The big irony behind the scorched-earth Republican offensive against President Obama’s health care law is that its expansion of coverage to the uninsured would benefit House districts represented by Republicans nearly as much as those represented by Democrats. In the confrontation that precipitated this week’s government shutdown, the near-universal refrain […] Read more »
Seeking a Poverty Measure for the Next 50 Years
… A 1995 report by a National Academy of Sciences panel outlined ways to update the poverty measure, and the Census Bureau adopted many of these recommendations in its 2011 introduction of the Supplemental Poverty Measure. … But SPM remains experimental, and is released at least a month and a […] Read more »
More Americans Struggle to Afford Food
More Americans are struggling to afford food — nearly as many as did during the recent recession. The 20.0% who reported in August that they have, at times, lacked enough money to buy the food that they or their families needed during the past year, is up from 17.7% in […] Read more »
Can the Government Actually Do Anything About Inequality?
For a moment, let’s forget the central debate of our political period — how much of a role government should play in our lives — and ask a different question: can government policies counteract inequality in any meaningful way? [cont.] Tom Edsall (Columbia U.), New York Times Read more »
President Obama’s Economic Speech and Public Opinion
President Obama’s hour-long speech at Knox College in Galesburg, Illinois, on Wednesday was a major effort on the part of his administration to focus attention on what White House Adviser Dan Pfeiffer called “the most important issue facing the country” — namely the economy. Pfeiffer is right on that count. […] Read more »
The Complicated Farm-Bill Math
The evolving storyline on the current congressional debate over the Farm Bill is one of partisanship running amok as Republicans and Democrats joust over dollars that go to their respective constituencies. But the numbers indicate the reality is a bit more complicated. … The median agriculture subsidy for Romney counties […] Read more »