Microeconomics › Section O · Poverty and economic inequality › Topic O.3
The safety net
The US safety net is not one programme but a patchwork: cash aid, tax credits, food benefits and health insurance, each with its own rules. Knowing how each one works, and how each handles the poverty trap, is the key to judging what the safety net does.
In this topic
- A patchwork, not a net
- From AFDC to TANF
- TANF today
- The earned income tax credit
- Worked example: an EITC for a parent of two
- The child tax credit
- SNAP: food benefits
- Worked example: a SNAP benefit
- Medicaid and health coverage
- Other strands of the net
- Common mistakes to avoid
- Key takeaways
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