Welfare

Obama's Reagan problem Obama's Reagan problem

Why did the president make the mistake of thinking he could work with the GOP? His mealy-mouthed support for the Gipper provides a clue.
  • My son wants to give money to beggars -- but I give plenty at work!

    It's not that I don't believe in helping others. I just don't believe in giving money to people on the street.
  • Not in my backyard, either

    After the poor kids next door took advantage of me, I felt sympathy for the people of Houston, who've suffered crime and violence because of struggling Katrina exiles.
  • "Love & Diane"

    This epic documentary about a family struggling with poverty and welfare has the density of Balzac -- but the "system" it portrays works surprisingly well.
  • Time's up

    Welfare reform enacted in the prosperous '90s is pushing the first wave of families off public assistance amid today's recession. An expert talks about the consequences.
  • Down and out in San Francisco

    The collapse of the travel industry is hammering the Bay Area's working class. But is a reformed welfare system still able to come to the rescue?
  • An epidemic of bastards

    I follow my forebears, full of love, into a legitimate trend of illegitimacy.
  • The base of poverty

    In the debate over Bush's faith-based charity plan, church vs. state is not the issue.
  • Legal immigrants in limbo

    While the Supreme Court avoids the issue of their rights, Bush and Gore have broached the subject -- but with great caution.
  • Germany shuns "foreign" families

    Immigrants and their German-born children find themselves cut off from state benefits.
  • Letters to the Editor

    Say what? Horowitz thinks Republicans are too NICE?! Plus: Grateful Dead producer defends cut-and-paste editing; marriage-savers are wrong about monogamy.
  • TV can be a good parent

    The American Academy of Pediatrics says television watching is harmful to babies and toddlers. This mama says: I don't think so.
  • The have-nots

    Left-leaning journalists explore how the other side of prosperity lives. Plus: The "S" and "F" words, Rick Springfield and a tell-all psychic friend.
  • The testament according to Newt

    In an interview with Salon, House Speaker Newt Gingrich talks about the president's popularity, America's attitude toward adultery, accusations that he is mean, his own political goals, religious beliefs and what character he would most like to play in a movie.
  • Family myths, family realities

    A string of lurid cases this year drew attention away from the real challenges that confront American families.
  • Welfare Cinderella

    How I went from rags to riches to reality in just one year.
  • The bag lady and the banquet

    In this third excerpt from her journal, Aggie Max wonders how much middle-class guilt can be appeased by one sandwich.
  • Hotel of the damned

    In this second excerpt from her journal, Aggie Max describes life at the dead end of the system.
  • The Rat Bite

    A welfare mother's tragicomic tale of life in the system.
  • Poverty is boring

    Aggie Max, author of "The Last Resort: Scenes from a Transient Hotel," says it's not just the lack of money that makes escape nearly impossible it's the culture of poverty.
  • Mouse in a Corner

    American Family Association boycotts Disney

From Salon's blogs