welfare

"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?

A record one in six Americans is on Medicaid, the government's health program for the poor. And Medicaid is just one of several government anti-poverty programs that have seen large increases in caseloads -- and costs.

Here's news from the business world and other money matters to watch out for Friday (last updated at 7:33 a.m. Eastern time): Gambling With Welfare Benefits: In the U.S., welfare payments are made electronically in the form of Electronic Benefits Transfer cards, which work similarly to debit...

In California and Michigan, welfare recipients use their Electronic Benefit Transfer cards to withdraw the funds from ATM machines in casinos. If they proceed to roll the dice with the money, wouldn't this be state-backed gambling?

As the economy continues to stumble, homelessness has skyrocketed, leaving many states grappling with an expensive and delicate issue -- what to do with the growing population of people finding refuge in shelters, parks and the streets. Hawaii, where a recent census showed that the homeless...

With the unemployment rate hitting a 26-year high and government stimulus plans searching for ways to generate jobs, state budget shortfalls are putting more traditional welfare and employee-support programs on the chopping block. In California, where the jobless rate has hit its highest point...

In a down economy, and we all know this is a down economy, discount retailers perform better than those catering to the middle or upper middle class. So when dollar stores and deep discounters are reporting strong sales, everyone else starts looking at the reasons why and the answer may surprise:...

I've been reading about Norway's success with the "cradle-to-grave welfare state and it's got me wondering, like many others, if we should be emulating its frugal northern people rather than throwing our back out with the effort to spread democracy worldwide. I must admit, I'm a little cuckoo for...

Poor people can rest a little easier in Tennessee tonight. Or at least poor people who play the state lottery.A bill that would have capped lottery winnings at $600 for anyone receiving state or federal assistance, also called welfare, died in a subcommittee hearing on Wednesday morning, according...

The BBC spent two years researching the grim realities of purebred dogs for their documentary Pedigree Dogs Exposed, which aired in August. The BBC's big findings were that, much like we've all suspected, lots of pedigree dogs are more likely to be sickly because they're chosen for breeding on...