• Stagnant welfare caseloads create puzzle, By Ron Jenkins (AP), July 11, 2009, Tulsa World: “Anti-poverty workers say it is a puzzle that more people have not applied for welfare assistance in the midst of the current economic downturn.  They also cite statistics over the last five years showing declines in public assistance caseloads and a corresponding increase in the percentage of Oklahoma applicants denied aid…”
• California budget woes worry some on welfare, By Kelley Weiss, July 14, 2009, National Public Radio: “California lawmakers say they are near a solution to close the state’s $26 billion budget gap. That solution is likely to include unprecedented cuts to health and welfare programs. For California families who rely on multiple state services, those cuts could be a double or triple whammy…”

State increases Medicaid funds, By Lisa Call, July 10, 2009, Dickinson Press: “Significant monetary changes have reached one facet of the North Dakota Medicaid program and such changes could potentially help the 709 households already on Medicaid in Stark County and those who wish to apply, said Marcy Decker, Stark County Social Services income maintenance unit supervisor.  Across the state, monthly household income levels for those deemed ‘medically needy’ increased from $500 per month to $750 beginning July 1…”

• Thousands ‘facing fuel poverty’, July 12, 2009, BBC News: Rising unemployment and higher energy prices are likely to push hundreds of thousands more homes into fuel poverty, a key government advisory body says. The Fuel Poverty Advisory Group (FPAG) says about 4m households in England are already in fuel poverty, spending more than 10% of their income on energy…”
• Damning report condemns lack of action on fuel poverty, By Lauren Thompson, July 13, 2009, The Times: “Rising unemployment, high energy bills and the cost of “green” measures could push hundreds of thousands more households into fuel poverty, a Government advisor warned today. There are already 4 million households in fuel poverty – where one tenth or more of income goes on gas and electricity bills – compared with 1.2 million in 2004. Almost half of fuel-poor households are pensioners…”

• Minimum wage increase a mixed bag, By Tony Manthey, July 12, 2009, Arkansas Democrat Gazette: “Some companies will see their expenses rise and many workers will see bigger paychecks when the federal minimum wage increases 70 cents, to $7.25 from $6.55 an hour on July 24. The increase - about $112 a month for 40-hour work weeks - is coming during a long and deep national recession…”
• Winners and losers of the minimum wage hike, By Lisa Scherzer, July 10, 2009, Wall Street Journal: “Millions of American workers are about to get a federally-mandated raise, but the recession has left many wondering if and how the economy will benefit. The raise, which will go into effect on July 24, represents the final wage hike in a three-step boost to the federal minimum wage increase passed by Congress two years ago. The minimum wage will rise 70 cents — or about 11% — to $7.25 per hour from $6.55…”
• Minimum wage goes up, By Erin Calandriello and Steven Ross Johnson, July 14, 2009, Elgin Courier News: “As the nation attempts to work its way out of the worst economic recession in decades, local employers say they are concerned over how a mandated increase in the state’s minimum wage will affect their own prospects for recovery.  The state’s minimum wage went up by 25 cents on July 1, to $8 an hour. It was the third of four such planned raises signed into law in 2006 by then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich that eventually will boost the pay rate to $8.25 by July 1, 2010…”

With USA in a recession, rural Mexico feels the pain, By Chris Hawley, July 9, 2009, USA Today: “Not long ago, this remote Mexican mountain town was in the middle of a construction boom — as families proudly built their American-style dream homes, using cash sent home by relatives working in the USA.  Work on those houses has stopped, leaving shiny steel rebar jutting awkwardly out of concrete walls all over this town of 4,500. Meanwhile, residents have been forced to cut back on staples such as rice and corn. Eggs, meat and milk are now out of reach for many families…”