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The poor have never been more vulnerable

Why poverty is like a disease: Emerging science is putting the lie to American meritocracy. Live in a poor neighborhood? Better be a perfect parent. If an unexpected medical emergency bankrupts you, you view yourself as a victim of bad fortune while seeing other bankruptcy court clients as spendthrifts. Nancy LeTourneau on the liberal-conservative divide: Unworthy or unlucky? Escaping poverty requires almost 20 years with nearly nothing going wrong: Gillian B. White reviews The Vanishing Middle Class: Prejudice and Power in a Dual Economy by Peter Temin. Why Ben Carson’s bizarre perspective on poverty matters. Growing up poor can spark a “vicious cycle” in a child’s brain.

Want to see who Republicans care about? Check their anti-poor budget. An interview with Khiara M. Bridges, author of The Poverty of Privacy Rights. Matt Bruenig on how the success sequence is about cultural beefs not poverty. Where do we learn that poverty is shameful and dangerous? At the movies. Child poverty in the US is a disgrace — experts are embracing this simple plan to cut it. Under Donald Trump, the poor have never been more vulnerable. The official poverty measure is garbage — the census has found a better way.