Working Poor

Debt Collectors Increasingly Using Abusive Threats, Insults, Lies: Report

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 04.13.2012

It's a debt collector's job to be nasty. And lately, they've performing that task quite well. Debt collectors have been adopting increasingly unpl...

Culture of Poverty in America

Linetta J. Gilbert | Posted 04.12.2012

Linetta J. Gilbert

The culture of poverty, i.e., the environment, institutions, individual behaviors, policies and practices of poverty in the U.S., have affected those who experience poverty as well as those who are observers to its conditions.

Many Americans Aren't Earning Enough To Keep Out Of Poverty

The Huffington Post | Khadeeja Safdar | Posted 04.11.2012

In this post-recession economy you may be able to get a job, but that doesn't necessarily protect you from falling into poverty. In 2010, the numb...

Peter S. Goodman

Child Careless: Without Help, Working Poor Parents Struggling

HuffingtonPost.com | Peter S. Goodman | Posted 04.06.2012

SANTA ROSA, Calif. -- Every time she pulls away from her parent's house, leaving behind her 3-year-old daughter, Angelina, as she heads to work at a l...

Pursuing Justice for Children and the Poor Now

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 05.02.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

I believe this is an Amber Alert time for millions of our nation's poor children and that everyone needs to be on the lookout for the children, to ensure the children's health, safety and education, and to see that justice is done.

It's One Of Those Recoveries Where People Can't Afford Food

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 02.29.2012

Here in the United States, growing numbers of people can't afford that most basic of necessities: food. More Americans said they struggled to buy f...

Medicaid: Help in Hard Times

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 04.25.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

Medicaid is vital -- it provides hundreds of millions of children who are poor or have disabilities with comprehensive health coverage enabling them to become productive, taxpaying members of society.

Desperately Working to Stay Afloat

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 04.18.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

At one time, the Nations owned a home. But like so many other American families, their standard of living has declined over the past decade even though they are a two-parent working family.

The Golden Years: One Step Forward or Several Steps Back?

Gerry Hudson | Posted 04.18.2012

Gerry Hudson

While the recent drop in unemployment numbers is great news, I wonder about how it will impact older African-American baby boomers. Our looming retirement security crisis, disproportionally affects African Americans, many of whom are retiring in poverty after a lifetime of work.

The Rent Is Too Damn High In Every State In America

The Huffington Post | Alexander Eichler | Posted 02.17.2012

The poorest people in America are running out of places to live. In every state in the country, there are people looking for cheap rental housing -...

Dave Jamieson

Restaurant Lobby Tries To Slash Servers' Minimum Wage

HuffingtonPost.com | Dave Jamieson | Posted 02.08.2012

The Florida restaurant lobby is pushing a bill that would drop the minimum wage for the state's restaurant servers and other tipped employees from $4....

"I Just Want a Job"

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 04.04.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

Anyone who thinks welfare recipients do nothing but sit around and cash their checks isn't familiar with the schedules of Tiffany and many others like her.

Alexander Eichler

Almost Half Of U.S. Households Live One Crisis From Poverty, Study Says

HuffingtonPost.com | Alexander Eichler | Posted 01.31.2012

What does it mean to be poor? If it means living at or below the poverty line, then 15 percent of Americans -- some 46 million people -- qualify. B...

Rescuing the American Dream

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 03.28.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

For decades, the cornerstone of fulfilling the American dream has been getting a good education. But that cornerstone has crumbled for millions of America's children.

Newt Gingrich, Food Stamps and the Real Debate We Need

Tiziana Dearing | Posted 03.25.2012

Tiziana Dearing

Those economic challenges, the ones faced by the vast majority of people in the U.S. of all races -- people who want to get ahead and be in America's Rising Class but can't get their hands on the tools for rising -- are what we should be discussing in 2012.

Working Poor USA

Bill Quigley | Posted 03.21.2012

Bill Quigley

Millions of people in the U.S. work and are still poor. Here are eight points that show why the U.S. needs to dedicate itself to making work pay.

America's Mobility Problem

Bob Burnett | Posted 03.21.2012

Bob Burnett

The truth is, we've become a nation of narcissists. For many Americans -- particularly Republicans -- the core value is not "E pluribus unum" but rather, "What's in it for me?"

Alexander Eichler

Homeless Rate Ready To Rise

HuffingtonPost.com | Alexander Eichler | Posted 01.18.2012

Although the recession has officially been over for two years, the worst may be to come for many people. Job losses rose during the last few years....

Dave Jamieson

Romney Takes Surprising Position On Minimum Wage

HuffingtonPost.com | Dave Jamieson | Posted 01.12.2012

In a move that puts him out of step with his fellow Republicans on the campaign trail, frontrunner Mitt Romney said in New Hampshire that the minimum ...

Dave Jamieson

Obama Whiffs On Campaign Promise

HuffingtonPost.com | Dave Jamieson | Posted 01.05.2012

WASHINGTON -- In 2008, then-President-elect Barack Obama made an ambitious pledge as part of his agenda to fight poverty, one he claimed would help "m...

Dave Jamieson

Pay Will Rise For Working Poor In Some States

HuffingtonPost.com | Dave Jamieson | Posted 12.28.2011

WASHINGTON -- Eight states will be raising their minimum wage next week, boosting the pay of more than a million workers across the country. Most ...

House Republicans: Gambling With Millions of Lives

Deborah Weinstein | Posted 02.20.2012

Deborah Weinstein

When the House Republicans blew up a bipartisan Senate plan to continue unemployment insurance and the payroll tax cut for two months, they made it clear that they were willing to use the 99 percent as bargaining chips in their fight to protect the top 1 percent.

Number of Working Poor Families Continues to Grow: Does Work Still Pay?

Brandon Roberts | Posted 02.19.2012

Brandon Roberts

It's time for policy makers to put American working families first. As more families drop from the middle class, the number of working families that are low-income increases.

More Faces of Child Poverty

Marian Wright Edelman | Posted 02.08.2012

Marian Wright Edelman

We have good safety net programs, and we have to make sure every child who could benefit from these programs does. Help for poor parents and children should be protected before tax breaks for wealthy corporations and millionaires.

Another Shocking Fact About the Walmart Heirs

Stacy Mitchell | Posted 02.08.2012

Stacy Mitchell

The six Waltons, heirs to Walmart founder Sam Walton, not only have a net worth equal to the combined wealth of the bottom 30 percent of Americans, but they also own and control nearly half of Walmart, the world's largest corporation. That's an astounding fact.