poverty

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Poor Kids' Stress Harms the Brain, Chance of Success

Elevated stress hormones early can lead to lack of working memory later

(Newser) - Chronic stress caused by growing up poor appears to impair a developing child’s working memory, the Washington Post reports, pointing to another link between childhood poverty and lessened long-term success. While environmental and experiential factors—such as having fewer toys and more exposure to lead—likely affect the achievement...

Record 32.2M Get Food Stamps

(Newser) - More than 32 million people in the US are now receiving food stamps—a full tenth of the population, Reuters reports. The record enrollment in January marks the third time in 5 months the total has increased. Numbers rose in all but four states. Recipients got an average of $112....

G20 Should Bail Out the Poor: Kristof
 G20 Should Bail Out 
 the Poor: Kristof 
OPINION
Apr 2, 2009 10:03 AM CDT

G20 Should Bail Out the Poor: Kristof

(Newser) - While world leaders waste bicker, the global economic crisis hurts more than your 401(k), Nicholas Kristof writes in the New York Times. The crisis will cause another 22 children to die every hour in 2009—and that’s the World Bank’s best-case scenario. So it’s really discouraging when...

Bombed-Out US Economy Blasts Globe Into Recession

Developing nations hit especially hard in first world recession since World War II

(Newser) - The world economy is plunging into its first global recession since World War II, and sending 46 million people in developing countries back into poverty, warns a World Bank report. The global lender is urging leading nations to pledge a portion of their stimulus packages to stem the mounting crisis...

Mumbai Slums Cheer Millionaire
 Mumbai Slums Cheer Millionaire 
Feb 23, 2009 8:07 AM CST

Mumbai Slums Cheer Millionaire

(Newser) - Children broke into Bollywood dance numbers in the narrow lanes of a teeming Mumbai slum today, as they gathered to watch Slumdog Millionaire's domination of the Oscars. Two of Slumdog's child actors, Rubina Ali and Azharuddin Mohammed Ismail, hail from this desperately poor neighborhood, and their every appearance elicited squeals...

Poor Kids Missing Out on Multivitamins

Well-heeled kids take them, poor need them

(Newser) - Vitamin supplements can combat kids' dietary deficiencies, but tend to be taken by those who least need them, reports Time. A five-year study found that a third of US children take supplements—but those kids are much more likely to be white, with higher incomes, healthier diets, and better health...

Co-Founder of Habitat for Humanity Dies
Co-Founder
of Habitat for Humanity Dies
OBITUARY
Feb 3, 2009 11:28 AM CST

Co-Founder of Habitat for Humanity Dies

Fuller and his wife dumped riches to live out Christian values

(Newser) - Millard Fuller, the millionaire entrepreneur who gave it all away to help found the Christian house-building charity Habitat for Humanity, has died at 74. His wife Linda says her husband was complaining of chest pains, headache, and difficulty swallowing before his death early today. A global 100-house "blitz build"...

Kenya Mourns Double Tragedy That Killed 136

Grieving kin blame poor emergency response in 2 fires

(Newser) - Kenyans are blaming the government for poor public safety and emergency response as they mourn the loss of 136 people in back-to-back fires at a Nairobi supermarket and on a rural highway. Emergency crews were slow to respond to yesterday's fuel tanker explosion, which came as they were still searching...

Slumdog Makers Say Kids Weren't Exploited

Filmmakers deny they underpaid children

(Newser) - The creators of Slumdog Millionaire are taking the offensive to rebut accusations that the young Indian actors in their film were exploited, People reports. Claims surfaced earlier this week that two of the child actors, still living in the slums of Mumbai, got a raw deal. But director Danny Boyle...

Slumdog an Evasive Fantasy
 Slumdog an Evasive Fantasy 
OPINION
Jan 27, 2009 3:14 PM CST

Slumdog an Evasive Fantasy

Fairy-tale film's take on 'real India' has 'conveniently fluid notion of reality'

(Newser) - Slumdog Millionaire wants to be a portrait of the “real India” and a fairy tale at the same time, but director Danny Boyle’s combination is “dissonant to the point of incoherence,” writes Dennis Lim in Slate. It portrays life in the slums in brilliant color, and...

Falling Interest Rates Whack Legal Aid Groups

Funds tied to Fed's benchmark rate

(Newser) - There’s been some collateral damage from the Federal Reserve’s slashing of interest rates: legal aid societies. These groups, which aim to help the poor in civil cases, such as unemployment or foreclosure disputes, have long relied on little-known programs to draw interest from short-term deposits from clients. With...

Developing World Needs More Sweatshops: Kristof
Developing World Needs
More Sweatshops: Kristof
OPINION
Jan 15, 2009 12:41 PM CST

Developing World Needs More Sweatshops: Kristof

Yes, they're ugly by US standards, but many nations' poor toil in much uglier conditions

(Newser) - Before Barack Obama follows through on tough talk about global “labor standards,” Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times wants to take him to a certain garbage heap in Cambodia. Here, where families live in shacks, scavenging in the hot sun, a sweatshop job is “a cherished...

Afghans Infuriated by Gaping Wealth Divide

Corruption fuels scattered elite class

(Newser) - Afghanistan is one of the poorest countries in the world—but while many are forced to beg for change, scattered neighbors are living in mansions, having mysteriously accumulated vast wealth, the Washington Post reports. Stories of drug trafficking, smuggling, and abuse of international aid abound. “All the jobs and...

Nutritionists Fear We'll Pack On 'Recession Pounds'

Obesity rate linked to poverty

(Newser) - Health professionals fear that Americans' lighter wallets will lead to bigger bellies. During tight times, consumers tend to pick cheap, high-calorie foods over healthy items such as lean meats and fresh produce, Reuters reports. "Obesity is a toxic result of a failing economic environment," said one nutritionist. When...

Imagine That: Lennon's Back in TV Ad

Yoko Ono approves spot for One Laptop per Child

(Newser) - John Lennon is starring in a new television commercial for charity 28 years after his death, the Telegraph reports. Thanks to digital technology, the Beatles legend's voice can be heard urging Americans to purchase low-cost computers for the world’s poorest children in the ad for One Laptop per Child....

Like the Big 3, Detroit Is Dying
 Like the 
 Big 3, 
 Detroit 
 Is Dying 
analysis
Dec 26, 2008 7:37 PM CST

Like the Big 3, Detroit Is Dying

(Newser) - The Big Three automakers are broke and begging for cash, but that's typical when you're from Detroit, Matt Labash writes in The Weekly Standard. He prepped for his visit to Dysfunction Junction by reading nightmarish stats: The city has 10,000 unsolved murders; its deficit is as high as...

Ethical Gifts Ease Western Guilt, Not Third World Poverty

Condescending gifts will not eradicate poverty

(Newser) - The trend of giving ethical holiday gifts couldn't be more pompous, writes Nathalie Rothschild for Spiked. "Rather than lifting people out of poverty, Oxfam and the rest are helping to sustain underdevelopment," she argues. And occupying a higher level of condescension is the organization Animal Aid, which opposes...

LA Homeless Get Portable Shelter

(Newser) - A select group of homeless people in Los Angeles now have some relatively decent digs, the Los Angeles Times reports. The EDAR, which stands for for Everyone Deserves a Roof, is a portable shelter that can be used to transport belongings by day. At night it unfolds into a rainproof...

Poverty May Be a Brain Drain
Poverty May Be a Brain Drain
Dec 6, 2008 5:40 PM CST

Poverty May Be a Brain Drain

Low-income kids respond less to visual data; researchers point to talk at home

(Newser) - Children from poor families absorb information less effectively than their wealthier peers, the BBC reports. Using brain scans, scientists measured the cerebral activity of 9- and 10-year-olds after briefly showing them images. “The low socioeconomic kids were not detecting or processing the visual stimuli as well,” said one...

Food Stamp Use Nears Record High
Food Stamp
Use Nears
Record High
Nov 26, 2008 6:05 AM CST

Food Stamp Use Nears Record High

Rising unemployment set to push benefit numbers past 30M

(Newser) - Rising unemployment is expected to push the number of Americans on food stamps to an all-time high of more than 30 million this month, the Washington Post reports. Food pantries say they are also experiencing a surge in demand and a hunger hotline in Washington DC says its calls have...

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