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  • War on Poverty

    Uncle Sam Wants You… on Food Stamps?

    Across the country, states are courting participants for food stamps (now known as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP). The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) even has a webpage dedicated to helping states create “SNAP Outreach Plans.” The argument from the USDA is that “Food Stamps Make America Stronger” … More

    WSJ: Food Stamp Rolls Remain High Despite Economic Improvement

    The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported last week that even with improvements in the economy, food stamp participation rates have reached all-time highs. Since 2008, enrollment has increased by 70 percent, reaching a record 47.8 million this past December. Funding for the food stamp program—or, as it’s now called the … More

    Food Stamps Participation Hit Record Highs in 2012

    A record number of Americans received food stamps in 2012. Citing the latest statistics released by the Department of Agriculture, the Weekly Standard reported food stamp participation was at an average of 46,609,072 people every month of 2012. In December of last year, 47,791,996 people received food stamps, or one … More

    The No-Surprise Senate Budget: Higher Spending, Higher Taxes, No Real “Balance”

    After going nearly four years without producing a budget resolution, Senate Democrats today released a plan confirming their mantra about “balanced” approaches has nothing to do with actually balancing the budget. In their view, “balance” is a mix of higher taxes and higher spending, chronic deficits and debt, and a … More

    Senator Sessions Makes Case for Freeing People from Welfare

    “No longer can we measure compassion by how much we spend on poverty but how many people we help to lift out of poverty,” says Senator Jeff Sessions (R–AL). Since the War on Poverty began back in the 1960s, the federal government has spent nearly $20 trillion (adjusting for inflation) … More

    Top 10 Heritage Charts of 2012

    If you’ve read our work, you probably know we love charts. Our signature products — the Index of Economic Freedom and Federal Budget in Pictures — include some amazing informational graphics. We also showcase our charts weekly on The Foundry and in many of our research papers. Today we bring … More

    Morning Bell: Are We Helping Poor Americans?

    At the end of the year, many people take time to make charitable donations. But caring for those in need is a year-round responsibility—and when it comes to public policy, conservatives have an important opportunity to articulate an effective response to poverty and social breakdown in America. A half-century into … More

    How to Cure Poverty in America (VIDEO)

    Just last month, the U.S. Census Bureau revealed that the poverty rate has not changed significantly since the previous year: 46.2 million, or roughly 15 percent, of Americans are defined as “poor.” While poverty in the United States is not the destitution and depravation most people think of when they … More

    Paul Ryan: How Conservatism Helps the Poor

    When it comes to explaining how their policies would help the poor and the disadvantaged, conservatives can all too often be likened to a football team that drives all the way to the one-yard line and then just kneels down. Rock-solid principles and policies drive them forward, but they fail … More

    Marriage: The Greatest Weapon Against Child Poverty

    The collapse of marriage, along with a dramatic rise in births to single women, is the most important cause of childhood poverty—but government policy doesn’t reflect that reality, according to a special report released today by The Heritage Foundation. Nearly three out of four poor families with children in America … More