How the Federal Government Shutdown Impacts Poor People
It's easy to get reports on how the crisis around the Federal government shutdown impacts workers and families in the Kansas City area. Major news outlets have reports that talk about whether this or that agency is shutting down and furloughing workers. Many of these reports feature personal, first-hand accounts of the impact on how workers are making ends meet. KKFI 90.1 FM, the local community radio station, got in on the act this week with a report from a furloughed USDA worker. What's harder to determine is the impact on programs that provide benefits to poor people or low-income workers. The federally-funded Women, Infants and Children (WIC) feeding program seems to be safe for now, but will lose funding if the government stays closed for long. Thanks to the Springfield News-Leader and St. Joe News-Press for local reporting on the WIC story in Missouri. The story in the News-Leader was inconclusive whether the shutdown would exhaust WIC benefits in Greene County i...