poverty issues

The mayor of San Antonio, one Ivy Taylor, has cited a lack of a relationship with some Creator as the main systemic cause of generational poverty. http://time.com/4757580/san-antonio-mayor-broken-people-religion-poverty/ I'm not inclined to agree. Thoughts?

The coalition government's response to the economic crisis has been a programme of real and imagined austerity where the responsibility for paying the price of austerity is increasingly being transferred from the rich (whose marginal tax rates have been reduced) to the poor (whose benefits have...

I know that private companies aren't allowed to pick and choose their customers based on, say, sexual orientation, race or religion, but landlords in the UK often advertise property with "no DSS" (department of social security (ie. those on income support)) in the text. Is it correct that an...

At the moment there is a move to cap the maximum amount of benefits a family can receive. The move has public support but some groups (including those who campaign against child homelessness and the church) are fighting against these moves on the grounds that it may increase levels of child...

Little nugget of wisdom from Herman Cain: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2011/10/05/2011-10-05_herman_cain_to_occupy_wall_street_protesters_if_youre_not_rich_blame_yourself.html I find it simply incredible that someone can make a comment like this in an economy like our current...

A recent thread expressed surprise that Americans find it difficult to buy nutritious food, like fruits and vegetables, on a low income. The incredulity seemed telling, in that some people don't appear to understand what it's like to live on a low income. Here's a game that allows you to make...

First, as a disclaimer, let me say that Ms. Tricky is a tutor. She tutors students for standardized tests. She works for a well-known company which is quite good at helping kids prepare for standardized tests. The tutoring is not cheap at all, though only a tiny fraction actually goes to Ms...

orlando has restrictions on feeding the poor???!!! welcome to america! the land of the free! http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/breakingnews/os-homeless-feedings-arrests-20110601,0,1453301.story By Susan Jacobson, Orlando Sentinel 1:33 p.m. EDT, June 2, 2011 Members of Orlando Food Not...

"People will always be better off in work than on benefits" This seems to have become a mantra for the coalition politicians - but none of them ever explain why this is the case or are asked why in interviews. I find this seemingly complete acceptance that this is a fact very strange. Surely...

A Channel 4 documentary showed an alarming number of tent cities which have grown up on disused land in towns and cities in the US. The programme claimed 800,000 homes were foreclosed in the last year IIRC, and a million children are now homeless. I couldn't help thinking of The Grapes of Wrath...

According to The Front Cortex @ Scienceblogs, those with incomes below $13000 per year spend on $645, or 9% of their income, on lottery tickets, which accoring to the article, has an EV of 0.53. They might as well go to Vegas and blow it all on blackjack. That at least has an EV of about 0.97...

WASHINGTON (CNN) - The number of Americans living in poverty jumped by 1.3 million last year as household incomes held steady, the Census Bureau said Wednesday. The percentage of the U.S. population living in poverty rose to 12.5 percent from 12.1 percent -- as the poverty rate among children...

There have been a few threads in which measures of poverty and the number of poor people have been touched upon. I thought I'd start a thread to discuss what should be or is the definition of poverty. In my view I think there are really two types of poverty, the first being a more objective...

I got an e-mail saying there are 3.5 M homeless people in the USA. I don't want to belittle the homeless and it's a shame that anyone is homeless but for that very reason it seems it's important to accurately state how many homeless people there are instead of exxagerating for effect. I don't...

There are approximately 300,000+ churches in the U.S. and Canada. In any given week, there are approximately 842,000 and 200,000 homeless people in the U.S. and Canada, respectively. 842,000 + 200,000 = 1,042,000 total. 1,042,000/300,000 = roughly 3.5, so let's say 4. That's 4 homeless...

I can see them. They are out there begging, and I cannot imagine a more degrading existence. Even if we forced them into a job, they would be incapable of actually doing anything useful. In certain countries, begging is more of a profession for some. But I am not talking about those people...