Federal
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1 in 10 Americans Unemployed
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Stimulus Bypasses Women and Minority Businesses
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Your Recession in Charts
10% Unemployment Looming
Published November 05, 2009 @ 12:00PM PT
New unemployment #s come out tomorrow - economists predict 9.9% unemployment nationwide. Can I just round that up to 10% and call it a day?
First time jobless claims were less than expected in October, though only 20k fewer of over half a million. We are supposed to take this as good news that "job cuts are easing as the economy slowly heals." This is the lowest level since January. Still...2009 is almost over and we're still seeing half a million people per month file for unemployment for the first time? That is one horribly contracting economy.
Surviving workers are laboring more feverishly than ever - productivity is up even as our incomes are "squeezed". The stimulus is keeping a lot of jobs afloat; unemployment benefits are practically extended into perpetuity at this point. No wonder discount retailers are doing slightly better than specialty stores; it's amazing we've got anything left to leave behind at the mall!
Staying Warm This Winter
Published October 27, 2009 @ 11:13AM PT
In many regions across the country, the days are getting shorter and the colorful autumn leaves are slowly falling to the ground. This can only mean that the stinging cold of winter is just around the corner.
What this also means, particularly with unemployment rates still astonishingly high and the recession continuing, is that nonprofit organizations and government agencies are bracing for an increased demand for utility assistance over the next several months.
The main way that energy assistance funds are distributed in the U.S. is through the Low-income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) administered by the Department of Health and Human Services. However, instead of providing assistance directly to the general public, the Department makes block grants to individual states who then distribute checks to needy households.
The Flawed U.S. Poverty Measure
Published October 24, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
New data released recently by the Census Bureau highlights a gigantic problem many Americans are already painfully aware of: the way the U.S. government measures poverty is extremely flawed.
Because official poverty estimates do not take into account factors like rising medical care, transportation, child care or geographical variations in living costs, the Census Bureau publishes alternative data using a poverty measure developed by the National Academy of Sciences.
This new data shows that there are 7 million more Americans living in poverty than initially reported by the agency last month, and brings the total poverty rate in the U.S. to nearly 16 percent. What I found most shocking is that the original Census Bureau figures failed to capture half of all elderly living in poverty (official estimate was 9.7 percent, but the new figures show 18.7 percent of persons 65+ currently live in poverty).
Growing Poverty, Homelessness Like No Tomorrow
Published October 23, 2009 @ 05:06AM PT
Last week in Boston, HEAR US joined with the MA Campaign to End Child Homelessness to plead on behalf of homeless families about looming budget decisions that...
...can have a devastating and life-long impact on a child; further erosion of the safety net as a result of more budget cuts would cause even more harm to homeless children and their families in Massachusetts.
Devastating, life-long impact, more harm...those claims are beyond true. The MA recommendations are way more urgent than this document can convey.
USDA Study Aims to Make Food Aid More Effective
Published October 22, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
For the first time in the agency's history, the USDA will conduct a five-year analysis--the National Household Food Purchase and Acquisition Study (NHFPAS)--to document the food choices and expenditures made by families in the U.S. The study will provide the first hard data on where households purchase food and what factors are involved in making food choices, with the results being used by USDA's Food and Nutrition Services division to make federal food aid programs more effective.
This study is partially in response to a report commissioned by Congress this past summer that measured the extent and consequences of food deserts in the U.S. The authors of the study noted the need for a massive public-education campaign if consumer demand is the driving factor behind the lack of healthy food options available in low-income communities. I'm curious to see--through the results of the NHFPAS--if this assumption of demand is indeed accurate.
Poverty News Round-up
Published October 20, 2009 @ 01:25PM PT
Too many interesting tabs open in my browser to select just one story today. Here's the latest on poverty news and activism happening around the US:
- Thank you feds! For stepping in and telling Indiana that allowing private employers to use welfare data to screen potential employees is "inappropriate" and "not allowed." Ya think?
- If port cities Oakland and Long Beach, CA, have such similar demographic profiles, including lots of poverty, why is crime so much worse in Oakland? It's unclear, but fortunately there's a new police chief in town to try and reverse the city's terrifying trends.
- We've come a long way from the days of "No Irish Need Apply" - AG Andrew Cuomo in NY has charged EMC Construction with exploiting its workers, including using a three-tiered wage system for Irish ($25/hour), Black ($18/hour) and Latin@ ($15/hour) workers. Nothing encourages worker solidarity like abusive wage gaps!
- Mayor Bloomberg is creating jobs in NYC, but are they good jobs? The short answer: No.
- What the state gives, the market taketh away. Bloomberg builds or preserves 72k low-income housing units, 200k disappear due to vague and mysterious "market forces." Don't look under your beds at night, kiddies!
- And finally, let this be a lesson to other states: Indiana is pulling the plug on privatizing its welfare system, after thousands of eligible recipients lost benefits. One old measure they're bringing back in? Face-to-face interactions between recipients and case workers. Good to see we haven't quite eliminated jobs as we insist TANF recipients go find some.
(Photo of A.M. Walzer Co. US Inlay Puzzle Map by Marxchivist)
Parents Will Pay for Kids, Not Feds
Published October 13, 2009 @ 09:00AM PT
A pilot project in Wisconsin revealed that when parents owing child support know it is going to their children - and not government agencies, as has been the case recently - they are more likely to pay, and pay on time. Now, more states are putting child support payments directly in the hands of parents on public assistance, rather than diverting it to cover their own administrative costs.
Despite the fact that there's an obvious cyclical benefit here - if you give parents the money directly, they have less need to rely on the state for assistance - many governments are still reluctant to make the change, citing their own budget woes. Sigh. I've always thought it particularly punitive and hypocritical that we chastise mothers and fathers for seeking public assistance, then siphoned off a critical chunk of money owed to them that could help with their economic hardship. Good for the few states who are catching on.
And a hollow laugh at the reality that when you convince people that government is wasteful, they might take issue with sending their money right along.
Here's hoping more states come around to passing on these millions and millions of overdue dollars to parents and children in need.
(Photo "A Day at the Races" by bufferchuck)
