For far too long, millions of undocumented immigrants who work hard and contribute to our economy and their communities have lived in fear. Fear of being discovered. Fear of being separated from their families and their homes. Fear of not being able to work and provide for their families. Thankfully,…
Archives: Voices
How Many Working Families are Dependent on Food Banks in the US?
This post was originally published on Oxfam America’s The Politics of Poverty blog on November 18. Americans are going back to work. US employment numbers are in and we should be glad. A job means a wage, and that means people can cover the essentials: rent, heat, clothes, medicine – and…
Building Local Momentum for National Change
Virgil Pack works three jobs in the restaurant industry in order to support his two children. He spoke about his 60-plus hours of work each week, with no sick leave and no benefits, at an event releasing the 2014 Poverty and Inequality Indicators Report. Two of his jobs pay only…
Say What?
“Determined not to shut down the government again, Republican leaders think short-term measures could be the best way to address both the ire within their caucus and their desire to show the American people they can govern.” (from Congressional Republicans Consider Using Short-term Funding Bill to Pressure Obama, Robert Costa, Washington…
Three Steps to a Two-Generation Approach
To ensure that kids thrive and succeed from birth onward, we must simultaneously address the obstacles facing their parents. The ability of our children to enter and navigate paths to success has implications for all of us. The 17 million young children in low-income families today will become tomorrow’s parents,…
Congress’ Must-Do in the Lame Duck
Congress returned to work today for the first time since the elections. For some, it will be a victorious return. For others, it will be the start of their last two months in office. Either way, they have a lot to do before the end of the year, and the…
Fact of the Week: Safety Net Programs Kept Child Poverty from Skyrocketing during the Great Recession
New reports from UNICEF show that child poverty rates increased in the majority of developed countries around the world during the Great Recession, but the social safety net kept U.S. rates steady. The globally-focused report concluded that 76.5 million children in the world’s richest countries live in poverty, up 2.6…
What Good is a Safety Net?
America’s safety net is one of our most maligned and threatened public institutions, where attacks rely on arguments about decreasing the size of government and “entitlement reform.” But a funny thing happens when you ask Americans what they are willing to cut: the answer is, not much. Americans recognize that…
Mandate for What?
Here’s some of what was on people’s minds as they voted, according to polls taken on Election Day: Two-thirds (65 percent) said the country is seriously off-track. 70 percent rated the economy fair or poor. Although more people (28 percent) said their own financial situation was improved than in previous…
Some Good News From Tuesday
While many eyes around Washington were on the federal congressional races yesterday and on which party would end up with control of the Senate, there were also important state-level ballot measure campaigns happening all across the country. In a time when Congress is seen as inactive and partisan gridlock prevents…
Dance Your Way to the Polls
The other day, we told you about the latest stops on the Nuns on the Bus voter education tour, We the People, We the Voters. The Sisters from NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby and some friends are having some fun with this – check out their #NunTrouble music video, It’s All…
Fact of the Week: Number of Children Benefiting from Federal Low-Income Child Care Program at a 15 Year Low
The number of children receiving child care funded by the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) fell to a 15-year low, according to CLASP analysis of data from the Department of Health and Human Services. The CCDBG is the primary source of federal funding for helping low-income families pay for…