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Category: Budget

A budget that hurts already hurting Americans

March 11, 2020

By Sharisse Tracey

President Trump recently proposed a $4.8 trillion dollar budget for the 2021 fiscal year.  The proposal is called “Budget for a Better America.” But this budget disguised as a way…

The bureaucracy of feeding your family

March 9, 2020

By Emily Withnall

Where I live, in Missoula, Montana, the median area income is $54,311. Despite working three jobs, I make under $20,000 annually, or roughly 30% of the area median income, and…

The Tyranny And The Comfort Of Government Cheese

August 23, 2018

By Bobbi Dempsey

Co-published with Taste Government cheese shows up in the punch lines of jokes and song lyrics, but to those who have actually lived on it, it’s both a cornerstone of…

The Class Politics of Decluttering

July 18, 2016

By Stephanie Land

In a piece published by the New York Times, writing fellow Stephanie Land explores the role that class plays in the minimalist movement. She writes that, for many Americans, a minimalist life is an economic…

Just Because I’m Poor Doesn’t Mean My Kid Shouldn’t Have Nice Things

April 7, 2016

By Stephanie Land

Originally published on She Knows.  My daughter and I were living in a conservative area when I started to notice an outcry to test people receiving public assistance for drug…

The Art of Balancing the Ledger While in Poverty

October 7, 2015

By Stephanie Land

Originally published on Talk Poverty and CommonDreams.  When you live at or under the federal poverty level, you’d better be good at crunching numbers. Every cent coming in or going…

I Lived On $6 A Day With A 6-year-old And A Baby On The Way. It Was Extreme Poverty.

October 1, 2015

By Stephanie Land

Originally published on The Guardian.  It didn’t take me long to go from financial stability to fearing homelessness. In January 2014 I was 35-years-old, raising a six-year-old nearly full-time and…

Making Minimum Wage a Living Wage

February 13, 2013

By Alesia Lucas

Overall, 77% of those who watched The State of the Union Address were pleased with what the President had to say.  It was a passionate plea and directive to the…

The Poverty Predicament

January 23, 2013

By Alesia Lucas

The word ‘poor’ is treated like a four-letter word by politicians. But with the downturn of our economy and slow job market, the issue of poverty has become more serious…

The High Cost of Low Wages

November 30, 2012

By Alesia Lucas

As Congress debates the fiscal cliff, hopefully avoiding balancing the budget on the backs of workers, they should look at retail industry workers. The retail industry has bounced back from…

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