exacerbated by the coronavirus.

 

Before the pandemic, the number of families lacking consistent access to enough food had been steadily falling. Today, new estimates point to some of the worst rates of food insecurity in years.

 

Food stamp recipients will soon get more money to buy groceries due to the recent steep jump in food prices — an automatic change that will help needy Americans as Congress continues to stall over additional relief.

 

Fears are rising of a “Lost Generation” of college students as low-income students, especially Black students, are dropping out of college or not enrolling. Many low-income students say they don’t have good enough Wifi at home to take online courses.

 

“The kind of what we might have historically thought of as a reason for license suspension makes up a very, very small fraction of all license suspensions.”

 

Over the next decade, the number of elderly homeless Americans is projected to triple — and that was before Covid-19 hit. In Phoenix, the crisis has already arrived.

 

Pandemic programs have lowered the barriers to collecting benefits, and the usual security methods haven’t kept up.

 

The economy added 661,000 jobs in September as some states continued to let businesses reopen, others stayed cautious amid COVID-19 spikes.

 

September 18, 2020

Encouraging as it seems, the new Census report is a pretty picture of something that no longer exists.

 

 

Though the reasons are sharply debated, the new data signifies that the first three years of President Trump’s tenure were a period of contracting insurance coverage.

 

The share of Americans in poverty in 2019 declined and median incomes were the highest on record, a Census Bureau report showed.

 

Many U.S. workers have been socked by cuts in hours or pay during the pandemic. The effects could linger in meager wage growth for years.

 

States like Idaho and Rhode Island are finding ways to give an extra $300 a week in unemployment benefits to workers ineligible for the Trump administration’s Lost Wages Assistance program.

 

It’s a hard time to try to plan your finances. Unemployment benefits and another round of stimulus checks are up in the air. Evictions are banned, but only temporarily. Here’s a breakdown of where relief measures stand.

 

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ordered a nationwide eviction ban for people who can’t pay rent and have no place to go. It’s helping some, but many others are getting evicted anyway.

 

Worldwide, the population facing life-threatening levels of food insecurity is expected to double, to more than a quarter of a billion people.

 

School meals are the only meals some children get in a day. But during the pandemic, school feeding programs have been reaching fewer and fewer families.

 

September 4, 2020

Fewer jobs were added to the economy last month even as the unemployment rate fell to 8.4%. Job growth has slowed since June in a sign of what could be a long and painful recovery from the recession.

 

Six states cap their unemployment benefits at an amount that translates to less than the federal $7.25 hourly minimum wage.

 

The Trump administration is preparing to put in place a new ban on eviction of renters to prevent the spread of the coronavirus

 

The order comes as House Democrats have been at loggerheads with the White House over the next coronavirus relief package.

 

Beyond the pandemic emergency, there is a food crisis hidden in plain sight: Millions struggling for years to feed their families.

 

The waivers have allowed school districts in Maine to provide free breakfast and lunch to any student who asks for a meal.

 

Judge James Donato ruled the Department of Education “went well beyond” its authority in trying to replace a funding formula mandated by Congress “with ones of its own choosing.”

 

New research shows that minimum-wage violations spike as low-paid workers become more vulnerable and less inclined to complain.