This Is the U.S. Government’s Most Maddening Poverty Trap

Imagine that you’re one of the more than seven million low-income Americans who receive Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, from the federal government. Or maybe you are one of those Americans, in which case you’re all too familiar with the hypothetical story I am about to tell. You have $1,800 in your checking account. But on the last day of the…