Poverty

Can Star Power Make New Orleans' Food Deserts Bloom?

Wed, 15 May 2013 19:30:00 +0000

Plenty of celebrities leverage their star power to raise awareness of complicated food issues. Some of the biggest names include Michelle Obama, Jamie Oliver, Prince Charles and Paul McCartney.

Down in New Orleans, actor Wendell Pierce, who stars in David Simon's Treme and, previously, The Wire, has been taking on food insecurity in low-income communities with brand new convenience stores.

From Poor Beginnings To A Wealth Of Knowledge

Fri, 26 Apr 2013 12:45:00 +0000

Herman Blake grew up with his mother and six siblings just outside New York City. It was the early 1940s and the family was poor.

'American Winter' Families Struggle To Survive Fall From Middle Class

Karen Grigsby Bates — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 07:26:00 +0000

It's a visual no parent wants to picture: a child describing what it's like to live in a house with no power for lights, heat or cooking. For many middle-class American parents, it's hard to imagine their family ever facing a situation like that.

As Cardinal, New Pope Walked Fine Line On Economic Issues

Jim Zarroli — Mon, 25 Mar 2013 22:50:00 +0000

He took his name from a 13th century saint who gave up his wealth and threw in his lot with the poor.

A Surprisingly Uncontroversial Program That Gives Money To Poor People

Marianne McCune — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 09:12:00 +0000

Last year, a federal program called the Earned Income Tax Credit took about $60 billion from wealthier Americans and gave it to the working poor. And here's the surprising thing: This redistribution of wealth has been embraced by every president from Ronald Reagan to Barack Obama.

"This program worked," says Richard Burkhauser, an economist at Cornell University and the American Enterprise Institute.