Free Republic

If you receive Social Security benefits, there's an important letter coming to you in the mail this month. The Social Security Administration is sending out letters throughout December with information on beneficiaries' cost of living adjustment coming in January. Don't throw out the letter and don't lose it. You may need it for a number of reasons, including proof of benefit amount when applying for loans or energy assistance. So keep that letter in a safe place. The letter notifies beneficiaries of their new 2023 benefit amount, according to the SSA, which will increase by 8.7% in January. Those who...

One in five children under age 18, or 21.3%, are living in poverty in the United States, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. In 2012, there were 15,437,000 children under 18 years old, or 21.3%, who were classified in the “below poverty” threshold, according to the Census. “The incidence of poverty rates varies widely across the population according to age, education, labor force attachment, family living arrangements, and area of residence, among other factors. Under the official poverty definition, an average family of four was considered poor in 2012 if its pre-tax cash income for the...

New York City’s share of poor people appears to have plateaued since the recession, at 21.4 percent, with more people working in 2012 than the year before, but at lower wages, according to a new city study. Contributing to the city’s economic problems were increases in the number of Asian-Americans, immigrants and residents of Queens slipping into poverty. But under a broader definition of poverty that the city applies, the picture remains grim for a far larger number of New Yorkers. As in 2011, 46 percent, or nearly half of New Yorkers, were making less than 150 percent of the...

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- About 8 percent of Ohio Wal-Mart employees enroll for Medicaid for themselves or their children, costing the state about $11 million, data from a state report released Friday indicate. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and McDonald's Corp. and its franchises are the biggest employers of Ohio Medicaid recipients, even though they represent just 1 percent of the program's costs, the state Department of Job and Family Services said after analyzing the rolls at the request of media outlets and lawmakers. The world's largest retailer and fast food giant also accounted for the most employed people who get food stamps....