safety net

The government of Minnesota has been essentially shuttered for a week since the governor and legislature failed to find a compromise solution for the state's $5 billion shortfall. But it's hard to imagine what it means to "shut down" a state of 5.3 million people. Here's what it means to them.

The Tea Party-led Republican Party has already won the battle to cut this year's federal budget, and it has announced a plan to dismantle Medicare. Is a proposal to cut Social Security payments next?

While the Great Recession caused the U.S. poverty rate to hit a 15-year peak, a longer trend has seen suburban poverty increasing. According to a new report, the recession only exacerbated the problem, with social safety nets providing fewer services to meet the rising need.

"More food stamps? Or more paychecks?" Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich suggests that's how the GOP should couch the national policy debate before the midterm elections. But will it work?

The government of British Prime Minister David Cameron won a key vote of confidence from the financial community Monday when Moody's Investors Services announced that it would continue to apply a AAA rating to the country's debt, despite its severe economic dislocation.

Public funds are in short supply, but so far the political discussion seems bipolar; either we kill programs to trim expenses or fund them as planned. What ever happened to the idea of putting off expenditures until we can get back on our feet? In my home town, the city is about to spend half a...