The Washington Post examines the growing number of American citizens who rely on Social Security disability payments to make ends meet.

May 2017 – With new funding authorized by a recent referendum issue, L.A. County is setting up a program to help citizens in precarious circumstances before they lose their homes.

The citizens of L.A. County agree to a quarter-percent sales tax increase to fund programs for the homeless.

A $600,000 federal grant helped Mount Sterling, Kentucky begin renovation of its collapsing community center, a hub for after-school programs and job re-skilling. Trump’s proposed budget cuts threaten the project’s completion. (April 2017)

Trump aims to eliminate HUD-funded programs that help low-income citizens make essential home repairs. (April 2017)

The product, a gel injection that incapacitates sperm cells, could greatly reduce unwanted births, a key driver of poverty.

America’s inadequate safety net leaves many basic needs unmet. (–April 2, 2017)

A review of the recently published A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy, which advocates for a basic income of around $12,000 for every citizen, regardless of employment status.

Faced with Trump’s budget cuts, rural Trump voters are getting a crash course in how social democratic programs have improved—and in some cases, saved—their lives. (April 2017)

A sensible plan for fostering economic inclusion throughout American society.

DC officials decry Trump’s continuing effort to throw the poor under the bus.

Trump’s budget will defund federal programs that help struggling Appalachian communities. (March 2017)

New and more severe sanctions in Arizona’s TANF program will hurt children and abandon efforts to bring low-income recipients into the economic mainstream.

A key challenge to enhancing social democracy in America is our federal system. Many programs are block-granted to states, who also receive tremendous flexibility in their implementation. One such program is Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF), the main support for low-income families with children. This article looks at how Arizona, using the flexibility granted by TANF, has gutted support for these families.

The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities offers a host of useful information on topics of interest to social democrats. This link goes to the Center’s page on family income support, which provides a number of articles and helpful metrics on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), the nation’s main program for bolstering families living in poverty.