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Inflation may be easing — but low-income people are still paying the steepest prices
By: Scott Horsley | NPR
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Updated May 11, 2022 at 8:37 AM ET WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — Four-dollar gasoline and five-dollar hamburger are putting a squeeze on Tanya Byron’s pocketbook. But it’s the rent that really stings. “It’s pretty depressing,” says the Jacksonville, Fla., travel agent, sitting in the tiny dining room that doubles as her home office. “I make… Read More

How soaring inflation forces stark choices
By: Scott Horsley | NPR
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Updated April 12, 2022 at 8:36 AM ET WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — From rising rent to higher heating bills, surging inflation impacts everybody, but it poses a particular hardship for people with little extra money to spare. On Tuesday, the Labor Department reported that consumer prices in March were 8.5% higher than a year ago… Read More

The expanded child tax credit briefly slashed child poverty. Here’s what else it did
By: Cory Turner | NPR
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — Blink and you could have missed it. For six months, the United States experimented with an idea that’s new here but is already a backstitch in the social fabric of many wealthy nations: a monthly cash payment to help families cover the costs of raising children. Less than a year in,… Read More

Families are in distress after the first month without the expanded child tax credit
By: Deepa Shivaram | NPR
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NPR) — Had Congress renewed the expanded child tax credit at the end of last year, Jen Cousins would have received $1,000 from the government on Jan. 14. She would have used the money to fix the brakes on her family’s only vehicle, a minivan. She would have taken her four kids to… Read More

As the pandemic rages on, lines and costs are up at foodbanks across Ohio
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — This latest omicron variant has schools in Cleveland and Cincinnati going back to remote learning, workplaces delaying returning to offices – and people continuing to head to foodbanks. Lines are growing at food banks. And with inflation and other issues, so are costs at those food banks. “Supply chains and the availability… Read More

Advocates for low-income Ohioans say they need more COVID relief money
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (Statehouse News Bureau) — Congress recently allocated more than $5 billion in COVID recovery funds to Ohio and more than $2.7 billion of it has been set aside for shoring up the state’s unemployment fund and for safety forces statewide. But advocates for Ohio’s lowest-income citizens say the state should be giving them… Read More

Can Poverty Lead To Mental Illness?
By: Emily Sohn | NPR
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That’s a question that is fairly new to science. Researchers are now looking at the possible links.

Mike DeWine, Fran DeWine Emphasize Need to Address Child Hunger
By: Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau
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Some of the biggest leaders in public service and in the business world gathered in Columbus for the 25th Annual Children’s Hunger Alliance “Menu of Hope” luncheon aimed at ending food insecurity. The annual event set out to raise $50,000 to help make sure children in Ohio are fed. According to the Children’s Hunger Alliance,… Read More

U.S. Income Inequality Worsens, Widening To A New Gap
By: Bill Chappell I NPR
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The gap between the richest and the poorest U.S. households is now the largest it’s been in the past 50 years, the U.S. Census Bureau says.

White House Touts Help For Poor Areas — But Questions Endure Over Who’ll Benefit
By: Ayesha Rascoe | NPR
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Opportunity zones were created with the 2017 tax cut to bolster low-income communities. But depending on how the funds are spent, investors who get tax incentives could see the biggest gains.

Trump Wants To Limit Aid For Low-Income Americans. A Look At His Proposals
By: Pam Fessler | NPR
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Low-income Americans who take advantage of government safety net programs could be affected by a number of proposed rules and actions in areas such as housing, food aid, overtime and immigration.

The Affluent Homeless: A Sleeping Pod, A Hired Desk And A Handful Of Clothes
By: Sam Sanders | NPR
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Many young people participate in the rental economy. They own less stuff than their parents’ generation, and they rent or share a lot more. For some it’s a choice; for others, a necessity.

Tax The Ultrarich To Solve Poverty? Easier Said Than Done
By: Joanne Lu | NPR
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Oxfam has issued its annual report on the gap between the wealthy and the poor — and offered a solution.

Census Data Show Some KY Counties Among Nation’s Poorest
By: Jeff Young | Alexandra Kanik | Ohio Valley ReSource
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New data from the Census Bureau show eastern Kentucky is still struggling with poverty and lagging far behind national and state averages in terms of income. The Bureau’s latest American Community Survey shows Bell, Harlan and McCreary Counties have some of the lowest median household incomes in the United States. Of counties with 10,000 residents or more,… Read More

Poor People’s Campaign Carries On King, Kennedy Legacies In Ohio Valley
By: Becca Schimmel | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Anti-poverty activists say they will continue a campaign of demonstrations and civil disobedience throughout the Ohio Valley despite arrests at some events and being blocked from Kentucky’s capitol building. The Poor People’s Campaign has rallied in Kentucky, Ohio and West Virginia and campaign leaders returned to Kentucky Wednesday after the group was denied access at earlier demonstrations. North Carolina… Read More

Southeast Ohio’s Fight to Save Local Businesses
By: Meg Ryan, Lauren Ramoser, Joe Payton Local communities throughout southeast Ohio are built on small businesses and local flare. One of the sad realities of communities in this area, however, is the struggles to keep small businesses afloat. While some areas in southeast Ohio boast a rich history, many towns today are increasingly abandoned,… Read More

“Poverty Tour” Brings United Nations Expert To Ohio Valley
By: Nicole Erwin | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Law professor Philip Alston is a United Nations expert on extreme poverty. In his position as a U.N. Special Rapporteur he reports on places where pervasive poverty and human rights issues intersect, places such as Haiti, south Asia and central Africa. His latest work, however, is taking him to parts of the U.S., including the Ohio Valley. “The United… Read More

Study: One-Third Of West Virginia Children Under Age 6 Live In Poor Households
By: Associated Press
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A report says one-third of West Virginia schoolchildren under age 6 live in poor households and are at risk of falling significantly behind their classmates’ achievements. The West Virginia KIDS COUNT’s annual report on children’s wellbeing says the vocabularies of children as young as 18 months from low-income families are already several months behind their… Read More

What The Jobs Report Doesn’t Tell You: Poverty In Southeast Ohio
As the nation emerges from the recession, people look to several measures to determine just how far we have come back and how far we have to go. Economic recovery can become a matter of perspective. The standard measures for progress are job growth and unemployment rate, but those numbers don’t tell the whole story…. Read More

Ohio Governor Makes Pitch To Help The Poor
By: Associated Press
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Ohio Gov. John Kasich is making his pitch to state lawmakers to do more to help residents move out of poverty. In his two-year state budget, the Republican governor has proposed a way to let lower income families keep child-care subsidies as their income increases. He also wants to use $310 million in state and… Read More