There is a saying repeated so frequently that few of us stop to consider its implications: “People just don’t want to work anymore.” It is often said offhandedly, as though it explains why some people struggle while others do not. Beneath the phrase is an assumption that poverty reflects something about a person’s willingness to […]

The pain of a government shutdown won’t just be political: Millions of low-income women and children could be left hungry as soon as next week if congressional Democrats and the White House do not come to a deal.