poverty

According to a 2019 report by the Federal Reserve, the typical white family in America has five times the wealth of the typical Hispanic family and eight times the wealth of the typical Black family. One thing this means is that kids from these families are at a disadvantage from birth compared with kids from wealthier families.

Connecticut lawmakers passed a bill two years ago that gradually increases the state minimum wage to levels that will peak in 2023 at $15 per hour. At first glance, that seems like a win for working people. But Lauren Ruth, research and policy director with Connecticut Voices for Children, has co-authored a report that says with the state taking away key benefits at the same time, the minimum wage hike represents only a partial win for working people.

Before the COVID-19 pandemic hit Connecticut, 38% of the state’s residents were already struggling to make ends meet -- that’s according to a new report by the United Way of Connecticut. The data, from 2018, looks at families living at or near the poverty level and those who live above it but lack the income to pay for housing, food, child care and health care. 

They’re known as ALICE households -- Asset Limited, Income Constrained, Employed.  

A line of people bundled in thick coats, scarves and gloves formed along the outer edges of a small parking lot earlier this month at Elm Ridge Park in Rocky Hill.

Despite the cold and drizzly weather, residents waited with empty grocery bags, shopping carts, baskets and boxes as volunteers from Foodshare, the Greater Hartford region’s food bank, set up tables with fresh vegetables, fruits, meat and poultry.

A big part of the so-called American Dream promises that if people work hard enough -- no matter how poor they are -- they’ll find success. It turns out  that's not completely true, according to a new report by Georgetown University, which shows that wealth is stronger indicator of success than intelligence.

Education professor Anthony Carnevale co-authored the study.

Money appears to be no object for the 33 parents recently charged by federal authorities for paying bribes so that their kids could get in to elite schools like Georgetown, UCLA, and Yale.

Cities and towns have laws to keep people from engaging in behavior that may disturb others, like sleeping on park benches, drinking in public, or just plain “loitering”.

What does it mean when just hanging out in a public space puts you in violation of these laws?

One homeless man’s interaction with a Hartford police officer has become more than just a legendary city tale.

On Thursday, the Department of Agriculture announced a regulatory proposal that would impose stricter work requirements on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and strip states of their ability to make decisions based on local job conditions. The announcement comes after a Republican failure to impose those restrictions within the Farm Bill.

The troubling gap between the rich and the poor in Connecticut is formidable and only getting more profound.

Studies have shown that failing to address income inequality hampers overall economic growth. So it's in everyone's interest that something is done about it. But with the state carrying the weight of massive debt payments, can we afford more programs designed to lift up those at the bottom? Can we afford not to spend more?

A local nonprofit outfitted about 400 people with a brand new pair of boots and a fresh pair of socks at an event called the “Winter Boot Party” at the Christ Church Cathedral in Hartford Saturday.

When CVS agreed to acquire Aetna, they halted a plan to move the Hartford-based company’s headquarters to New York City. Connecticut has been breathing a sigh of relief that one of the capital’s largest employers isn’t ditching the state.

According to a report from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, a national organization supporting families and the communities they live in, 22,000 of Connecticut’s children have parents that are 18-24 years old. 70 percent of those children belong to low-income households.

How well do we really know the poor? As our nation's economy grows and the jobless rate decreases, are we increasingly ignoring their voices? Haven't we always ignored them?

This hour, we learn about a new online series about "extreme inequality" in Connecticut.

We also look at trends in white shark activity off the coast of Cape Cod.

But first, an update on hurricane-ravaged Puerto Rico. How well-equipped are the island and its residents to face a possible next storm?

The state’s latest budget crisis means tens of millions of dollars set aside to make homes and businesses more energy efficient will instead be pumped into the state’s general fund.

Justice for all? Or justice for the privileged?

This hour, we hear how one Connecticut-based incubator is helping vulnerable residents gain access to counsel. We also examine more wide-ranging efforts to narrow the country’s “justice gap.” 

Environmental groups have drawn attention to sustainability and conservation, but insiders say movement leadership is overwhelmingly white.

This hour, we examine a lack of diversity in environmental activism and find out who’s working to change this.

Has the golden age of humanity passed? Can we, as a species, survive the next few centuries? As our climate warms, population grows, resources shrink, and means of self destruction become more deadly, these questions move from the realm of dystopian fiction to real world relevance.