Saturday, September 18, 2021

Poverty is a Policy Choice: COVID Relief Payments Lowered Poverty Rates, Census Report Finds

 

A Census Bureau report released this week shows that the number of people living in poverty decreased over the course of the pandemic, thanks to aid like the stimulus checks and expanded unemployment benefits. Shailly Gupta Barnes, Policy Director at the Kairos Center and the Poor People's Campaign, describes how new and expanded social programs are essential to keeping millions out of poverty