Congress has allowed the larger food-stamp allotments contained in the 2009 economic stimulus package to expire, which means poor households across the US will struggle even more than usual to keep themselves fed. The cuts will not only harm poor families, but affect economic growth now and in the future.
Ian Frazier’s in-depth New Yorker article on homelessness in New York seems especially timely, coming after a government shutdown that demonstrated how quickly low-income workers can fall into homelessness if their paychecks suddenly stop.