Following his big victory in the Florida primary on Tuesday, Republican presidential front-runner Mitt Romney, in an unscripted moment of excitement, expressed his true feelings about those families at the bottom of our economy. He stated: “I’m not concerned about the very poor. We have a safety net there. If it needs repair, I’ll fix it.”

The House GOP passed legislation to ban TANF money from being used at strip clubs, liquor stores and casinos. In response, Melissa Boteach argues that this is a political ploy to perpetuate negative stereotypes surrounding poor people.

This week the House of Representatives will be devoting its time to voting on a bill that would ban any government aid distributed through the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program from being used at strip clubs, casinos, and liquor stores. This vote represents yet another instance in the creeping trend of conservatives to demonize the poor—and then threaten anyone who votes against the legislation with supporting “welfare spending” for strip club admissions.

On January 18 and 19, Half in Ten partner A Minnesota Without Poverty hosted two events in Grand Rapids as part of their “Enough for All” campaign. Enough for All is A Minnesota Without Poverty’s campaign around cutting poverty in Minnesota, specifically around the idea that there is enough for all to have enough, if we all do our part.

Panel of poverty experts discuss the human impact of poverty in America, and Melissa Boteach discusses what the government can do to address it.

In the spirit of earned income tax credit awareness day, here are the three things you need to know about the credit this year and how you can protect the tax credits that make such a difference for families nationwide.

Half in Ten applauds the progressive policy agenda outlined by President Barack Obama in his State of the Union address on Tuesday. The president’s focus on higher education, job creation, and equitable tax policies will help strengthen the middle class, and it represents the types of aggressive steps that are necessary in the near term if we are to achieve our goal of cutting poverty in half over the next decade.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney constantly accuses President Barack Obama of fomenting “class warfare” and stoking “envy” among the have-nots for the wealth of the “haves.” Without a doubt, class warfare is afoot in our nation, but it is Romney’s own tax and budget plans that will further divide our nation because of his assault on poor and middle-class Americans alike.

Half in Ten’s Melissa Boteach refutes Newt Gingriche’s claims about SNAP and explains the importance of preserving such safety net programs, especially during tough times.

This disconnect from the realities of everyday Americans may help explain Romney’s tax and budget plans. One common thread throughout his proposals are policies that offer huge tax breaks to the 1 percent while slashing the safety net for those in need of a hand up during hard times, which in turn threatens all of us when particularly hard times threaten the broader economy.