Rachel Black: All Related Content

In this In the Tank podcast, Rachel Black of the Assets Building Program, and Rachel Fishman of the Education Policy Program talk about some of the simple fixes states can make to encourage saving for college and the benefit states would get from these changes. And they even have advice for parents who are hoping to avoid that double-whammy.

Or, so should have been labeled the justification to cut SNAP in the budget proposal from House Budget Chair Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) yesterday. Underlying this move was the need to increase integrity in the program. In its own words: “These programs also have little incentive to root out waste, fraud, and abuse…"

And the compelling example of why this is necessary?

“In Michigan, two lottery winners received SNAP benefits.”

Last year, two Michigan residents won the state lottery. Ordinarily, this would not be a newsworthy occurrence, but they were also Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) recipients. Despite their windfall, they continued to receive SNAP benefits.

Michigan was one of around 40 states that don’t require SNAP recipients to document their savings to determine eligibility. Technically, neither winner was in violation of the rules. Still, it didn’t take long for charges of waste, fraud, and abuse to draw attention to this “loophole,” and Michigan reinstated its asset limit.

On September 20th, Rachel Black discussed the impact of recent reforms to state asset limit policies at the Assets Learning Conference. You can find her presentation here.

Having a bank account is foundational to building financial security. Unfortunately, the lower your income, the more likely you are to be financially insecure and the less likely you are to have a bank account. According to the FDIC, about 20 percent of households earning less than $30,000 are unbanked.

Remember when we used to think that opening a shell company in another company to avoid paying taxes was a rich man's game? Well, thanks to the investigative reporting by NPR's Planet Money team, we now know that we, too, can have that investment opportunity open to us for the bargain basement price of $725 (and that includes the processing fee!). And, it'll only take about a week and a half to set up.

Slate's new map of the week plots the U.S. poverty rate by county with data from 2007 to 2010. At first, it reveals a straightforward story: The Great Recession made poverty worse. Everywhere.

As bad as the picture looks, though, it’s actually a rosy rendition.

This blog post was originaly published on the National Community Tax Coalition's blog WorkForward.

The wrangling over the jump in student loan rates scheduled to take place on July 1^st has placed renewed focus on making college affordable. This is critical time to be having this conversation because the value of a college degree is only increasing in the post-recession economy, but, so is the cost of acquiring it.

Somebody may have figured out how to hit the "easy" button on applying for financial aid for college. This could have a big impact on college enrollment of the lower-income students who are most likely to miss out on a college education due to cost.

Last night, President Obama took to the Late Night stage to deliver his call to action to prevent interest rates on federal student loans from doubling in July...slow jam style. He focused his message on preserving college access and affordability and the threat posed to each by rising student loan costs.

My television is 100-pound behemoth from an era when Seinfeld was still must-see TV. So, when a couple of friends offered to sell my husband and me their "old" set a month ago—a svelte 32'' flat screen I could have carried home without getting winded—we jumped at the chance.

We immediately boasted about our purchase to my in-laws. My former banker father-in-law reminded me that, as a bonus, we could deduct the cost of the ancient set from our taxes after we donated it.