It's 2023 -- and this is America 10 years after the first across-the-board federal budget cuts known as sequestration went into effect.
Cutting SNAP is precisely the wrong prescription for our children and the nation's economic recovery. The notion that SNAP benefits are an overly generous handout could not be further from the truth.
(Repeats story with no changes to text) By Jason Lange and David Lawder WASHINGTON, May 20 (Reuters) - The chances of a ...
"Reform" is a word we have lost and conservatives have taken over. Reform has become a code word for decreasing Social Security and Medicare benefits, for commodifying, marketizing, and privatizing public education, de-funding public higher education and insuring that no rich child is left behind.
The world has seen great progress in getting children into school over the past decade. Yet 61 million children are still out of class -- that's 61 million too many.
WASHINGTON -- Low-income families, veterans, senior citizens and disabled individuals waiting for assistance under the federal housing voucher program...
Can we please stop referring to Republican "conservatism" and call the party's philosophy and actions what they truly are? I vote for "destructionism," a mix of obstructing and dismantling.
For significant numbers of poor children and families, programs like Medicaid, food stamps and the Earned Income Tax Credit are vital, but they are not sufficient by themselves to overcome the serious multiple barriers these individuals and families can come up against.
Alan Simpson's the lead pitchman for a billionaire- and corporate-funded initiative to slash Social Security that has subjected the public to years of nonstop haranguing and lecturing. But when the public makes tough decisions, the tough-talking Mr. Simpson is nowhere to be found.
Right-wing think tanks will continue to decry people who receive benefits as "takers" and disparage safety net programs for "breeding a culture of dependency." But a solid majority of Americans, have had different life experiences and reject this view.
Instead of making us give up the pensions and health care that we paid for, why not hold rich companies to the same standards as everyone else when it comes to paying taxes?
Failure to provide an adequate safety net of health and legal services places the health, economic well-being and civil rights of all of us at risk. It is time to make a lasting difference.
Deciding how to spend public resources comes down to choices that reflect our values. We've built this country on the values of opportunity, mobility, security, safety and health and they're still key to escaping poverty.
Young people would be among the hardest hit by sequestration, with cuts that would affect their daily lives and those of their families and communities. But as we saw on November 6, youth are not afraid to show up and speak out loud and clear about what kind of country they would like to live in.
This country has always been built on racial and religious exclusion and narrow moralism but also, at the same time, on principles of freedom and equality with universal potential, that do not depend in the least on who pronounces them. Everyone knows that what won on Tuesday was not just a candidate or a party, but a version of America's future. But there's a lot we don't know about that future, even though we are living in it, even though we are it. The country chose the version of America that expands its principles and, by doing so, redefines them. We have only begun to consider what the redefinition looks like for the next generation of government, public life, and solidarity. These are hard problems. But three days after we helped keep the country on this course, they feel like good problems to have.
Being a moderate Republican can be very lonely. I supported Mitt Romney for the simple reason that I believed that he would accomplish more than our current president. In truth, there is no real Republican Party today.
On November 6, 2012, Jane Austen will vote for Barack Obama. With the specter of Mitt Romney as president, her ghost is nothing to fear.
Now is not the time to take steps backward for our nation's seniors and people with disabilities. By preserving and strengthening vital programs like SSI, we can continue ensuring that people with disabilities are able to live in their communities, with the dignity they deserve.
We may debate civilly and settle our differences in the voting booth, but is it possible that physical prowess still shapes our positions on this fundamental social issue?
America is not broke. That is the missing story. Until we admit this, we all lose... and, you can definitely kiss Jim Lehrer and that big ole' yellow bird goodbye.
Congress has a long history of bipartisan support for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly the Food Stamp Program. But that historic bipartisanship is unfortunately under attack now, and it is sorely needed.
Harold Pollack is a health policy wonk at the University of Chicago, but he has a street-level view of the health care system. In a YouTube video ...
Our research strongly suggests that individuals unlucky enough to approach retirement during bad economic times experience long-term deficits in employment, income, and health.
Whether they like it or not, nearly everyone in the United States reaps the benefits of government. When asked about participating in specific gov...
Raise your hand if you went to a public college or university, work for government, borrow books from a public library, ride on government-run buses, subways, or light-rail, use or work for the post office, took a vacation in a national park... and on.
