Archive: Kimberly Blanton

tightrope walker

While COVID was raging, the jump in house prices and a rising stock market were dramatically improving U.S. workers’ retirement finances. But the news is not quite as good as it appears, because the increase in house prices in 2020 through 2022, which continues today, was the largest single reason for the improvement. Yes, Americans…

Woman looking for at way to escape maze

Seven million low-income Americans who would qualify for SNAP food stamps are not receiving them. And millions have fallen out of their state’s Medicaid coverage or Children’s Health Insurance Program since the federal guarantee of coverage during COVID expired last year.   The bureaucratic hurdles, multiple-page applications, and layers of federal and state requirements cause many…