Social Services

Emigration is up and the birth rate is dropping in Germany, where people are starting to worry about what a shrinking and aging population will mean for the country's future.

About one-third of the federal government's $787 billion economic stimulus has actually been spent over the last year. During the next year, much of the focus of the remainder will be on infrastructure projects.

The City of New York has been spending thousands of dollars to send people out of the city -- opting to pay for one-way plane tickets instead of providing social services.

This piece from Color Lines looks at how the economic downturn is affecting low-income populations, and how social services are having trouble keeping up with an increasing demand for help.