Tag: poverty

More Americans Experienced Homelessness During Biden’s Term

The number of adults experiencing homelessness is on the rise in the United States.

As Statista’s Anna Fleck shows in the chart below, using data from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, 771,480 people were living in a state of homelessness in 2024, marking an 18 percent increase from the year before.

You will find more infographics at Statista

Two thirds of these were individuals, while one third were people in families.

Last year saw a particularly worrying rise in the number of families entering homelessness, up 39 percent from 2023, as individuals saw a 9.6 percent rise.

While it remains more common for men to experience homelessness than women in the U.S., at 459,568 men (60 percent) to 302,660 women (40 percent), the gap is narrowing.

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California Court Blocks Trump Admin’s Access to SNAP Recipients’ Data

A San Francisco district court temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) on Oct. 15 from accessing information about food stamp recipients in several states.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit jointly with 20 other states against the USDA in July, alleging the agency violated several federal laws and the U.S. Constitution by asking for detailed information about Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients.

“The Trump Administration can try all it wants to strong arm states into illegally handing over data, but we know the rule of law is on our side,” Bonta said in a statement.

“We will continue to vigorously litigate this lawsuit and defend our communities, protect privacy, and ensure that remains a tool for fighting hunger—not a weapon for political targeting.”

The USDA has threatened to cut off some federal funding to states that don’t hand over SNAP data.

California receives more than $1 billion a year to administer the program.

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Auto Loan Delinquencies Surge 50% As Cracks Deepen Across U.S. Credit Markets

A month after bankruptcies of subprime auto lender Tricolor and auto-parts supplier First Brands, new cracks emerged in U.S. credit markets. This week, Zions and Western Alliance disclosed they were victims of loan fraud tied to funds investing in distressed commercial real estate. The revelations come amid broader credit trouble, and shifting our focus back to autos, there’s new data this morning about credit products tied to the riskiest consumers that have seen a 50% surge in delinquencies. 

Bloomberg cites data from the credit-scoring company, VantageScore, which reveals that delinquencies among the low-tier consumers have surged 50% since 2010. Fueling the delinquencies is a perfect storm of record-high car prices, elevated interest rates, longer loan terms, and monthly payments that average nearly as much as rent for some folks. 

Since 2019, new vehicle prices have jumped over 25% to $50,000, while average monthly payments reached $767, with 20% of borrowers paying over $1,000 per month. Loan rates now exceed 9%, worsening the affordability crisis.

Notably, prime and near-prime borrowers are now defaulting faster than subprime consumers, as lenders tightened standards for the lowest-credit segment, according to the report. The average auto loan balance has risen 57% since 2010, and many borrowers are “upside-down”, owing more than their cars are worth.

“We’re seeing the cost of cars and the cost related to car ownership increase enormously,” VantageScore chief economist Rikard Bandebo said in an interview. “In the past five years, it has increased even faster.”

Bandebo continued, “That’s a double… You’ve been hit by the increased cost of the car and then the financing cost of the car.”

“Consumers now are in a more precarious position than they’ve been since the last recession,” Bandebo said. “We’ve seen this growing trend over the last several years of more and more consumers struggling to make ends meet, and it’s looking like that trend is going to continue into next year.”

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2 LA men charged with fraud in misuse of public funds meant for combating homelessness

Two Los Angeles-area men faced federal charges in separate criminal cases as they are both accused of fraudulently acquiring public funds that were allocated to address homelessness and build affordable housing, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced Thursday.

Cody Holmes of Beverly Hills was in custody as of Thursday after he allegedly used fake bank records to receive nearly $26 million from the California Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) for Shangri-La Industries LLC, for which he previously served as a CFO.

The money from Project Homekey was supposed to be used to build affordable housing in Thousand Oaks, but instead, Holmes, 31, spent the money to pay credit card bills and purchase good at luxury retailers, the DOJ alleged.

“Even though the developer received all the money from the state, the developer did not complete the construction of the Thousand Oaks project,” Acting U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said during a news conference Thursday. “Essentially, he stole the money.”

In a separate case, Steven Taylor, a developer and real state agent, of Brentwood was released on a $3.6 million bond, the DOJ said, after he was charged with bank fraud, identity theft and money laundering.

Federal investigators said Taylor also used fake bank records to obtain loans and lines of credit. The 44-year-old is accused of using the fraudulently obtained funds to flip a Cheviot Hills home and selling it to a homeless housing developer for more than double his original purchase.

“Taylor had contracted to sell the property, which he acquired for only $11 million, fraudulently, to Weingart, a homeless housing developer, that purchased the property for a whopping $27 million in a transaction that was hidden from the victim lender and others,” Essayli added.

Akil Davis, FBI’s assistant director in charge of the Los Angeles Field Office. said Taylor also tried to enrich his business in high-end neighborhoods of Los Angeles.

“Taylor’s actions not only misled banks, but also took advantage of the city and state’s efforts to combat the homelessness crisis, Davis said.

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Migrants Taking £10 Billion Per Year in Direct Welfare Benefits in Britain: Report

The British taxpayer is funding over £10 billion in direct welfare subsidies to migrants, who now account for one in six pounds sterling spent on universal credit, a report has found.

According to internal government data seen by London’s Daily Telegraph, £10.1 billion of the annual £61.2 billion spent on the universal credit scheme for those out of work, on low incomes, or those struggling with living costs was paid to foreigners living in Britain last year.

The figures, released under Freedom of Information Act requests, mean that one sixth of all direct welfare spending was given to foreigners or 16.5 per cent of the Universal Credit budget.

According to the broadsheet, this represented a significant increase over previous years, with £6.3 billion being spent on foreigners in 2022 and £7.9 billion in 2023.

The actual cost of the mass migration agenda is not even fully demonstrated by the figures; however, given that the data set does not include migrants who have been awarded citizenship, or indeed second-generation migrants.

The Universal Credit scheme also represents only one avenue through which foreigners can benefit from state subsidies, with the money spent on education and healthcare for migrants being counted separately.

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Sin City’s shame: As tourists abandon Las Vegas, 1,500 forgotten ‘Mole People’ are left behind in rat-infested tunnels below the Strip

Tourists may have deserted the gambling capital of the world but the number of homeless has skyrocketed. Among them are the ‘Mole People’ who dwell in the decaying tunnels below the Las Vegas Strip. 

A petite blonde-haired woman in a red sundress, who goes by Natasha, emerges from her home under the Sahara Hotel and Casino on a sweltering late September day.

She is just one of an estimated 1,500 people, many of whom are drug, alcohol or gambling addicts, who live underneath the glittering Strip in a vast 600-mile system of storm drain tunnels built in the early 1990s.

At first glance she could be mistaken for an average tourist in town to play blackjack or see a show.

It’s not until she makes her way through the piles of garbage, including discarded shoes, a broken stroller, used syringes, old pizza boxes, dirty blankets, torn-open pillows, and leftover bags of junk food, and comes closer that you can see she’s missing a front tooth and has sores all over her legs that are a telltale sign of fentanyl abuse.

Natasha, from Anchorage, Alaska, admits she’s high but is also lucid enough to explain her situation and describe life in the tunnels because, she says, many who live alongside her cannot. 

She has been underground on and off for two years.

‘When I first came on the Strip – I’ve been here for a year – I was living in a truck,’ she told Daily Mail.

‘Then my boyfriend died [of an overdose] and so I’ve been down here off and on for weeks. I never knew how bad the whole [homeless] situation was here.

‘People are sleeping in alleyways and living by dumpsters or they’re in shelters. The people in the tunnels don’t want to stop using drugs. It makes them happy. 

‘They can’t do that with a normal lifestyle or any place where they have to follow rules.’

Since 2022, homelessness in Las Vegas (and the wider Southern Nevada/Clark County area) has risen sharply, according to federal Point-in-Time counts.

In 2022, there were just over 6,000 people counted as homeless on a single night. By 2023 that number grew to 6,566, and by 2024 it had jumped to about 7,906 — an increase of 20 percent in one year and about 36 percent over two years.

By contrast, Vegas has seen a sharp decline in tourism through 2025, with visitor numbers down more than 11 percent year-over-year in June and about 7 percent for the first half of the year. 

Analysts say rising prices – bottled water can cost as much as $12 or $14 in hotels along the Strip and resort fees, parking and food costs have increased exponentially – along with weaker foreign currencies and a slump in international visitors have caused Vegas to be a city currently down on its luck. 

International tourism has suffered the steepest drop: visitors were down by more than 13 percent in June alone.

Homeless people in Vegas do not have to live in the tunnels. They have the option of going to what locals call The Courtyard, the primary hub for unhoused people in the city.

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Mapped: Extreme Poverty in America by State

In 2024, 6% of the U.S. population lived in extreme poverty, equal to 20.4 million people.

While there are different definitions of extreme poverty, this is represented as those earning less than $8,160 in annual income, or half of the poverty line. As the federal budget makes cuts to food assistance and healthcare, levels of extreme poverty run the risk of worsening even further.

This graphic shows the share of each state living in extreme poverty in 2024, based on data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Going further, economic hardship disproportionately impacts people of color in Washington D.C., with one in three black children living in poverty between 2019 and 2023, on average.

As we can see, Southern states also rank among the most impoverished. In Louisiana, 9% of residents live in extreme poverty, and on average, 18.9% lived below the poverty line between 2021 and 2023.

Meanwhile, 7% of New York’s population are extremely impoverished, equal to an estimated 1.4 million people.

On the other end of the spectrum is New Hampshire with the lowest rate nationally, at 3.9%. The Granite State benefits from a stable job market, low unemployment, and a strong education system. Paired with relatively affordable healthcare, these factors contribute to higher living standards for its residents, reducing the risk of poverty.

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Trump’s HHS Overhauls Welfare Program with Focus on Accountability

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Administration for Children and Families, selected Arizona, Iowa, Nebraska, Ohio, and Virginia to participate in the redesigned Temporary Assistance for Needy Families pilot.

This pilot will test innovative approaches to promote employment, reduce government dependency, and strengthen family outcomes. 

Authorized under the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, the six-year pilot will replace the Work Participation Rate and instead measure state success using new, outcome-based metrics that aim to deliver real results for families and taxpayers. 

For example, states will now be held accountable for improving employment outcomes, supporting earnings growth, and reducing reliance on cash assistance, Medicaid, and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits.

“The Trump Administration is returning to the original promise of welfare reform—ensuring our programs are laser-focused on helping families achieve lasting self-sufficiency while delivering results for taxpayers,” said ACF Acting Assistant Secretary Andrew Gradison. “This pilot marks the beginning of a new era where states are empowered to test new strategies, achieve real outcomes, and build an evidence base for innovations that drive upward mobility in America.”

The federal agency posted on social media:

“ACF is launching the redesigned TANF pilot with newly selected states: AZ, IA, NE, OH, & VA. The 6-year pilot will test new ways to: Promote work Strengthen family stability Reduce dependency.”

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SNAP Fraud Has Doubled Since Last Year. Here’s Why.

Criminals are looting public safety net programs using digital tools, according to a new report released by LexisNexis Risk Solutions. 

The report analyzed reported fraud in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program and Integrated Eligibility Systems. Fraud in the SNAP program has doubled, the report said. 

The 54-page report reveals that the cost and volume of SNAP fraud have risen sharply over the past year, driven by the accelerated shift to digital channels, increasingly sophisticated Electronic Benefits Transfer theft schemes, and complex multi-program eligibility systems. 

The findings of this year’s report are especially significant given the administrative and programmatic changes introduced to SNAP agencies across the country by House Resolution 1. 

According to the 2025 study, the average monthly rate of fraudulent SNAP applications and post-issuance cases has doubled since 2024. For every $1 in SNAP benefits lost to fraud, agencies now incur $4.14 in total costs, up from $3.93 a year ago.

“SNAP is a lifeline for millions of families, and these findings highlight how increasingly sophisticated criminals are targeting this critical benefit program,” said Amanda D’ Amico, Senior Director at LexisNexis Risk Solutions. “Digital channels and expanded eligibility systems improve access but also expand the attack surface. Agencies that leverage real-time data, identity verification, and digital authentication solutions to detect fraud and increase cross-program collaboration can turn the tide against fraud while ensuring timely benefits for those in need.”

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COLLAPSIFORNIA: California tied with Louisiana for nation’s highest poverty rate in 2024

In a stark juxtaposition that defies its sun-drenched, affluent image, California has officially tied Louisiana for the highest poverty rate in the United States. A new analysis reveals that in 2024, a staggering seven million Californians, which makes up 17.7 percent of the state’s population, were living below the poverty line, a figure that mirrors the deep economic distress long associated with the Deep South.

This alarming parity, drawn from a report by the California Budget and Policy Center, uses the Census Bureau’s supplemental measure that provides a more realistic picture by factoring in crushing local costs of living, medical expenses and family size.

While the two states now share this grim title, their paths leading up to this point are a study in contrasting American crises: one of exorbitant urban wealth, the other of persistent rural need.

A tale of two poverty crises

For Louisiana, a 17.7 percent poverty rate is a familiar reality. The state has perennially ranked among the nation’s poorest, grappling with job shortages in rural areas and a legacy of economic stagnation.

For California, however, this ranking is a monumental policy failure. The state is an economic powerhouse, home to some of the world’s most valuable companies and richest individuals. Yet, its prosperity is a mirage for millions of its residents.

The report points directly to the expiration of pandemic-era aid as the catalyst for a nationwide surge in poverty, the largest in over fifty years.

In 2021, expanded child tax credits, boosted food assistance and eviction protections had slashed California’s poverty rate to a record low of 11 percent. As that lifeline was severed, the fall was precipitous and painful.

The primary engine of California’s poverty crisis is not a lack of jobs, but a suffocating cost of living, with housing as the lead weight. The state is a nation of renters in peril; their poverty rate is a devastating 27.1 percent, more than double the 11.1 percent rate for homeowners.

In major cities, the median rent routinely exceeds $2,000 a month, forcing low-income families to dedicate more than a third of their income solely to keeping a roof over their heads.

This creates impossible choices between paying rent, buying groceries, or covering medical bills. The consequences are visible in the state’s sprawling homeless encampments and in the overcrowded apartments where multiple families “double up” to survive.

For many, the California dream has been reduced to a government-dependent existence where quality of life is dictated by the level of public assistance one can secure.

The crisis is not felt equally. Children and seniors experience poverty rates above 20 percent.

Black and Latino residents see rates roughly ten points higher than their white neighbors, a glaring inequity driven by wage gaps and a dire shortage of affordable childcare.

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