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Criticism, crashes, and crises: Revisiting three ghosts of debt ceiling battles past

Dec 5, 2023
There have been about 80 debt ceiling battles since 1960. But those decades of drama have never led to an actual default.
The National Debt Clock shows the increasing U.S. debt, near an IRS office in New York City. When this photo was taken, on July 26, 2011, Congress was one week away from a debt ceiling deadline.
Stan Honda/AFP via Getty Images

The economics of homelessness

In this Marketplace special, we’re taking a look at how the debt ceiling drama further restricts us from addressing big issues like homelessness.
Spencer Platt/Getty Images

With housing in short supply, some resort towns pay landlords to rent to locals

Jun 1, 2023
Resort communities that saw growth during the pandemic are trying to stop the bleed of local workers being priced out.
Amber Kennedy’s roommate in the house they rent through Lease to Locals, a program that encourages property owners to rent to local workers.
Rachel Cohen

How the affordable housing crisis drives homelessness

We're going to need a lot of money and cooperation to address homelessness.
Housing expert Gregg Colburn explains how we can best address homelessness on local, state and federal levels.
Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

Housing costs are a main reason inflation is still high

Mar 14, 2023
The cost of shelter is driving more than 70% of inflation right now, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. So what gives?
It can take a year or more for changes in housing costs to show up in inflation data.
Allison Dinner/Getty Images

What are the fastest ways to address the homelessness crisis in Los Angeles?

May 25, 2022
When service providers lease buildings, it can speed up the availability of housing that comes with social services.
Pallets used as tent platforms at a “safe camping” site.
Alborz Kamalizad/KPCC

For public good, not for profit.

Floridians struggle to find good housing amid affordability crisis, pandemic

Nov 26, 2020
In Osceola County, many people are living in motels that offer limited facilities for long-term stays during a pandemic.
A woman looks on as the head of the Kissimmee-Poinciana Homeless Outreach, Barbie Austria, donates essentials to jobless people living in a motel in Kissimmee, Florida on Oct. 15, 2020.
Chandan Khanna/AFP via Getty Images

Life on the bottom rung of the rental market during a housing crisis

May 21, 2020
One group of California tenants say they feel stuck in dirty, dangerous accommodations.
A courtyard at the River Glen Apartments in San Bernardino, California.
Chava Sanchez/LAist

What it's like to navigate the first year of motherhood without a stable home

Apr 28, 2020
Data can tell us who is on welfare, but not what it's like to to live in the system.
A woman feeds a baby at a Thanksgiving meal hosted by the Bay Area Rescue Mission in Richmond, California, in 2015.
Photo by Justin Sullivan/Getty Images