Poverty rates by demographic category, in 2013, for women and men, age 65 and older (bar chart)

Women have higher poverty rates in retirement than men

Recently, my colleague Jody Harris posted about how devious payday lenders prey heavily on women. She added that, “Women continue to earn less than their male counterparts, and […]

Congress must stop taxing workers without children into poverty

Workers without children – including non-custodial parents (who do not have custody of their children for the purposes of their tax filing) – are the only taxpayers […]

Economic Data Tell Consistent Story that Maine’s Recovery is Far From Complete

Despite the recent fanfare about Maine’s low headline employment rate, the state’s economy has still not fully recovered from the effects of the Great Recession, some eight […]

Thousands of Maine’s Poorest Residents Are Left to Go Hungry

In Maine, some of our poorest neighbors have lost a critical tool to help them get enough to eat each day. In 1996, Congress dictated that able-bodied […]

Distressed Community Index Highlights Administration’s Failure to Provide for Rural Mainers

A recent study by the Economic Innovation Group (EIG) reveals that 52,000 Mainers live in distressed communities and demonstrates the extent of the LePage administration’s failed economic […]

USDA reports progress on child hunger, but still a long way to go to eradicate food insecurity for all Mainers and all Americans

Congress is currently deliberating over reauthorization of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, which is crucial to protect school kids in Maine where the child food insecurity rate […]

Census Bureau Data: Poverty among Blacks and African Americans in Maine Is the Highest in the Nation

One of every two black and African American Mainers and one-third of Maine’s Native Americans live in poverty Augusta, Maine (Monday, September 22, 2014) The poverty rate […]

Child poverty fell in 2013, but median household income continues to go nowhere

Child poverty in Maine fell back to pre-recession levels in 2013, but income for the median household and the overall poverty rate saw no improvement, according to […]