“These painful phone calls involve my trying to explain why I cannot pay a bill on time or in full or both. The person on the other end of the phone falls into one of two categories Either they’ve been in my shoes or they cannot possibly imagine being in my shoes.” Here’s a very [...]

Found on The Awl: Salon readers respond to an article Hipsters on food stamps, subtitled “They’re young, they’re broke, and they pay for organic salmon with government subsidies. Got a problem with that? ” Think of it as the effect of a grinding recession crossed with the epicurean tastes of young people as obsessed with [...]

From an article in the Boston Globe last October titled “Panhandlers move from street to Internet.” …part of a new phenomenon among the homeless: digital panhandling. Some homeless people now have blogs where they seek donations. There are web forums where the homeless exchange ideas, sites where people can donate money, and bulletin boards where [...]

From the blog economicus ridulous comes this post called Blue and Broke, about the economic necessity of bartering instead of paying for certain extras, and the emotional toll it has taken. My sister’s son is getting married this summer. The invitation is sitting atop my fridge. The family lives in Ontario. I want to attend, [...]

Found recently on Barking Up the Wrong Tree: “Do the poor pay more for things than the average American?” Answer, according to a 2008 paper in the Journal of Consumer Research: Yes. Abstract: This research undertakes a carefully designed and detailed empirical study to gain insights into (1) the extent of price differentials between wealthy [...]

Low-income African American New Yorkers talk about their experiences with the city’s Work Experience Program. Produced by Community Voices Heard. Posted on the Social Work/Social Action blog and blip.tv. Of course, if you’d lilke the opposite view of New York City workfare, the American Enterprise Institute is happy to give it to you.

The Awl recently culled these facts about food stamps from various news articles: 1. “Nearly half of all U.S. children and 90 percent of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, researchers say.” 2. “The U.S. Department of Agriculture said nearly 200,000 retailers nationwide now accept food stamps, 20 percent [...]