Economy

A suite of low-profile bills could make life just a little easier for millions of Californians living in or near poverty. Think of these bills as a bit like aspirin: they don’t get at the roots of poverty but they could relieve some of the pain.

For three years, Kimberly Esquivel and her family lived in a studio apartment in Oakland, with Kimberly and her sister sleeping in the main room and her parents and two brothers in the hallway. Esquivel’s father is legally blind and has a kidney condition that prevents him from working. Her mother sells jewelry, but it […]

It’s 7:30 in the morning of any given school day. Jonathan Rodríguez and Yvette Fuentes, both 12, arrive at the Luther Burbank Middle School cafeteria to pick up breakfasts in closed containers and take them in carts to the classrooms of teachers Emily Feinberg and Gisele Hoffer.  The food is placed on a counter in […]

California is the golden state — at least for those at the top of the income scale. For everyone else, the nickname may apply more to the sun than to money. That’s one takeaway of an analysis of U.S.Census Bureau data by the California Budget and Policy Center (CBPC), which found a widening gap between […]

Just a few years ago, Yolanda Harraway was living in a tent on the streets of Chinatown in Salinas, an agricultural hub struggling with a growing homeless community. Harraway’s slide into homelessness began when her son was taken from her custody by Child Protective Services. She struggled with addiction and had several felonies on her […]

Stockton is halfway through an 18-month program that provides $500 a month to 125 people from low-income ZIP codes. Proponents say the program is a step toward economic equality; opponents say it’s unrealistic and enabling.

Critics have long argued that California's child support payback system for families using public assistance is overly punitive, disproportionately affects low-income people, and can drive a wedge between children and their parents. Now, two bills on Gov. Gavin Newsom's desk could change the system.

Homeless people who live outdoors die, on average, three decades earlier. In California locales, "street medicine" teams are trying to improve those odds.

Nonprofits distribute 80 million pounds of food in Los Angeles County per year, helping low-income people survive. 

As the Trump administration pulls back on environmental enforcement, former Gov. Jerry Brown and China’s top climate change official have formally launched a California-China Climate Institute. Brown calls it a way "to keep doors open" with a global power and a response to environmental "malfeasance" in Washington.