News & Policy

December 28, 2011 Overview

News & Policy

December 28, 2011

September 12, 2012 Article

U.S. poverty rate stuck at 15 percent
Director Ann Huff Stevens is quoted in this article on the recently released Census data

September 12, 2012 Ann Huff Stevens Mercury News, Silicon Valley

“Even if the economy was rebounding, I don’t think the official poverty statistics show it that much,” said Ann Stevens, an economics professor who directs the UC Davis Center for Poverty Research.

Unemployment insurance gives many down-on-their-luck Americans enough income to stay above the poverty line, but Stevens said the official poverty measurements don’t count food stamps, housing assistance and other programs that help people survive but don’t give them cash income.

“They’re likely to be used to say, look, the war on poverty isn’t working,” Stevens said of the latest numbers. “We know these programs do have benefits, they just don’t show up in these basic statistics.”

December 8, 2011 Post

Government’s role in and response to the widening wealth gap
Director Ann Stevens addresses the California State Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review

Image of Government’s role in and response to the widening wealth gap

December 8, 2011 Ann Huff Stevens

The California State Assembly Committee on Accountability and Administrative Review held hearings in December 2011 on the problem of inequality and the potential role of state government. Center for Poverty Research Director Ann Huff Stevens testified, along with researchers from a variety of universities and institutes throughout the state.