Poverty

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NPR

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$15 Minimum Wage Would Reduce Poverty But Cost Jobs, CBO Says : NPR

Raising the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2025 would increase wages for at least 17 million people, but also put 1.4 million Americans out of work, according to a study by the Congressional Budget Office released on Monday.

A phase-in of a $15 minimum wage would also lift some 900,000 out of poverty, according to the nonpartisan CBO. This higher federal minimum could raise wages for an additional 10 million workers who would otherwise make sightly above that wage rate, the study found.

Potential job losses were estimated to affect 0.9 percent of workers, the CBO wrote, adding: "Young, less educated people would account for a disproportionate share of those reductions in employment."

NPR

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Trump Administration Considering Changes That Would Redefine The Poverty Line : NPR

The current poverty line for a family of four is about $26,000. Each year, the government adjusts the line for inflation based on the consumer price index. Among the options that the administration is considering is whether to use a version called the "chained CPI," which is lower than the rate currently used. The chained CPI assumes that as the prices of goods go up, individuals substitute less expensive items, thereby reducing their overall expenses.

Some economists argue that this is a more accurate way to measure inflation, and both Barack Obama's and George W. Bush's administrations tried, without success, to introduce the use of the chained CPI in federal programs.

NPR

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Arkansas Panhandling Law Struck Down, Violates First Amendment, Judge Rules : NPR

When a panhandler approaches a car in the intersection — his hand out, his eyes wide — that physical interaction is protected by the First Amendment, a federal district judge ruled Monday when he threw out an Arkansas city's panhandling ban.

It's the latest such ban to be found unconstitutional since a 2015 Supreme Court decision made it harder for the government to pass laws having to do with the content of speech. That case, Reed v. Town of Gilbert, had to do with regulating church signs, but courts around the country have cited the case as they strike down panhandling laws.

In recent years, you see a lot more pan handling in Downtown Albany and not only in poor neighborhoods. It seems like panhandlers nowadays are more white, working class folk like you might see working construction years ago. I wonder if it has more to do with the heroin epidemic and people loosing their jobs and their homes, getting left behind on the street in the city.

Child Poverty Could Be Cut In Half Over 10 Years, At A Hefty Price

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Report: Child Poverty Could Be Cut In Half Over 10 Years, At A Hefty Price

"Child poverty in the U.S. could be cut in half over the next 10 years with a few simple steps, according to a new report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The cost would be high — at least $90 billion a year. But the National Academies report warns that the price of not doing anything would be far greater."