The top quarter of American income earners can expect to live a decade longer than the bottom quarter. This health disparity seems downright cruel. Not only do those in poverty have to pay more for things like credit and insurance, they also pay more years to the grim reaper.

In a recent column by Robert Reich, former U.S. Secretary of Labor, argues that the labor shortage is unrelated to boosted unemployment benefits and that the price hikes do not necessarily follow from the wage hikes and that the real winners of these economic conditions are low-wage workers. TCI’s Nathan Mayo unwraps Reich’s analysis to find that there is not much meat in his argument.

In the year following their release, only 55% of former prisoners have any wages, with the median worker earning a mere $5,900. An in-depth analysis by the Brookings Institution reveals a surprising truth: many of these problems finding and maintaining decent employment are worse in the years before they go to prison than after.

On May 26, 2021, TCI Executive Director James Whitford testified before the U.S. House of Representatives’ Committee on Agriculture regarding whether to expand SNAP benefits. During that hearing, Vice-Chair Alma S. Adams (D-NC) posed the question in the title of this article. James provides his response.

“We want to avoid a situation where people are unaware of what they’re entitled to,” said Vice President Harris last Monday. She was explaining the purpose of the Biden administration’s “Help is Here” tour, showcasing the third round of national stimulus legislation passed into law this month. I hope someone meets them along the way and hands off the book When Helping Hurts. This fundamental read highlights the harm done when indiscriminate charity fails to discern true need on an individual level.

The fight for the $15 minimum wage is heralded as the way for low-income workers to earn a decent living and possibly lift them out of poverty. This claim sounds reasonable, but it is founded on two unspoken assumptions — that the poor currently work and that they will continue to work once higher minimum wages take effect. Unfortunately, these two assumptions are not the reality.