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Fifty years after the launch of the War on Poverty, it’s time to apply our lessons learned to today’s economic and social challenges to usher in a new era of shared prosperity.
Did you know:
Social Security is still the foundation for most seniors’ retirement. Without this critical safety-net program, over half of all older Americans would fall into poverty.
Payments from Social Security and Supplemental Security Income have played a critical role in enhancing economic security and reducing poverty rates among people ages 65 and older. Yet many older adults live on limited incomes, and have modest savings. In 2013, half of all people on Medicare had incomes less than $23,500, which is equivalent to 200 percent of poverty in 2015.
via Kaiser Health News.
Related Reading:
Dear Congress, BOOST Social Security benefits for all working Americans.
In 2014, 46.7 million people (14.8%) were living in poverty, according to the Census Bureau.
The poverty rate for people aged 65 and older was lower, at 10%, thanks
to the success of earned benefit programs like Social Security and
Medicare.
via Entitled to Know.
On Wednesday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) will hold a hearing on poverty called “A Progress Report on the War on Poverty: Lessons from the Frontlines.” While it will feature three experts, none of them are actually low-income Americans who struggle to get by.
Bryce Covert via Think Progress.
Last week, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said the government could better fight poverty if poor people worked with case managers on a “life plan.”
Another look - Viewpoint: The House Republican Budget and Its Effect on Seniors.
On Thursday, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) held his fifth hearing on the War on Poverty, and for the first time he allowed a person actually living in poverty to testify. Tianna Gaines-Turner shared her personal experiences struggling to make ends meet and provide food for her three children who suffer from medical conditions along with her husband. She works as a seasonal employee with children for $10.88 an hour, while her husband works at a grocery store for $8.50.
This brief analyzes poverty rates among seniors in each of the 50 states under two different Census Bureau measures of poverty: the official poverty measure and an alternative supplemental poverty measure, which takes into account health care and housing costs among other factors.
Did you know that Social Security lifts over half of older Americans out of poverty?
The House GOP poverty plan would eliminate Supplemental Security Income (SSI) benefits for 1.3 million severely disabled children in poor families, vaguely proposing to re-orient SSI to provide services instead. Eliminating these modest but critical benefits, however, would hurt some of America’s most vulnerable children and damage their prospects for future success. While vital, the services are a supplement, not a substitute, for cash assistance. What’s more, many SSI children already receive these services through existing special education, early intervention, and health care programs.
Related Reading:
Speaker Ryan Releases Poverty Plan – Thankfully, No One Listened.
Social Security benefits play a vital role in reducing poverty in every state, and they lift more Americans above the poverty line than any other program. Without Social Security, 22.1 million more Americans would be poor, according to analysis using the March 2018 Current Population Survey. Although most of those whom Social Security keeps out of poverty are elderly, 6.7 million are under age 65, including 1.1 million children. (See Table 1.)
Social Security is particularly important for elderly women and people of color, who have fewer retirement resources outside of Social Security. Depending on their design, reductions in Social Security benefits could significantly increase poverty, particularly among the elderly.
via CBPP.
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Social Security is our nation’s most effective anti-poverty program. The system’s modest but vital benefits lifted 21.4 million Americans out of poverty in 2014, including 1.1 million children. It could lift millions more if we expand the program’s benefits—but things have taken a distressing step in the opposite direction.
via Talk Poverty.