Health & Healthcare
Media Layoffs Hurt the Poor
Published October 02, 2009 @ 05:03AM PT
Yesterday, within the span of an hour, I spoke with 4 persons connected to 3 different media--2 newspapers, 1 TV news--who fear, or have experienced, job loss. These are people who think it important that poverty and homelessness, and other social issues, get coverage. They will likely feel the pain of job loss on the other side of the camera. And, I fear, people in poverty will suffer even more as this trend continues nationwide. Good journalists, already hard to find, are disappearing like snowflakes in summer.
Since the financial meltdown began a year ago, journalism jobs have gone away at almost three times the rate jobs have disappeared in the general economy, according to a report by Unity: Journalists of Color. (Editor & Publisher)
America's New Needy
Published October 01, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
Imagine this:
Six months ago you are standing in line at the grocery store, flipping through a trashy celebrity magazine while on your way to pick up your kids at soccer practice. Your new SUV is outside in the parking lot. You are the model of the American middle-class--a large and increasingly diverse group of self-reliant families and individuals.
Now, flash forward to the present. You're standing in line at the local food pantry, looking at everyone standing around you, wondering how in the world things got so bad.
For many of Americans, the scenario above is not a dream (or rather a nightmare). It is instead an unfortunate reality that is just starting to be dealt with by hunger activists and organizations dealing with what can only be called the nation's "new needy."
50% of Americans Lack Sick Leave
Published September 29, 2009 @ 03:20PM PT
With a vaccine for the H1N1 virus still some time away, the lack of paid sick leave for almost half of all working Americans in the private sector is a potential public health crisis. Not only are these working adults likely to show up at work with potential infectious symptoms - or fear losing their job - they are likely to send sick kids to school for the same reason. Why is this on the Poverty blog?
Nationwide, the same trend holds: The proportions of workers without paid leave are higher in lower-wage industries, including food service, nursing care, and retail workers.
These are the folks we interact with on a regular basis - the person handing you your coffee or your morning bagel; the woman coming to care for your already infirm grandmother in her home.
I'm so sick of the argument that basic government regulation that protects public health and minimizes worker exploitation is bad for small business. I paraphrase a good corporate friend on Facebook - if you can't afford to pay your workers a living wage or benefits, you have a bad business model. And I'll add: as anti-poverty and economic justice advocates, we'd be happy to work with you to fight for a more equitable business climate for your small company.
15 states and cities are currently working on paid sick leave bills. Check them out and find out how you can support on-going campaigns.
Photo "Children with message in support of Paid Sick Days, Milwaukee - 2008" by Voces de La Frontera)
NYC to Get FRESH Supermarkets
Published September 24, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
In the spirit of National Food Desert Awareness month, yesterday morning, the New York City Department of City Planning voted unanimously in favor of an initiative that will bring fresh fruits, vegetables and other all-too-rare perishable goods to some of the city's most under-served residents.
The Food Retail Expansion to Support Health (or FRESH) program will give various zoning and tax incentives to retail companies that open supermarkets in designated communities throughout the five boroughs.
For example, new stores that meet the FRESH eligibility requirements will be given sales tax exemptions, real estate tax reductions and be required to provide less parking than is mandated for other retail food operations by the city's zoning laws.
Incomes Up 14% through Opportunity NYC
Published September 22, 2009 @ 10:03AM PT
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is hosting the Organization of American States today to discuss anti-poverty initiatives in the Americas. Featured at the meeting with be the City of New York's Opportunity NYC, a program of conditional cash transfers to low-income families to reward them for specific behaviors: attending school, attending doctor's appointments, working full-time, etc. The Bloomberg Administration, which launched the initiative as one of many anti-poverty programs managed collectively through its Center for Economic Opportunity, has renewed the program for a third year.
The program is both promising and controversial for providing what many deem paternalistic incentives that isolate behavior as the reason households are poor. I agree. But let's face it: Opportunity NYC is increasing annual household incomes by as much as 14% per year. Do we really want to condemn such a result?
Target Takes Food Stamps
Published September 21, 2009 @ 06:00AM PT
So many Americans are now using food stamps that more and more chain stores have begun accepting them, rather than lose these customers to economic hardship. New or expanded recipients include Target, CVS, 7-11, Costco, BJ's and Sam's Club.
Food stamp use was up 22% this summer from 2008, with more than 35M Americans using them. Food stamps now come on a card identical to a debit or credit card, offering discretion and privacy for Americans self-conscious about relying on public assistance. For businesses, Costco finds that food stamp users spend an additional $50 or so on purchases not covered by the benefit.
There's a message in here about economic hardship becoming mainstream, becoming normal. I'm trying to generalize it to an ideal world where one is not punished for being poor, where a low-income parent can stand in line at the grocery store without a sense of shame - that she's even at the better grocery store rather than an overpriced bodega or food bank is an accomplishment. (Of course, see the original link above to understand transportation issues.)
Expanded food stamp acceptance at more stores is one of these situational responses that becomes permanent. From the sound of it, businesses have to invest in some degree of technological or process change to accept these cards. These are likely not upgrades that will be rolled back once the recession really lifts. As anti-poverty activists, we should be thinking about emergency services and about long-term changes we can push through during moments of crisis. Yes, we've got to expand eligibility for food stamps so all the many million more bellies don't go hungry, but if there was ever a moment to update the poverty measure to reflect the costs of housing, health care or decline in wages - It's Now.
Too Poor for Pets
Published September 18, 2009 @ 05:08AM PT
Those of us in the trenches with people in poverty continually think of ways to get our nation's leaders and lawmakers to pay attention. We don't want to think they just don't care; they're just, um, busy. How can we get their attention? If only poverty was...cuter? Let me throw out a few provocative poverty bones to chew on:
- Pets. Millions of pet owners in America can't afford to care for their furry friends. Yeah, feeding them and the basic veterinary activities is expensive, but what gets way out of whack is when Fido or Fluffy gets sick. One of my dog-friends, Elijah, is having some serious budget-busting health issues. At the moment, his owner can come up with payments, but not for long term. Tough spot to be in. I dunno, maybe we can use pet health care as a campaign, and then segue into human health care.
- Pet Health Insurance-you gotta know the insurance agencies are all over this cash cow. September is National Pet Health Insurance month.
- Numbers tell the story--the number of Change.org Animal Rights members is 3X the PIA members. My solution--give the homeless and poor people pets! Better yet, get more PIA members.
In all seriousness, homelessness, my issue of choice, needs to be seen as a poverty crisis, not just a "bum under the bridge" problem. It's a national concern, not just urban in nature, that affects more kids/families than single adults. And readers with a strong memory can quote me on this a year from now... I'm betting my lunch money that those on the edge of poverty, or those mired in it, will be in worse shape before (if) things get better. Kudos to NYT's Erik Eckholm and Arianna Huffington for their recent efforts to call attention to homeless kids!
Politics and poverty go hand-in-hand. Sadly, those in politics tend to know very little about the hurt of poverty (and less about homelessness). Policymakers are probably happy that few pay much attention to this growing issue. Watch out for the HEAR US Learning Curve Express!!
photos by the author
