Tag Archives: poverty

Florida Politics reports: Florida Democrats are piling on Gov. Ron DeSantis with demands he reverse his “appalling” decision not to reenlist the state in a pandemic-era program to bring federal food aid to 2.1 million children from low-income homes. Through his inaction, they said, DeSantis is blocking Florida’s neediest families from getting about $820 million in child food aid, which …

Media Matters has the transcript: LAURA INGRAHAM (HOST): What if we just cut off the unemployment? Hunger is a pretty powerful thing. I don’t mean physical hunger, because people who truly are in need need help, but people who can work but refuse to work. JON TAFFER: I have friends in the military who trains military dogs Laura, and they …

The New York Times reports: The Senate took a major step early on Wednesday toward enacting a sweeping expansion of the nation’s social safety net, approving a $3.5 trillion budget blueprint along party lines that would allow Democrats to fund climate change, health care and education measures while increasing taxes on wealthy people and corporations. After an unusual bipartisan approval …

The Washington Post reports: A federal judge on Sunday formally struck down a Trump administration attempt to end food stamp benefits for nearly 700,000 unemployed people, blocking as “arbitrary and capricious” the first of three such planned measures to restrict the federal food safety net. In a scathing 67-page opinion, Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of D.C. condemned …

Politico reports: The Agriculture Department last week began mandating that millions of boxes of surplus food for needy families include a letter from President Donald Trump claiming credit for the program. The USDA’s $4 billion Farmers to Families Food Box Program has distributed more than 100 million boxes to those in need since May, with the aim of redirecting meat, …

Politico reports: A coalition that includes attorneys general in 14 states, the District of Columbia and New York City are suing the Agriculture Department over a plan to impose stricter work requirements on millions of food stamp recipients. The lawsuit, filed Thursday by mostly Democratic-led states, argues that USDA unlawfully limited states’ discretion to exempt certain adults from work requirements …

The Los Angeles Times reports: The Supreme Court refused Monday to hear a major case on homelessness, letting stand a ruling that protects homeless people’s right to sleep on the sidewalk or in public parks if no other shelter is available. The justices without comment or a dissent said that they would not hear the case from Boise, Idaho, which …

The Associated Press reports: Michael Bloomberg took his Democratic presidential campaign to California on Wednesday, pledging to launch a “war on poverty” at an event in a city once known as the nation’s foreclosure capital. “As president, my job will be to move all Americans ahead, and that includes committing our country to new and innovative ways to combat poverty. …

Bloomberg News reports: The Trump administration will announce a plan Wednesday to end food stamps benefits for about 750,000 Americans, issuing a new regulation that makes it harder for states to gain waivers from a requirement that beneficiaries work or participate in a vocational training program, according to people familiar with the matter. Conservatives have long sought cuts in the …

The Daily Dot reports: Milo Yiannopoulos appears to have sold his website dangerous.com amid reported financial troubles for the far-right provocateur. A grammatically incorrect message on the site Sunday states that “Dangerous.com has been sold and is no longer associated with it’s previous owner.” The former Breitbart writer does not appear to have publicly commented on the alleged sale thus …

CBS News reports: The partial government shutdown glided into its third week Saturday with no end in sight. If the government is not reopened before February, millions of Americans who receive benefits from the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — the nation’s food stamp program — could have their assistance disrupted. The U.S. Department of Agriculture, which oversees SNAP at …

“Prior to President Bush, there were like, food stamps. So they had this stigma about them, so people wouldn’t want to be on even if they qualify. But now it’s like an EBT swipe card, it’s a debit card. So they take the shame out of it. What the Trump Administration is saying is, come on guys, the economy’s doing good. …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration is setting out to do what this year’s farm bill didn’t: tighten work requirements for millions of Americans who receive federal food assistance. The U.S. Department of Agriculture on Thursday is proposing a rule that would restrict the ability of states to exempt work-eligible adults from having to obtain steady employment to receive …

Politico reports: HUD Secretary Ben Carson is backing off plans to triple the minimum rent paid by some of the country’s poorest households, citing Congress’ move to defy the administration and boost his agency’s budget. The proposal to increase the minimum rent paid by rental assistance beneficiaries is no longer “urgent,” due to the additional resources in the HUD budget, …

Fox News reports: Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson is firing back at critics who claim his proposal to reform federal government housing subsidies is an “example of the Trump administration’s war on poor people,” as one congressional Democrat put it. “I would say it’s just the opposite,” Carson said in a phone interview this week with Fox News. …

The Associated Press reports: The Trump administration is considering a plan that would allow states to require certain food stamp recipients to undergo drug testing, handing a win to conservatives who’ve long sought ways to curb the safety net program. The proposal under review would be narrowly targeted, applying mostly to people who are able-bodied, without dependents and applying for …

Politico reports: The Trump administration is proposing to save billions in the coming years by giving low-income families a box of government-picked, nonperishable foods every month instead of food stamps. White House OMB Director Mick Mulvaney on Monday hailed the idea as one that kept up with the modern era, calling it a “Blue Apron-type program” — a nod to …

Mediaite reports: In a Tuesday Instagram post, former House Oversight Committee chair Jason Chaffetz took it upon himself to publicly shame a homeless man on the streets of New York City for the great crime of having a smartphone. Chaffetz is, FYI, the same GOP lawmaker who suggested poor Americans would be able to afford health care if they’d just …

The New York Times reports: Ben Carson does not like the creature comforts, at least not for low-income Americans reliant on the government for a helping hand. As he toured facilities for the poor in Ohio last week, Mr. Carson, the neurosurgeon-turned-housing secretary, joked that a relatively well-appointed apartment complex for veterans lacked “only pool tables.” He inquired at one …

TIME recaps: John Oliver turned his attention southward on Last Week Tonight to discuss Puerto Rico. The U.S. territory is in a massive financial crisis, facing nearly $70 billion in debt, with a poverty rate of nearly 45%. “Puerto Rico is like the last Tower Records: everything’s overpriced, everyone’s being laid off, and there is still a really weird number …