States Ax Programs for Elderly, Kids

Managing the expectations of your free-spending kids

(NEWSER) - What to do with a 10-year-old daughter who insists—insists!—on designer 'jeggings' for fall? "Manage expectations," advises the Wall Street Journal in a feature on suddenly cash-strapped middle income parents and their "costly" kids. Today's children face a real drop in their standard of living, writes Sue Shellengarger, and it's up to their parents to guide them through this "painful" shift. More»

Short-term fixes needed, but they hurt our long-term prospects

(NEWSER) - Steven Pearlstein surveys the mess of our economy and finds that we're in quite a pickle: "To fix the economy in the long run, we have to weaken it in the short run—yet weakening it in the short run makes it just that much harder to fix it in the long run," he writes in the Washington Post . "Any way you look at it, the economics are terrible, and the politics are even worse." More»

Figure hits 90% for black children, study finds

(AP) - Nearly half of all US children and 90% of black youngsters will be on food stamps at some point during childhood, and fallout from the current recession could push those numbers even higher, researchers say. The estimate comes from an analysis of 30 years of national data, and bolsters other recent evidence on the pervasiveness of youngsters at economic risk. More»

(NEWSER) - Families are traveling more often, and recession-battered hotels are ramping up their kid-friendly offerings, the Boston Globe reports. Rooms occupied by families with children accounted for 27% of the total in 2008, up from 25% in 2004, and lodgings are watching the trend. Whether it's free Wii, a dog to walk, or a theme guest room, the trend is picking up and is no longer relegated to just the summer months. More»

(NEWSER) - Families appear to be putting off that baby until economic conditions improve, the New York Times reports. The birth rate fell 2% in 2008 compared to 2007, and the trend looks to be continuing into 2009. “It’s the recession," a sociologist says. "Children are the most expensive item in every family’s budget, so it’s a good place to cut back when you’re uncertain about the future.” More»