We often talk about poverty and people living in poverty as measured by the government, Then, we set policy with regards to them. We never quite realize the impact of the programs on the people on the receiving end. A brief recital of facts and figures in charts. I also do not believe we get […]
From Prof. Timothy Snyder’s substack “Thinking about…” Shared with permission: “Think about the politicians Trump idolizes, Vladimir Putin in Russia and Viktor Orbán in Hungary. The first undid a democracy through fake emergencies, the second through persistent constitutional abuse. It is not hard to see why Trump likes them. “Now consider the Russian and Hungarian […]
One of the biggest issues in the US is who lives in poverty and how it is determined. People get upset when there are people living on food stamps. Unfortunately, many of us do not know how the government does determine poverty. Part of what makes the conversation difficult is that the modern household budget […]
A long and good NYT take on why poverty continues to exist, stays stagnant or continues to grow in one of the richest nations in the world and the most capable of all to end poverty. A good read. “Those who have amassed the most power and capital bear the most responsibility for America’s vast […]
Gooz News is another substack I have taken to reading. Like “Letters from an American,” it too is well written. Except Gooz News concentrates on healthcare a topic which I have interest in talking about. Being poor results in being exposed to many factors all of which impact your life and that of your family. […]
In my last post, I noted a positive correlation between the homicide rate in a state and killings by the police in the same state. In states where the risk of homicide is higher, police killings also tend to be higher. But there is a mitigating race component, and one which (not surprisingly for those […]
I was bouncing around my twitter feed and landed on this tweet which in turn took me to a paper entiteld Childhood family income, adolescent violent criminality and substance misuse: quasi-experimental total population study. The paper appeared in the British Journal of Psychiatry in 2014. Here’s the basic summary: Background Low socioeconomic status in childhood […]
A few weeks ago I had a post looking at the success of a number of countries. I noted that countries that do well include, (in no particular order): the US, Canada, Northwest Europe, Switzerland, Scandinavia, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Singapore and, until China began applying a heavier thumb, Hong Kong. Those also […]
by run75411 Smoking is All About Poverty I raised the issue of why the elderly pay more than smokers for healthcare insurance since growing old is a natural occurrence and smoking and its associated disorders is self-inflicted. I raised it after STR said smokers are being robbed and I pointed out the elderly non-smokers and […]
There is no crisis with Social Security. Social Security is not going broke. Social Security adds NOTHING to the deficit. Social Security is not welfare. Update: Pelosi says she can live with it There are many options to address issues for the program, which are not offered as part of Pres. Obama’s insistence on keeping […]