Wailin Wong
Stories
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National
Do work requirements for SNAP assistance actually lead to economic self-sufficiency?
SNAP, a federal nutrition assistance program, will again require some recipients to work in order to receive aid. But new research raises questions about whether work requirements actually work.
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World
Encore: Examining the state of global shipping and what it might mean
During the pandemic, the cost to fill and transport a shipping container skyrocketed. Now, shipping rates have dropped by roughly 80% over the last six months.
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National
If the U.S. can't borrow more money, why not just mint a coin to fund the government?
The Indicator from Planet Money explores how a trillion-dollar platinum coin could get the country around the debt ceiling limit.
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National
The Fed has been raising interest rates — so why are savings interest rates low?
When the Federal Reserve hikes interest rates, the interest rate on your savings account usually follows in step. But recently, that logic hasn't held up.
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Business
How hard-to-pronounce names could land resumes in the reject pile
New research suggests a person's name, specifically hard-to-pronounce ones, could make the difference between landing a job or their resume ending up in the reject pile.
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National
Abortion access tends to lower child poverty rates, economists say
In a brief to the Supreme Court, 154 economists wrote that access to legal abortion has led to women attaining higher levels of education and professional occupations and lower rates of child poverty.
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National
Could inflation be a good thing for governments in debt?
For all the pain it causes, inflation makes old debts easier to pay off. A silver-lining for countries burdened by pandemic debt? Maybe. But if history is any guide, that shine may be short-lived.
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National
It may be time to look at the I-bond, a savings bond that protects you from inflation
With inflation over 8.5%, it's perhaps time for a long-ignored investment option to shine: the I-bond. It's a U.S. Treasury savings bond, and its interest payments are linked to inflation.