Change.org's Poverty in America Blog

Time for a Little Thanks

Diane Nilan — 2009-11-20T05:08:00-08:00

With our national holiday of Thanksgiving rapidly approaching, I'd like to offer some therapeutic thoughts to counteract the ongoing bleak economic reality, including this recent and timely report about people suffering from hunger.

With health care dominating national news, I was delighted to read a positive story about a hospital administrator's approach to coping with their fiscal crisis. The Boston Globe reported that Paul Levy, the hospital CEO, walked around the hospital and made simple, but critical, observations.

He stood at the nurses' stations, watching the transporters, the people who push the patients around in wheelchairs. He saw them talk to the patients, put them at ease, make them laugh. He saw that the people who push the wheelchairs were practicing medicine.

He noticed the same when he poked his head into the rooms and watched as the people who deliver the food chatted up the patients and their families.

He watched the people who polish the corridors, who strip the sheets, who empty the trash cans, and he realized that a lot of them are immigrants, many of them had second jobs, most of them were just scraping by.

That is quite a refreshing change from the rancor and bitterness toward any number of groups--immigrants, welfare moms, homeless families, people of color, the poor--well, you get the idea. That bitterness, I believe, is one key factor that keeps us from our greatness. Without pretending to offer a panacea for all the world's woes, let me share with you a morsel to consider as you gather for Thanksgiving.

Take one innocuous aspect of your daily life--brushing teeth, fixing sandwiches, traveling to work, squeezing limes, crawling into bed, etc.--and think of elements going into that action. Who made the toothpaste, packaged it, shipped it, put the price tag on it, facilitated your purchase of it? Who planted, harvested, packed, shipped, unpacked, displayed and sold your limes? You get the idea. Think of the little people in your life that you never see, much less think of, who bring you whatever necessities and comforts you might enjoy.

Seems to me focusing on people who really count gives us the respite needed so we can regroup and focus on what's really important, like Sarah Palin's Newsweek cover hoopla.

photos by the author

Judge Rules Katrina Flooding Government's Fault

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-19T09:36:00-08:00

A US District Court in New Orleans has issued an historic ruling that the Army Corps of Engineer's negligence led to Hurricane Katrina's fatal flooding of the Lower 9th Ward, a neighborhood in New Orleans, and St. Bernard Parish*, a neighboring county of NOLA. It's easy to forget that Katrina's landfall was not what devastated New Orleans to the extent we witnessed, but rather the failure of the levees to hold back the storm's tidal effects. The intricate system of levees, channels and canals that have protected the city for generations was overcome by the storm, because, as the ruling makes clear, of decades of poor levee maintenance by the federal government.

This decision enables "tens of thousands" of homeowners in the affected area to bring lawsuits against the government. Normally, I'm extremely wary of homeowner activism, but in these two areas, a substantial and often majority of these homeowners were low- to moderate-income. Their homes were their primary or only asset; the hurricane completely destroyed their properties, or left such damage that insurance payments were insufficient to rebuild - in part because many of these homes must meet new building standards, and because many of these homeowners were likely underinsured. It's wonderful to think they might finally receive the resources needed to rebuild their lives and homes.

The government plans to appeal, naturally, and could face billions in claims of liability. Given the appeals process, and judicial sentiment once this case leaves New Orleans, it's highly unlikely these homeowners could ever see a dime. But this is an important and unforgettable moment of truth for disadvantaged homeowners, who, four years on, are working diligently to get on with their post-Katrina lives.

*Yes, we've written about St. Bernard Parish before, and NOT to celebrate their recovery progress.

(Photos of the flood's damage and the levee breech in the Lower 9th Ward of New Orleans, taken by the author, January 2006)

Women and Children Most Hit By Hunger

Greg Plotkin — 2009-11-19T06:00:00-08:00

By now, many of you have probably heard the news that 49 million people in the United States did not have access to a sufficient amount of food last year, more than any year since the USDA started keeping records in 1995. Even more disturbing, this represents a 36% increase in hunger between 2007 and 2008.

Although there has been both statistical and anecdotal evidence concerning the spread of hunger across the United States recently, a new report released by the USDA paints a more accurate, and unfortunately grim, picture of the true extent of food insecurity in the most powerful nation on earth.

The numbers themselves are startling -- 16% of all people went hungry in 2008 -- but they do not go far enough in showing who is suffering the most.

As Raj Patel points out over on Stuffed and Starved, the new data seems to show that women and children have been hit the hardest by food scarcity. This seems less surprising when you take into account that women continue to be paid less than men for doing the same work, and that women also regularly serve as the head of single-parent households. With all else being even, this wage disparity puts women at a very real disadvantage when it comes to food security, for themselves and for their children.

This is not a problem relegated only to the United States either. Across the globe, women are disproportionately affected by hunger and a lack of access to adequate food.

And it's the children who end up suffering the most -- now in the United States, one out of every four children goes hungry on a regular basis.

Remember back when President Obama pledged to eliminate childhood hunger by 2015? Yeah, I do too. And all I can say is that if this report doesn't jump start some serious legislative action, I don't know what will.

(Photo credit: meemal on Flickr)

Long-term Unemployment Worst Since the Great Depression

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-17T06:00:00-08:00

Record-setting joblessness: it's not just for the elderly. 5.6M Americans have been out of work for at least 6 months; this is the highest proportion of workers out of work for that long since the Great Depression. Joblessness is highest among younger workers.

I've written about unemployment and joblessness a lot lately. Here's some other poverty news items I'd love to spend more time on as well:

A new documentary, "The End of Poverty" (in limited release), makes a case for capitalism's systematic inequality and hints at a need to resurrect Marxist critiques of our cherished economic system.

Speaking of leftist advocacy, ACORN has sued the federal government over the House's decisions to defund the anti-poverty group, saying it is unconstitutional and effectively deeming ACORN guilty without trial.

In DC, job training programs for public assistant recipients fail to tell 97% of enrollees about skills training programs that might actually help them find and keep jobs. That's one way to encourage self-sufficiency: designing failure right into aid programs!

Hawaii considers getting out of the public housing business entirely.

Is the Catholic Church's assault on women's healthcare in the reform debate an attempt to level the playing field for Catholic hospitals that currently provide a more limited range of health services than secular hospitals?

More school districts are basing busing decisions on income rather than race in an attempt to get mostly children of color out of low-performing schools.

NIMBYism comes to rural Maine to block housing for Latin@ farmworkers. 6 whole units worth. Now that's a ghastly, infectious island of concentrated poverty if I've ever heard of one.

Happy Birthday Sesame Street! (5 days late, my bad!) Over 40 years, the program has moved from racial and economic integration and diversity training goals to foodie fads and wellness. Discuss.

And this is a feel good story: West Philly inner-city high school kids beat MIT teams in a $10M green car contest not once, but twice. Sweet! Well done!

(Sesame Street sure looks scrubbed clean in that photo, don't you think? Taken at Sesame Place by steve.ie)

44% of Congress are millionaires

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-16T06:00:00-08:00

And we wonder why Congress can't pass bills to support low-income households and working people...ok, we don't really wonder, do we?

1% of Americans are millionaires, compared to 44% of Congress (237 elected officials, to be exact). The median income in the Senate is just under $2M, in the House it's just over $600k. Median household income in the US is $50,303.

Just because an individual is rich does not preclude them from pursuing pro-poor or equitable policies, nor does it suggest that they cannot relate to poverty or economic inequality. But when the group norm is staggering wealth compared to the typical American, including in countless districts these officials represent, then it is understandably difficult to consider or develop policies that truly address economic hardship. Add to this wealth disparity the reality that 9 in 10 House incumbents and 8 in 10 Senate incumbents are re-elected each election year, and my despair over Congressional legislation benefiting the average American certainly deepens.

I hear from political insiders that nothing is more important in running for election than a person's ability to raise money. Forget your political views, your commitment to social equity, your desire to make a difference. If you're not rich or you don't know rich people who can bankroll your campaign, it's over before you've begun. Yes, we need to keep putting progressive candidates up for election, and we need to diversify the ranks of political leadership along racial, gender and certainly class lines. But how can we do that, when we're up against the nation's economic elite? Maybe our Average Joe VP, who's net worth is $27,000, has some advice.

(Original graph of House incumbency trends here at the Center for Responsive Politics)

Swine Flu Driving Paid Sick Leave Laws

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-15T11:39:00-08:00

President Obama is urging anyone showing symptoms of swine flu to stay home for at least four days - a nearly impossible task for the 50% of working Americans who lack any paid sick leave. With legislation stalled in Congress to mandate paid sick leave, 15 states and several cities around the US are proposing their own sick leave laws. Sen. Dodd (D-CT) has proposed mandatory sick leave just for those diagnosed with swine flu, a rather pathetic compromise, in my book. (And I already know people who likely had swine flu earlier this year only to have it missed by their docs.)

I wrote about this issue less than 2 months ago (first link above), and not too much has changed. Unsurprisingly, many lawmakers resist the reality that public health and labor issues can be intertwined as is the case here: ill workers showing up to their jobs cost businesses roughly $180B per year, more than the cost of absenteeism. (Also of note: how many women's policy institutes are providing the data on worker/labor policies - gee, I wonder why...)

We have a window of opportunity here to pass some long overdue laws. I commend Democrats for using swine flu to raise awareness of this issue, and states and cities for responding to the very serious reality of a pandemic sweeping through their populations. Now if only people could actually get access to the vaccine...

(Photo of mask, liquid soap and paper tissue bfishadow)

Homophobia Trumps Anti-Poverty Mission of DC Archdiocese

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-13T10:11:00-08:00

I'm with Mike on this one: I've got to headline this unbelievably craven move by the Catholic Church to threaten its social services to Washington D.C.'s poor if the city approves a same-sex marriage law. (Via.)

When I began writing for Poverty in America, the first action I created was to a pledge to join Catholic Charities Campaign to Reduce Poverty in America. Then I posted their video about the campaign. I remarked to our Editor at the time that as a lapsed Catholic, someone who'd fallen out with the Church over their anti-modern, anti-women, anti-choice points of view, that I felt weird highlighting their anti-poverty efforts. But I reconciled that the Catholic Church had a positive record of serving the poor - indeed, it seemed like their only redeeming quality these days.

Well, aren't I naive. Turns out the Church is perfectly willing to abandon DC's poor in their outdated, hateful, confused crusade over gay/lesbian civil rights. $10M is at risk here, what Catholic Charities contributes to public services for the poor. So far, some City Council members seem willing to let the Church walk, considering - fortunately - that it's only one of many social service providers in town. (And surely some of these other providers would love to step up and accept the $8M in public funds the Church receives every year to do these good works.)

Fortunately, for the impoverished of DC - who, no doubt, include some of the GBLTQI population of the city (to whom the church may already be ministering), DC is a large, diverse city. What about smaller, less diverse, or more conservative communities where it's religious social services or starve? Or freeze? As a secular activist who lost faith in her own faith years ago, I've come to appreciate the exposure to religious do-gooders anti-poverty activism provides, as it's given me a renewed appreciation for the pro-poor themes found in many organized religions, and for the generosity of the laypeople who administer these services.

But, wow. Way to have institutionalized discrimination trump institutionalized charity. What brats. Here's a list of the "services and justice" the Archdiocese plans to shutter in DC. Here's their contact information if you'd like to remind them of just What Jesus Would Do in this situation.

(Photo from St. Patrick's Cemeteries in New Orleans by Steven T. Moga, used with permission)

Poverty--'Prison Without Bars'

Diane Nilan — 2009-11-13T05:03:00-08:00

While I think I know something about poverty, I could never succinctly describe it as Dorothy Thomas did, "Poverty is prison without bars." Her homelessness probably galvanized her way of looking at her income-deficit disorder.

It just takes a glance at headlines to realize that our country suffers from economic schizophrenia. We've got a bazillionaire plunking down a cool $43.8 million for Warhol's painting of 200 $1 bills, and 237 of the 535 members of Congress counting up their millions, although hard times have hit a few...

The Center for Responsive Politics reports that a number of lawmakers are estimated to have suffered double-digit percentage losses in their net worth from 2007 to 2008. The biggest losers include Kerry, who lost a whopping $127.4 million; Warner lost about $28.1 million; Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) lost about $11.8 million; and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) lost about $10.1 million.

Worry not! I don't think any Member of Congress has joined the ranks of the more than 17 million Americans in deep poverty (households earning 1/2 of the abysmally low poverty rate).

As I drive along the backroads of Iowa and Nebraska, I find myself thinking a lot about poverty. I wonder how many policymakers on any level realize how many housing units in this country are barely above tar paper shack standards? Manufactured housing, i.e. house trailers, are often the only "affordable housing" in communities of all sizes. When these units fall into disrepair, as many obviously are, they are inadequate and unsafe.

Recent interaction with frequent PiA commenter Jan Lightfootlane brings the prison metaphor into light. Jan was scheduled to present at the recent National Students Against Hunger and Homelessness conference in Chicago. Her poverty apparently interfered, keeping her in Maine instead of letting her share her "school of hard knocks" knowledge with eager college students.

Loss of the all important drivers' license because of failure to pay a fine made getting to the conference impossible. Many people don't realize how important the government-issued ID is for travel. Try to go somewhere without it.

A good friend of mine is trapped by age (63) and the need for health insurance. Her job pays $9 an hour, with her paying for insurance out of that. She needs to move, but subsidized senior housing has a 5-year or longer waiting list. And the job market...sigh.

Seems to me that many in Congress and the non-impoverished public would benefit by a poverty simulation experience. Feel what it's like to not have choices, to be locked in what is accurately described as a prison without bars. They'd be begging for parole.

photos by the author

Real Unemployment 17.5%

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-12T12:00:00-08:00

President Obama announced this morning he will host a jobs summit next month at the White House, a political response to the reality that 1 in 6 workers were un- or under-employed in October. The news comes alongside an article in the NY Times this morning on the emotional and psychological toll - with potential lifelong impacts - widespread unemployment is having on American households - especially on children.

Pundits explain that summits like these are mostly signals to the public that elected leaders are prioritizing the issue - in this case, alarming unemployment. There's some indication that Democrats are considering a jobs bill, according to The Hill. But I wonder, even though this might be a great, needed government intervention, how much more can the impatient American public take?

I overhear conversations all the time that the stimulus isn't working, where are the results already? It's both true and untrue - stimulus results will show up over time, but it also was an anemic bill compared to what was needed. How much can we feasibly expect from Congress to produce an effective job creation bill? I think workforce development programs are notoriously hard to succeed - they're typically very expensive and too small scale, as we're unwilling to tolerate the needed, longer-term investments in education/training and support services that are really essential to keeping people in jobs. And it's hard to spur job creation at companies when they're already wringing such high productivity out of their existing employees.

So we'll see, but look, the Democrats are paying attention! President Obama spent 3 whole minutes on our jobless "recovery" before heading off to Asia for a week! No doubt at least one in six Americans were home to watch his remarks live on video.

Going on Strike in a Recession

Greg Plotkin — 2009-11-12T06:00:00-08:00

After nearly a year of negotiations with the United Food and Commercial Workers Local 99 in Arizona, two of the state's largest grocery store chains -- Fry's Food Stores and Safeway -- are bracing for a strike amid an ongoing labor dispute.

Key factors in the dispute include discrepancies over pay increases and a proposal from the companies that would have workers pay a health care premium (up until now, the companies have covered the entire cost).

With no resolution in sight, and a work stoppage looming as early as Friday, the companies have started to place advertisements for temporary employees to take over for unionized workers when/if they go on strike.

In addition, Fry and Safeway have now entered into a collaborative agreement to take "defensive measures" if the union workers strike against one company and not the other. Although neither store has said it would lock out unionized workers at the company that is not affected, that is exactly what happened in a similar situation in California during 2003-04.

I really question the wisdom of a labor union organizing a strike when unemployment just hit the 10% mark this month, and with the winter holidays right around the corner. And it's not just me. Economists are predicting that current economic conditions could work against and actually prolong a strike.

With unemployment so high, is there any doubt that people will be lining up to take the $9/hour temporary jobs being offered by the two companies?

Local 99 is claiming that this is the perfect time to take a stand against these two companies because the holiday season is their most busy and profitable. However, it seems questionable that the union's leadership is really concerned about the workers they represent -- particularly since they will only receive $100 per week if the strike goes into effect.

That's not much to live on period, and certainly not enough to purchase holiday gifts. Here's hoping both sides get this figured out soon for the sake of the workers and their families.

(Photo credit: theslowlane on Flickr)

Putting Veterans To Work

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-11T10:46:00-08:00

This blog title is likely to ruffle a few feathers, as it implies an epidemic of layabout retired servicemen and women, when the reality for millions of Vets, as we know it, is much harsher. Every Veterans Day, amidst the tributes and thank yous, are the tireless activists pointing out* how difficult life can be for veterans after military service - due especially to the psychological and disruptive impacts of combat and deployments and the relatively low remuneration for service. Now, under President Obama, the Administration and civil society organizations are working to reduce veteran unemployment and poverty.

On Monday, the White House introduced a new initiative to recruit and hire more veterans into the federal government, citing their distinct preparation for careers in public service. Through the Council on Veterans Employment, the Homeland Security, Labor, and Veterans Affairs will work with WH personnel management to increase the number of veterans employed through the federal government.

Stimulus funds are supporting the American Legion Auxiliary's national Call to Service Corps VISTA project that puts volunteers to work fighting poverty among veterans and military families. The project will provide economic and social support to over 100 military families and enlist almost 2,000 veteran families in anti-poverty community service projects.

What's important to remember is that veterans can often be characterized as the "hard-to-employ" or as a "special population" requiring targeted support and assistance in finding quality, affordable housing; educational opportunities; good jobs; and social services to support their specific emotional needs. The Sargent Shriver National Center on Poverty Law notes that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans have "substantially higher rates of unemployment than the general population", and that they may benefit from employment programs used to serve other low-income or special needs groups (single mothers, ex-offenders, etc.).

As you celebrate the sacrifices and service of our brothers and sisters in the US Armed Forces, don't forget that the conditions in which they serve require improvement and our consistent attention. Today on Veterans Day, share your experiences with other Poverty in America readers on fighting military and veterans' poverty.

*There is also the point that our excessive military expenditures prevent us from spending that money on fighting poverty and inequality at home.

(Photo "Iraqi Pig Skin • 2006 • An Nasiryah, Iraq" by Cam Vilay. I love the form of the person catching the ball, and the light-hearted moment of the photo)

House Healthcare Bill Effectively Prohibits Abortion

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-10T08:41:00-08:00

I took a lot of flak yesterday from commenters for celebrating the passage of the House healthcare reform bill. Like many feminists (and unlike many others), I celebrated some of the specific advances towards equalizing healthcare coverage for women and men. And like most feminists, I am floored, sickened, and outraged that House Democrats have passed the most restrictive policy on abortion since it was legalized in 1973.

I'm trying to get how the Stupak-Pitts Amendment works correct here, so bear with me. This bill creates insurance exchanges for "individuals and small employers to comparison shop among private and public insurers, including new health insurance co-ops." Included here are federal subsidies "to help low- and middle-income individuals and families purchase insurance." The Stupak Amendment prohibits any insurance companies that enroll these subsidized individuals and families from covering elective abortions. It is anticipated that eventually the majority of all companies and individuals in the US will be covered through these exchanges. FDL leads us to the Amendment's inexorable conclusion:

If the insurance companies offering plans on the exchange are not allowed to turn down any customers, it means no basic insurance plan on the exchange could cover abortion. There would be no way to prevent that at least one of the plan’s customer would be using [subsidies] to help purchase the plan. So the effect is no plan sold on the exchange could offer abortion coverage as part of its basic package.

One possible "solution" would be to allow some insurers to continue to cover abortion, thus prohibiting subsidized - i.e., low-income Americans - from purchasing that policy, leading to a two-tiered insurance system in which lower-income groups, who have worse health that incur higher medical costs, are "ghettoized" into a different insurance pool.

Currently, 87% of insurers cover abortion. Abortion is a legal medical procedure. You may personally disagree with it, never plan to have one (as far as you know), wish your partner will never have one (as far as you know), but it is currently LEGAL.

What we can do: Shakesville's got the sum up on the fight within the Democratic Party on ensuring this Amendment is stripped from any final bill. At least 40 House Democrats have pledged to vote against a bill that contains this restriction. Sign our Petition now asking your representative to sign this pledge.

In particular, here are the 21 Democrats who voted FOR the Amendment and then AGAINST healthcare reform. They should probably be our first collective of elected officials to strip of their offices. You can also make a donation to the National Network of Abortion Funds. Finally, sign our Petition to repeal the Hyde Amendment, which has prohibited federal funds for women on Medicaid for decades - what Obama off-handedly and dismissively described as our nation's "tradition" of denying government funds for abortion. As Frances Kissling, former President of Catholics for a Free Choice writes,

We must convince enough people that the only immorality is using poor women as a way of expressing one’s moral outrage. Either we all have the right to choose or none of us has it.

(Photo by Alexandra Lee)

House Bill Expands Medicaid to 15M more Americans

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-08T11:34:00-08:00

Update, 11/10/09: I made an error in the # of Americans newly eligible for Medicaid via this bill. It is 15M Americans; through Medicaid expansion, subsidies, and insurance exchange options, 36M Americans overall will be newly covered through this legislation.

Congrats to House Speaker Pelosi, President Obama, the American people, and other elected leaders for their efforts to pass this historic healthcare bill. I'm always up for celebrating any social policy that is the next big victory since LBJ's achievements forty years ago.

Gay Rights blogger Mike Jones has some terrific info on one key Medicaid expansion in the bill that permits states "to cover early HIV treatment...a departure from a current policy that only allows states to use Medicaid funds once a patient develops full-blown AIDS." Let's take a look at the other wins for low-income Americans in the bill:

The WSJ describes the uninsured as "the biggest winners" in this bill due to subsidies to provide insurance for low- and moderate-income Americans, and the expansion of Medicaid to reach a wider range of poor households up to 150% of the federal poverty level. 36M additional Americans will now be eligible for Medicaid.

Another key provision in the bill now prevent insurers from denying enrollees based on pre-existing conditions, which makes a world of difference for households caring for special-needs, disabled and ill persons. The threat of losing a job or changing jobs and the associated risks of insurance interruption and possible loss of coverage is eliminated here, reducing the current risk of households going bankrupt to cover medical bills.

Pelosi made some really disappointing and troubling concessions on abortion coverage to gain votes from conservative Democrats (more on this later), but one important victory for women is the elimination of gender disparities in health premiums. For convoluted, institutionalized discriminatory reasons, women pay more on average than equivalent men, and are also denied on pre-existing conditions exclusive to women (such as having a c-section). Given women are at much greater risk for poverty and economic hardship in this country, any effort to reduce socio-economic disparities like this are tremendously important.

There's some question about how well this bill serves low-income children, and I'm going to look into that. I'll also be reporting back on the abortion fight and what that means for poor women - this will no doubt be an on-going showdown in the Senate negotiations. And let's not forget that: the Senate has to pass a bill, and conventional wisdom says this will happen. But the Senate is more conservative than the House, and less beholden to public opinion, as we're seeing over and over again on this issue. So there's reason to believe the final bill will be less generous to low-income Americans, esp. women. Stay tuned.

For now, let's celebrate this important victory, it's ugly warts and all.

Special thanks to Rep. Anh "Joseph" Cao from Louisiana for voting for this bill. His district (LA-2) includes New Orleans, and despite being a religious Catholic and the first Vietnamese elected to represent the region, he did a good, and likely politically necessary, thing in supporting the bill.

(Photo of Speaker Pelosi and House Democratic leaders introducing America's Affordable Health Choice Act (HR 3962) in July 2009. The bill passed yesterday as the Affordable Health Care for America Act by a vote of 220-215. Photo from Speaker Pelosi's Flickr photostream.)

Help YouTube Document Hunger in America

Greg Plotkin — 2009-11-06T09:00:00-08:00

Do you know of or work for a nonprofit organization that helps to alleviate the causes of hunger in America? If so, our friends over at YouTube want to hear (and see!) about it.

YouTube's Video Volunteer program is a simple way to raise awareness about the organizations and issues you care about. This month, the program is seeking short videos (of no more than three minutes) profiling nonprofits that work to end hunger in America.

It doesn't matter if you're involved with Feeding America or a tiny food pantry in a rural area. This is a fantastic opportunity to show the world how you work to stop hunger in the United States everyday.

If that wasn't enough, the top three videos submitted will be featured on the YouTube homepage at the end of November.

Go out there and get those cameras rolling, and then click here to submit your video!

(Photo credit: topgold on Flickr)

1 in 10 Americans Unemployed

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-06T06:48:00-08:00

10% unemployment is here. The worst unemployment rate since 1983; for those of you who weren't in elementary school then - how does this recession match up in your mind to that one? Given the rising cost of living compared to the declining value of wages over the last two decades, how are households getting by in this bleak reality relative to 26 years ago? Will Obama and Congress get us out of this mess?

More than 7M Americans have lost their jobs in the last two years, and remember, official unemployment rates only count people actively looking for work. The # of people out of the workforce through no fault of their own is likely much higher - they've given up looking for work at this point.

Should we rejoice that layoffs are happening more slowly? Education and health services are actually adding jobs, and government employment is stable - stimulus funds are likely contributing to this. But even government programs can't prop up the construction industry, as our anemic real estate markets cancel out the need for construction work.

Scarecrow at FDL says we have a "moral imperative" to get the unemployment rate down as soon as possible, and that we need another stimulus package passed by the holidays. I am someone who thinks that even after recklessly spending so much on Iraq and tax cuts under Bush, spending heavily on stimulus and public works initiatives (if designed well) is absolutely essential. My and future generations are already heavily leveraged - at least let's be so for good reason with positive long-term prospects. What do you think?

My thoughts go out to all those out of work struggling to get by. My thoughts also go out to the loved ones of those who lost their lives at Fort Hood yesterday. What a horrible, horrible tragedy.

(Photo "Building Trades Unemployment Insurance Rally" by aflcio2008)

Housing Instability Hurts Kids

Diane Nilan — 2009-11-06T05:07:00-08:00

I'm tired of being subtle. In this world of attention-grabbing headlines and screaming issues, little kids are being trampled as crowds of media rush to cover "issues" which often have the importance of a mosquito bite, or um, a silver balloon. Left to fend for themselves are millions of little kids and their families in this country, mired in deep poverty, teetering on or swallowed up by homelessness.

So I made this 4-minute video, "Life is But a Dream," to remind viewers of the cost as we continue to abandon the wee ones in this country. Would be great if you view it and share it.

A new report issued by the Institute of Children in Poverty provides strong data to support my premise that little kids suffer by our national neglect. Among the findings...

Existing research provides a link between housing instability and a range of child and adolescent challenges, from lower school achievement to poorer social and emotional adjustment.

The detrimental effects of housing instability on children, far from rocket science, have long been documented. In fact, in MA, where the governor just slashed social services to balance the budget, Bay State researchers released a report 4 years ago that pointed to the (obvious) effects of high mobility and the benefits of housing vouchers to stabilize income-challenged families.

The St. Louis Examiner just ran a story about homeless children affected by trauma.

Two central reasons are lack of affordable housing and poverty, but domestic violence and decrease in government support are also critical factors according to the National Child Traumatic Stress Network. With unemployment increasing, the number of people that will lose their homes is also going to increase.

Seems to me we need to decide: are we a compassionate nation or one that doesn't give a rat's a%* about children if they are poor? If you do care, do something. Since the attention of this country's media and Congress is wrapped up in the health care debacle, the best I can suggest is donate diapers to the local food pantry or shelter. At least some families will be able to deal with the *@*$ being produced.

baby tears photo (c) Pat Van Doren

playhouse photo and video by the author

10% Unemployment Looming

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-05T12:00:00-08:00

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!

90% of Black Children on Food Stamps

Greg Plotkin — 2009-11-05T06:00:00-08:00

In one of the most dramatic examples I've seen of the true reach of hunger in the United States, a new report released this week by Washington University in St. Louis researchers found that 90 percent of black children will be clients of the national Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP/Food Stamps) at least once by the time they turn 20.

Although the percentage is less for white children (the only other ethnic group studied), the startling statistic here is that, at some point before their 20th birthday, 50 percent of all children in the United States will have received SNAP benefits.

More than being about access to food, the report's lead researcher says his findings represent a more important trend in the upbringing of the country's children. "Rather than being a time of security and safety, the childhood years for many American children are a time of economic turmoil, risk, and hardship," says Mark Rank, Ph.D.

Among the other interesting/disturbing statistics presented in the report:

-Nearly one-quarter of all American children will be in households that use food stamps for five or more years during childhood.

-91 percent of children with single parents will be in a household receiving food stamps, compared to 37 percent of children in married households.

-Looking at race, marital status and education simultaneously, children who are black and whose head of household is not married with less than 12 years of education have a cumulative percentage of residing in a food stamp household of 97 percent by age 10.

What this report really highlights are the drastic race, gender and socio-economic disparities in this country. And unfortunately, these disparities seem to be affecting our youth at a staggering level.

If children really are the future (as I believe they are), we as a society need to do a much better job of letting kids develop into the leaders of tomorrow, instead of being held back by the problems of today.

(Photo credit: Marco Gomes on Flickr)

Budget Crises, Development Woes Confront Mayors

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-04T13:34:00-08:00

Looking around at the mayoral results from yesterday's elections, seems incumbents and historic new leaders face a shared set of urban challenges: budget gaps, development and housing costs, crime, and troubled educational systems. Gee, what's new?

Certainly not the leadership in Boston, where Mayor Tom Menino won an unprecedented 6th term to become the city's longest serving mayor. Menino's remarkable claim to fame in governing this city of 600k (or so) is that almost half of all Bostonians have personally met him - including yours truly (several times now). Voters re-elected him with fondness for the Christmas trees he provides for neighborhood squares, his handshakes in line at Dunkin Donuts, and his seemingly 24/7 appearance on local public television. His campaign promises include closing budget gaps, lowering the crime rate, and improving the Boston Public Schools - a big issue this time around.

In Detroit, arguably the most troubled city in America, Mayor Dave Bing must close a $300M budget gap and also tackle crime and a failing public school system. He promises to whittle Detroit's finances down to reflect the city's new reality as the 11th largest city in the US, through cuts and efficiencies. Beware the Mayors who promise to govern cities like they run their businesses. Sure, they can buy themselves term after term, but eventually voters (citizens? shareholders?), especially the lower-income ones who don't usually see the corporate profits trickle down their way, will tire of these CEOs.

Cleveland's Mayor Frank Jackson and Miami's new Mayor Tomas Relegado also face budget woes as well as economic development challenges. In Cleveland, Jackson is trying to jumpstart large scale development while Relegado is trying to halt it - in Miami, one-third of all condos built downtown since 2003 are vacant. Spooky. Cleveland and Miami both confront collapsed housing markets that add to the simultaneous economic development pressures and need to reign in spending and further inequality in housing and job markets.

Finally, in Pittsburgh, 70% of all municipal pensions are unfunded - a frightening and urgent issue for the re-elected Mayor, Luke Ravenstahl. I get a kick out of the Pittsburgh Mayoral candidates - all guys around 30 years old. If Luke can do it, why not me? his challengers obviously asked themselves.

And in smaller cities around the country, including in Newton and Lawrence, MA and York and Harrisburg, PA, new Latin@, African-American and/or female leadership has come to power, a very positive trend in our increasingly diverse society.

Good luck to them all in the coming years!

(Photo "Pittsburgh GTECH Larimer green jobs day: Sunflower Harvest" by Chris Koch and Andrew Butcher for Greenforall.org)

Bing Wins Full Term to Lead Detroit

Leigh Graham — 2009-11-04T04:58:00-08:00

Lots of Mayoral races last night, with specific marching orders to revitalize and continuously improve our cities. I'll be back later today with some thoughts on their different charges, but here's a quick round-up:

David Bing is elected for a full-term in Detroit.

Wunderkind Luke Ravenstahl is re-elected in Pittsburgh.

Bloomberg wins by less than anticipated in NYC for his self-appointed third term (basically).

Menino wins easily, but also by a smaller margin than usual, in Boston. He's now the city's longest serving Mayor, beginning his 6th term today.

Lawrence, MA elects its first Latino Mayor, William Lantigua - the first in MA.

In Atlanta and Houston, no decisions yet.

Any key elections in your neck of the woods?

And Maine voters, WTH????