Lower income households and Black and Latino communities will be hit hard when a confluence of U.S. economic events kick off next week, including a sharp drop in childcare funding, economists, analysts and government officials said.

About 12.4%, some 41 million, of the U.S.'s 333 million people live at or below the poverty line, the Census Bureau calculates, which is set at about $29,678 for a household of two adults and two chidren.

That rate fell to a record low in 2021 thanks to COVID-19 federal support, but has jumped as these programs expired.

Hardline Republicans in the House have rejected a deal the Republican-led House negotiated with U.S. President Joe Biden in May for $1.59 trillion in discretionary spending in fiscal 2024, paving the way for wide swaths of the government to shut down for the fourth time in a decade.

  • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
    2015·
    1 year ago

    A shutdown could cause a rapid loss of food benefits for nearly 7 million low-income women and children on the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infacts and Children, or WIC, U.S. officials said Tuesday.

    But don’t worry, the Pentagon is exempting Ukraine operations from the government shutdown.

    Really shows the priorities of this country.

      • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
        10·
        1 year ago

        This is constitutionally required as per the 27th Amendment.

        The optics are gross, admittedly, but it would literally violate the Constitution to suspend their pay. It also does neuter a potential strategy of a coalition of wealthy Congress critters simply doing nothing as an intentional effort to cut off their opponents’ income and pressure their direct personal finances.

        This probably wasn’t a consideration during the drafting of the amendment, but it’s not as if we’re going to be touching the Constitution any time soon, so here we are.

    • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
      111·
      1 year ago

      Would you prefer the Pentagon stop operating?

      The entire thing is stupid, but there’s one party that’s squarely responsible for this. Go ask the House GOP why they don’t care about halting SNAP payments, but I don’t see how enabling Russia to slaughter more Ukrainians would be better.

      • Hildegarde@lemmy.world
        53·
        1 year ago

        Yes.

        Government shutdowns would have be much less frequent if they shut down the entire government.

          • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
            411·
            1 year ago

            How about I ask America to not be a country that puts war before people? Why must you defend this shithole country for the evil it does?

            • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
              62·
              1 year ago

              Ah, my apologies; I didn’t realize I was talking to a clown. Enjoy waiting around for the revolution. It’ll be here any day now, I’m sure!

                • BraveSirZaphod@kbin.social
                  6·
                  1 year ago

                  Your impressive lack of ability to have a conversation with any amount of good faith is pretty entertaining, yes.

                  Speaking of the poor starving, while you’re talking to McCarthy, hop over the to Senate and ask the Republicans (and Manchin and Sinema as well, but also 50 Republicans), why they ended Biden’s child tax credit that caused significant measurable reductions in child poverty and food insecurity?

                  You know, since you seem to care so much about these things.

                  • queermunist she/her@lemmy.ml
                    15·
                    1 year ago

                    Republicans belong in work camps my dude.

                    But why do you refuse to acknowledge that this is a structural problem with America’s government? This is the only country where the government is structured so it can “shut down” while not causing snap elections and all the politicians still get their paychecks. What the fuck?

                    Why the fuck is the government structured so it can continue to funnel money into a foreign war completely unrelated to the defense of the homeland, but it can’t do the same to the hungry at home? Why is the government structured in a way so one of the only two parties is literally anti-government?

                    You’re blinding yourself to fundamental problems with America’s government by only blaming Republicans. Republicans are just taking advantage of a badly structured polity.

    • Jaysyn@kbin.social
      113·
      1 year ago

      Don’t blame the military for the #GOP’s fuckery. They quite literally signed up to keep working with no pay when the #GOP attacks the country.

      And make no mistake, that is exactly what this is. Russia is & has been making war on the US thru non-military means.

    • Wogi@lemmy.world
      61·
      1 year ago

      The machine must be fed. No matter what happens, the machine feeds.