Poverty, Social Detriments of Health, & Safety Net Programs

Note: This episode was recorded before the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act of 2025. Today, we discuss poverty, the social detriments of health, and safety net programs in the U.S. with Robert Greenstein, founder and former president of the D.C.-based think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP). He is also a Visiting Fellow – Economic Studies, The Hamilton Project, at the Brookings Institution. Bob is one of America's leading experts on federal budget, tax policy and safety net programs. Odds are that you or someone you know got more services from the government—health insurance, financial help, food assistance—because of Bob’s life work. Over the past 40 years, he has worked tirelessly to address poverty in U.S. and help make healthcare accessible to all. Bob and CBPP played a major role in expanding our nation’s nutritional programs like SNAP (a.k.a. food stamps) and WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. He and the CBPP helped expand the earned income tax credit (EITC) for low- and moderate-income families. And he and the organization helped get Obamacare passed and continue to defend it and Social Security from all comers. ◘ Transcript bit.ly/3JoA2mz ◘ This podcast features the song “Follow Your Dreams” (freemusicarchive.org/music/Scott_Ho…ur_Dreams_1918) by Scott Holmes, available under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial (01https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) license. ◘ Disclaimer: The content and information shared in GW Integrative Medicine is for educational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. The views and opinions expressed in GW Integrative Medicine represent the opinions of the host(s) and their guest(s). For medical advice, diagnosis, and/or treatment, please consult a medical professional.