Research shows that taxes, and what we decide they should be, directly affect our long-term social and economic health as a nation — for better or for worse. This in-depth article explains how income and corporate taxes in the U.S. affect economic growth, inequality and government spending.
The U.S. poverty rate puts a number on the share of households who struggle to make ends meet. The way we measure poverty dates back to the 1960s and provides a starting point for building an effective safety net that lifts people out of poverty.
Cuts to the federal food assistance program SNAP were part of a $1.1 trillion overall cut in the federal budget bill signed into law this summer. The bill’s overall changes to SNAP, including a requirement that some states pay a share of benefit costs for the first time, could lead to more families going hungry.