war on poverty

Devastating News for ObamaCare Backers

"A new study finds that (as far as physical health is concerned) there is no difference between being in Medicaid and being uninsured. It’s hard to exaggerate what a blow this is to the people who gave us the Affordable Care Act (ObamaCare). Everything about ObamaCare—from the money we are spending to the damage being done to the labor market to the hassles the whole nation is going through—depends on one central idea: that enrolling people in Medicaid will give them access to better health." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDevastating News for ObamaCare Backers

Dodd-Frank Creates A Prebuilt Loan Predicament

"Loans with rates and fees above certain thresholds are supposed to be designated 'high cost' by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and thus subject to fewer legal protections. The bureau earlier this year decided to call loans high-cost if they have an annual percentage rate of more than 6.5 percentage points above a national average and 8.5 percentage points for many loans under $50,000. Lenders to manufactured-home buyers say many of their loans would fall into the high-cost category with this regulation, which goes into effect in January. They warn that they won't make such loans because they carry increased legal risk." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDodd-Frank Creates A Prebuilt Loan Predicament

Obama Sees ObamaCare as Legacy Too Worthy to Resist

"Obama summoned about 20 senior administration officials to the White House’s Roosevelt Room for an hour-long meeting on the implementation of his health-care law. Obama began by reminding his staff that the Affordable Care Act would be one of his major legacies and its execution among the highest priorities of his second term, according to a Democrat familiar with the gathering. The session, which has been followed by regular presidential briefings, led to a two-track campaign to defend the measure against united Republican opposition declaring it a failure and to motivate uninsured Americans to sign up for health-care coverage." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama Sees ObamaCare as Legacy Too Worthy to Resist

North Carolina Senate blocks testing themselves when passing welfare drug testing bill

"Republicans in the North Carolina state Senate on Monday pushed through bill that would strip public benefits like food stamps and job training for people who fail a drug test. The bill requires those applying for benefits to pay for their own drug tests. Applicants who test negative would be eligible to have the costs of their tests reimbursed. The policy could cost the state more than $2.1 million. At the same time, senators rejected an amendment offered by Democratic state Sen. Gladys Robinson that would have drug tested lawmakers, the governor and cabinet secretaries." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNorth Carolina Senate blocks testing themselves when passing welfare drug testing bill

The Tunnel People That Live Under The Streets Of America

"Did you know that there are thousands upon thousands of homeless people that are living underground beneath the streets of major U.S. cities? It is happening in Las Vegas, it is happening in New York City and it is even happening in Kansas City. As the economy crumbles, poverty in the United States is absolutely exploding and so is homelessness. In addition to the thousands of 'tunnel people' living under the streets of America, there are also thousands that are living in tent cities, there are tens of thousands that are living in their vehicles and there are more than a million public school children that do not have a home to go back to at night." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Tunnel People That Live Under The Streets Of America

Families Need Medicaid Like Fish Need Bicycles

Author’s Note: This is the sixth in a series of articles about Nebraska’s Medicaid program, the Unicameral’s apparent intent to expand it, and the many reasons why expansion is an uncommonly bad idea. Although they don’t have to be read in order, here are links to the previously-published articles in the series: NE Medicaid Expansion:… more

Continue ReadingFamilies Need Medicaid Like Fish Need Bicycles

Obama Versus Someone Who Actually Knows What He’s Talking About

I’ve been studying economics this school year along with my two teenaged sons in our homeschool.  We listened to a lecture the other day during which Nobel Laureate economist Robert E. Lucas, Jr., was quoted.  After hearing our president’s remarks on the occasion of his second inauguration, I felt compelled to go back and listen… more

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Keep Families Together: An Anarchist Christmas Message

"Mass incarceration and mass deportation are not separate policies that both happen to destroy families. Rather, they are two different facets of the prison industrial complex. The same corporations that operate prisons for profit also profit by running immigration detention centers. These companies back politicians that support authoritarian laws on both immigration and criminal justice issues. When people of color have their families violently broken apart by the state, the prison industrial complex profits. This Christmas, I urge you to organize against the prison industrial complex and the state apparatus that have broken so many families apart." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingKeep Families Together: An Anarchist Christmas Message

Chained CPI: Diet COLA for Social Security

"Before we discuss the nuances of the different measures of the CPI, it is important to keep in mind that millions of Americans rely on Social Security benefits for income protection. In fact, 65% of all beneficiaries rely on Social Security to provide 50% or more of their incomes, while 36% rely on benefits for 90% or more of their incomes. For non-married beneficiaries, including widows, the reliance is higher with 74% relying on benefits for 50% or more of their incomes and 46% relying for 90% or more of their incomes." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingChained CPI: Diet COLA for Social Security

While Much of America Suffers with Stagnation, Washington’s Political Class Is Having a Very Merry Christmas

"In the town that launched the War on Poverty 48 years ago, the poor are getting poorer despite the government’s help. And the rich are getting richer because of it. The top 5 percent of households in Washington, D.C., made more than $500,000 on average last year, while the bottom 20 percent earned less than $9,500 – a ratio of 54 to 1. That gap is up from 39 to 1 two decades ago. It’s wider than in any of the 50 states and all but two major cities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhile Much of America Suffers with Stagnation, Washington’s Political Class Is Having a Very Merry Christmas