Oh, good! Ben Stein, the conservative commentator and actor who you may recognize from Clear Eyes commercials, has something to say about poor people! Listen up, peasants! This is for your own good. » 4/09/14 7:45pm 4/09/14 7:45pm

Shanesha Taylor, a mother of two from Scottsdale, Arizona, was called in for a job interview last week. Because she's homeless and doesn't have access to childcare, she had to leave her six-month-old and 2-year-old in the car with the windows cracked while she did the interview. While she was gone, police were called… » 3/28/14 6:15pm 3/28/14 6:15pm

I haven't watched True Detective yet (so thanks for giving me this assignment with SPOILERS IN IT, JESSICA), but pretty much everyone I know is obsessed with it, so I read today's socioeconomic critique of it over at Salon with interest. (Again, spoiler alert. Hmph.) » 3/12/14 7:15pm 3/12/14 7:15pm

The ads, which feature struggling single mothers from the Toronto area, ask a simple question: "What if we cared about those living in poverty as much as we care about celebrities?" » 1/20/14 3:10pm 1/20/14 3:10pm

Now that politicians have solved all of the problems, it's lovely to see them getting down to the really important stuff — petty, childish gestures in support of a dying ideology. Come, little ducklings. Let's meet Republican Colorado Congressman-cum-professional-racist Lori Saine. » 9/05/13 4:50pm 9/05/13 4:50pm

Crate & Barrel's CB2 chain wants you to buy this wallet because it looks just like the paper cups New York City homeless people use to beg for change from the indifferent population. Poor people! So cute, amirite? » 12/04/12 3:10pm 12/04/12 3:10pm

A blonde-haired girl begging on the street in Mexico has caused quite a Facebook stir, prompting some observers to renew a long-standing debate about racism in Mexico, where indigenous people, according to CBS News, "live in poverty and passers-by often barely notice the dark-skinned children begging in the street." A… » 10/28/12 2:00pm 10/28/12 2:00pm

In the United States, The Avengers made $200.3 million over the weekend — breaking a record set in 2011 by Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. The flick also made $441 million at foreign box offices — a very good reception — but some in India are upset about the way that country is portrayed. » 5/07/12 12:10pm 5/07/12 12:10pm

The statistics tell us that one in six U.S. children are obese, and one in three are overweight. And when you look at an obesity map alongside a poverty map, you get the sense that the two are related. A new study in the May issue of the journal Pediatrics finds facts that support this theory. » 5/01/12 12:50pm 5/01/12 12:50pm

Uh oh. You know what they say: A good deed never goes unpunished. And so, when a bunch of fans of The Hunger Games books partnered with Oxfam to launch a campaign called "Hunger Is Not a Game," it was only a matter of time before they received a strongly worded letter from Lionsgate, the studio behind the movie. » 3/23/12 11:00am 3/23/12 11:00am

In this big bah-humbug world of ours, it's hard to find a story that defies cynicism. But these tales of anonymous "guardian angel" shoppers who have been paying off the KMart layaway balances for poor families trying to buy Christmas presents for their kids is one of those bawl-inducing items that will make even the… » 12/16/11 4:45pm 12/16/11 4:45pm