IRP Poverty Dispatch » Politics

American Community Survey

townsend — Tue, 15 May 2012 21:32:53 +0000

Survey for health, poverty benefits threatened in Congress, By Elizabeth Landau, May 15, 2012, CNN.com: “Americans needing health insurance or disability services could be overlooked by their local governments if a bill now being considered by the Senate passes. It would eliminate a survey that some call a vital source of information about health indicators of millions of Americans, but which House Republicans say is too expensive and raises privacy concerns. It’s called the American Community Survey. The Census Bureau surveys about a quarter of a million Americans every month. Community officials, academics and businesses rely on this information to understand the markets they operate in and the needs of individual localities. The House last week passed a Republican-backed bill that would cut the survey altogether, citing costs and privacy issues…”

State Cuts to Programs for the Poor - Maine

townsend — Mon, 14 May 2012 22:22:38 +0000

Cuts will close some Head Start programs, say advocates, By Christopher Cousins, May 14, 2012, Maine Sun Journal: “Proposed cuts the Legislature will consider next week to funding for Head Start and day care voucher programs are prompting educators to sound the alarm that the cuts will affect not only the children and families involved, but Maine’s economy as a whole. A supplemental budget bill passed Thursday by Republicans on the Legislature’s Appropriations and Financial Affairs Committee restores some funding that Gov. Paul LePage proposed to eliminate altogether, but experts say the reduced funding will have severe detrimental effects. Targeted for cuts are the Head Start program, child care subsidies for parents who are either working or continuing their education and funding for home visits for children in low-income families…”
GOP plan cuts health benefits for at least 21,500, By Susan M. Cover, May 11, 2012, Kennebec Journal: “Republicans are proposing state budget cuts that would eliminate MaineCare for more than 20,000 people, end prescription drug benefits for about 1,500 elderly Mainers and reduce state funding for Head Start and other programs. Republican and Democrat legislators parted ways Thursday on a budget that highlights the stark philosophical differences between the parties and is raising tension in an election year. Democrats say Republicans are underestimating the extent of the proposed cuts, based on estimates they have from advocates. Republicans say agencies that receive state funds can cut administrative costs, rather than hurting children and elderly Mainers who benefit from the programs…”

Minimum Wage and Payday Loan Ballot Initiatives - Missouri

townsend — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:16:31 +0000

Groups submit petitions on raising Missouri’s minimum wage, limiting payday loans, Associated Pres, May 7, 2012, Springfield News-Leader: “Supporters of raising Missouri’s minimum wage and limiting payday loans submitted petitions Sunday to get the separate measures on the November ballot, beating this weekend’s deadline to turn in signatures. The proposed minimum wage increase would put Missouri’s minimum pay at $8.25 an hour starting in 2013, with an annual cost-of living adjustment in subsequent years. However, if the federal minimum wage were to rise above the state rate, then Missouri would adopt the federal wage and apply cost-of-living adjustments to that…”

Drug Testing and Assistance Programs

townsend — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:14:21 +0000

Legislators continue to propose drug testing for welfare recipients, By Tim Grimes, May 5, 2012, Evansville Courier and Press: “Lawmakers in Indiana and across the nation are studying whether to require drug tests of welfare and food stamp recipients, even though there are questions about the constitutionality of the move. This year, legislators in at least 25 states proposed bills to implement some sort of drug testing system for a variety of welfare programs, most commonly Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, but also Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program, which used to be called food stamps…”

April 2012 US Unemployment

townsend — Fri, 04 May 2012 21:31:44 +0000

New jobs slow; unemployment drops as work force shrinks, By Catherine Rampell, May 4, 2012, New York Times: “The United States had another month of disappointing job growth in April. The nation’s employers produced a net gain of 115,000 positions, after adding 154,000 in March, the Labor Department said Friday. April’s job growth was less than economists had been predicting. The unemployment rate, which is based on a separate survey of American households, ticked down to 8.1 percent in April, from 8.2 percent. That may sound like good news, but the decline was not because more unemployed workers were hired; it was entirely because 342,000 workers dropped out of the labor force…”
Economy added 115,000 jobs in April; unemployment rate fell to 8.1 percent, By Peter Whoriskey, May 4, 2012, Washington Post: “The unemployment rate dropped a notch to 8.1 percent in April, the Labor Department reported on Friday, but the pace of job growth has fallen off, amid other signs that the economic recovery may be losing momentum. The economy added 115,000 payroll jobs last month, a meager showing compared with earlier this year when the jobs tally was rising at twice that rate and sowing optimism about the nation’s economic prospects. Some of the most quoted figures from the jobs report suggested good news. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.1 percent in April from 8.2 percent the month before, and the number of unemployed people declined to 12.5 million from 12.7 million. But the main reason for the decline in the ranks of unemployed is that many people decided to stop looking for work. People who have given up the job hunt are no longer counted as unemployed…”

Medicaid Programs - Oregon, Wisconsin, New York

townsend — Thu, 03 May 2012 21:49:15 +0000

Feds to put up $1.9B for Oregon health overhaul, By Jonathan J. Cooper (AP), Miami Herald: “The Obama administration is buying into an ambitious health care initiative in Oregon, announcing Thursday it has tentatively agreed to chip in $1.9 billion over five years to help get the program off the ground. Oregon hopes to prove that states can save billions on Medicaid without sacrificing the quality of health care. Gov. John Kitzhaber’s plan would invest in preventive care to keep patients healthy so they don’t need expensive hospitalizations. ‘If this works, I think other states are going to be looking at this as a way to manage that patient population,’ said Kitzhaber, a Democrat and former emergency room physician who has worked for decades on reforming the health care system. The federal government could save $1.5 trillion over the next 10 years if all 50 states adopted Oregon’s approach, the governor has said…”
State sending letters on Medicaid changes, By Jason Stein, May 2, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “The state is sending out letters to 111,000 low-income Wisconsinites warning them that they could see changes to their state health coverage, including premium increases. The letters are being sent after federal officials announced Friday their approval of plans by Gov. Scott Walker’s administration to cut costs in those Medicaid programs. Officials estimate that the plans will lead to more than 17,000 people leaving or being turned away from the state’s BadgerCare Plus health programs for the needy. State Health Services Secretary Dennis Smith said Wednesday that the state will send two notices to those affected - this first letter will give general information about what the changes could be, and another in mid-June will give more specific information such as the exact premium increases for recipients affected by those. Smith spoke Wednesday at a luncheon organized by the Wisconsin Health News service…”
Medicaid comes home, right here in Buffalo, By Henry L. Davis, April 30, 2012, Buffalo News: “He may not look the part, but Gerald Easley, a 59-year-old diabetic in Buffalo, lives on the cutting edge of health care reform. Medicaid costs are consuming budgets in New York and other states, forcing a search for solutions that don’t undermine services. One of them, the Health Home, is rolling out now in Buffalo, and patients such as Easley are the target candidates. It’s a long-talked-about concept for dealing with the most expensive and most difficult to treat individuals: Assign a single organization to coordinate all care, including follow-up after medical visits and referrals to social services that Medicaid and other forms of insurance generally don’t pay for, such as phone calls to address problems ahead of time and referrals to housing…”

Drug Testing and Assistance Programs - Tennessee

townsend — Wed, 02 May 2012 21:28:04 +0000

Tennessee lawmakers approve welfare drug testing on last day, By Chas Sisk, May 1, 2012, The Tennessean: “State lawmakers approved a bill to test welfare recipients for drugs and revamped the state’s top utility regulator, but they dropped plans to rewrite the state’s campaign finance laws on the final day of the legislative session. Members of the state House of Representatives voted 73-17 Tuesday for Senate Bill 2580, which calls for testing welfare recipients who fail a psychiatric screening meant to find indicators of drug use. Proponents said the bill will keep Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds from going to drug users and help them get treatment. Opponents said it punishes the poor. ‘What we’re going to do is profile poor people,’ said state Rep. Joe Towns, D-Memphis. The measure, which cleared the Senate last month and now goes to Gov. Bill Haslam for his signature, was one of several issues resolved as lawmakers finished work for 2012. Both chambers adjourned until after the November election. With the welfare bill, Tennessee would be set to join a growing list of states that have adopted drug testing for recipients…”

Wisconsin Poverty Report

townsend — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 21:28:17 +0000

UW report says safety net kept state families from poverty, By Todd Finkelmeyer, April 27, 2012, Capital Times: “Wisconsin is doing a good job of providing a safety net for the state’s most vulnerable people, according to the fourth annual Wisconsin Poverty Report released this week. The study, conducted by UW-Madison’s Institute for Research on Poverty, is designed to measure poverty rates more accurately than the official federal numbers that are compiled using only pretax cash income figures. In addition to these cash resources, the institute’s Wisconsin Poverty Measure also takes into account the effects of government safety net initiatives such as tax credits (including the state and federal earned income tax credit), food stamps, BadgerCare and subsidized child care. In 2010, the most recent year for which figures are available, Wisconsin’s official overall poverty rate as measured at the federal level was at 13 percent, while the Institute for Research on Poverty (IRP) pinned that figure at 10.3 percent. And the gap is even wider when looking at children — with official numbers indicating an 18.6 percent child poverty rate in the state compared to a Wisconsin Poverty Measure of 10.8 percent…”

College Financial Aid

townsend — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:57:26 +0000

Student loans: Will Congress’s remedy favor middle class over poor?, By Mark Trumbull, April 25, 2012, Christian Science Monitor: “The surging student loan burden has the attention of President Obama and Congress. A jaw-dropping fact has become widely publicized: that student debt for the first time totals more than $1 trillion, well over the amount Americans owe on credit cards. But even as politicians consider fixes - especially how to avert an interest-rate hike affecting students come July 1 - the grant-style aid that’s most important to lower-income students is already experiencing a budget squeeze…”

Job Losses and Unemployment - Wisconsin

townsend — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 21:53:30 +0000

State posts largest percentage job loss in U.S. over past year, By Craig Gilbert, April 24, 2012, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Wisconsin is the only state in the nation that had “statistically significant” job losses over the past 12 months, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The state lost 23,900 jobs from March 2011 to March 2012. The majority - 17,800 - were government jobs. But Wisconsin also lost more private-sector jobs - 6,100 - than any other state over those same 12 months, the government data shows…”
Wisconsin job losses highest in nation for last 12 months, federal report says, By Karen Rivedal, April 25, 2012, Wisconsin State Journal: “Wisconsin saw the largest percentage decrease in employment in the nation during the 12 months ending in March, a new report by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics said. During that time period, while 27 states and the District of Columbia saw significant job increases, only Wisconsin saw ’statistically significant’ job losses, the report said. From March 2011 to March 2012, the state lost 23,900 jobs, for the country’s largest percentage decrease, at 0.9 percent. Of the 23,900 jobs lost in Wisconsin in that period, 17,900 were from the public sector and 6,000 were from the private sector, according to the BLS…”

Drug Testing and Assistance Programs

townsend — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:52:11 +0000

No savings are found from welfare drug tests, By Lizette Alvarez, April 17, 2012, New York Times: “Ushered in amid promises that it would save taxpayers money and deter drug users, a Florida law requiring drug tests for people who seek welfare benefits resulted in no direct savings, snared few drug users and had no effect on the number of applications, according to recently released state data. ‘Many states are considering following Florida’s example, and the new data from the state shows they shouldn’t,’ said Derek Newton, communications director for the American Civil Liberties Union of Florida, which sued the state last year to stop the testing and recently obtained the documents. ‘Not only is it unconstitutional and an invasion of privacy, but it doesn’t save money, as was proposed…’”
Deal OKs welfare drug tests; lawsuit likely, By Kristina Torres, April 16, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Gov. Nathan Deal backed Georgia’s proposal to drug-test parents who seek welfare, pushing the state towards a legal confrontation with opponents over the new law’s fairness. Deal signed House Bill 861 on Monday without ceremony. The bill will likely be challenged in court. The Atlanta-based Southern Center for Human Rights affirmed it was preparing a lawsuit as the state moved ahead with the mandate. The American Civil Liberties Union has also had issues with the bill, which was among several approved by Deal during the day…”
Lawmakers continue talks on plan to drug test welfare recipients, By Tony Gonzalez, April 18, 2012, The Tennessean: “With the 2012 legislative session winding down, lawmakers on Wednesday scrambled to tune up a proposal requiring drug testing of welfare applicants so it doesn’t run afoul of the Constitution. Members of the Senate Finance Committee wanted to know whether all recipients of Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds would be required to take drug tests…”

School Voucher Programs

townsend — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:28:45 +0000

Political, legal fights over school vouchers’ fate, By Kimberly Hefling (AP), Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Students like Delano Coffy are at the heart of brewing political fights and court battles over whether public dollars should go to school vouchers to help make private schools more affordable. He was failing in his neighborhood public elementary school in Indianapolis until his mother enrolled him in a Roman Catholic school. Heather Coffy has scraped by for years to pay the tuition for Delano, now 16 and in a Catholic high school, and his two younger siblings, who attend the same Catholic elementary as their brother did. She’s getting help today from a voucher program, passed last year at the urging of GOP Gov. Mitch Daniels, that allows her to use state money for her children’s education. ‘I can’t even tell you how easy I can breathe now knowing that for at least for this year my kids can stay at the school,’ said the single mother, who filed a petition in court in support of the law. The state Supreme Court is hearing a challenge to the law, which provides vouchers worth on average more than $4,000 a year to low- and middle-income families. A family of four making about $60,000 a year qualifies…”

Earned Income Tax Credit - Wisconsin, Iowa

townsend — Fri, 13 Apr 2012 21:22:13 +0000

Increased scrutiny of tax credits could mean more audits for Wisconsin’s poor, By Dee J. Hall, April 12, 2012, Wisconsin State Journal: “As Tax Day approaches, some low-income taxpayers in Wisconsin will notice smaller refunds - and increased scrutiny on claimed tax credits - because of changes in state law and a new effort by the Wisconsin Department of Revenue to ferret out fraud. Wisconsin is the first state chosen under a federal push to detect mistakes and fraud in the earned income tax credit program, Revenue spokeswoman Stephanie Marquis said. The credit, available from both the state and federal governments, is designed to provide relief to low-wage taxpayers and to encourage work by allowing them to claim refunds, even if they have paid little or no income taxes. This year, Wisconsin cut the amount of credit available to such taxpayers by $27.3 million to $113.3 million. The Legislature reduced the projected credit for next year by $28.9 million to $119.5 million…”
Branstad would sign earned income tax credit to get property tax deal, By Jason Clayworth and Donnelle Eller, April 5, 2012, Des Moines Register: “A long legislative freeze that has stalled progress on commercial property tax reform in Iowa showed signs Thursday of a political thaw. Gov. Terry Branstad said he would be willing to expand a tax break for Iowa’s poorest working families if he can get an agreement with Democrats to cut commercial and industrial property taxes. And just minutes later, Senate Majority Leader Michael Gronstal said his party wouldn’t insist that the breaks known as earned income tax credits be signed into law before negotiating on the property tax side of the give and take. Branstad twice last year vetoed the tax breaks for working families, frustrating members of both parties. Sen. Joe Bolkcom, a key Democrat involved in the debate, stood on the Senate floor Jan. 31 and vowed that no commercial property tax cut would happen without the governor’s signature on a bill to increase tax breaks for working families…”

Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

townsend — Fri, 09 Mar 2012 22:21:40 +0000

House committee urges action on food stamp fraud, By Pam Fessler, March 8, 2012, National Public Radio: “With more than 46 million recipients, the food stamp program has become one of the government’s biggest benefit programs. It has also become one of the biggest targets for those who think the federal government isn’t doing enough to prevent fraud. At a Thursday hearing in Washington, lawmakers complained that some retailers who illegally deal in food stamp benefits have been allowed to stay in the program…”

Drug Testing and Assistance Programs

townsend — Thu, 01 Mar 2012 22:41:37 +0000

States consider drug testing welfare recipients, By Yamiche Alcindor, February 29, 2012, USA Today: “Getting welfare and food stamps may become tougher as 23 states around the USA seek to adopt stricter laws that would require public aid recipients to take drug tests. Florida law now requires all aid applicants to be drug tested while Arizona and Missouri require testing for anyone they ‘reasonably’ suspect of illegal drug use. For many, the proposed changes in states such as Wyoming, Illinois and Maryland will mean taking extra steps before receiving aid, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Resistance is likely to be heated, and the American Civil Liberties Union has already filed a challenge in Florida…”

Child Welfare System - Nebraska

townsend — Wed, 29 Feb 2012 21:17:53 +0000

Lawmakers debate ending child welfare privatization, By Martha Stoddard, February 29, 2012, Omaha World-Herald: “Nebraska lawmakers launched into debate Tuesday about whether to put the brakes on the state’s experiment in child welfare privatization. At issue is whether the state should take back responsibility for managing child welfare cases from the last remaining private contractor. Legislative Bill 961, introduced by the Health and Human Services Committee, would require the change. The bill was introduced before state officials announced that Kansas-based KVC was dropping out of the picture as one of the last two child welfare contractors. KVC stops managing child welfare cases for the state as of Wednesday, leaving the Omaha-based Nebraska Families Collaborative as the state’s only private contractor. Speaker of the Legislature Mike Flood of Norfolk warned colleagues to think hard before moving forward on the proposal…”
Senators advance four child welfare bills but question returning case management to state, By JoAnne Young, February 27, 2012, Lincoln Journal Star: “The Legislature focused Tuesday on repairing the state’s child welfare system. Lincoln Sen. Kathy Campbell set the tone for two days of debate on a set of five bills to overhaul child welfare reform. ‘Today, we begin the process of building a stable foundation and a bridge to the future for the benefit of the children and families of the state of Nebraska,’ she said. The Legislature proceeded to advance four of the bills — with no senator voting against them — and then, late in the day, started debate on a bill that would return all child welfare case management to the state. That last bill (LB961) could prove to be one of the toughest…”

Drug Testing and Assistance Programs

townsend — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 22:36:07 +0000

Plans to drug test welfare recipients get momentum, By Ben Neary and Ivan Moreno (AP), February 26, 2012, Deseret News: “Conservatives who say welfare recipients should have to pass a drug test to receive government assistance have momentum on their side. The issue has come up in the Republican presidential campaign, with front-runner Mitt Romney saying it’s an ‘excellent idea.’ Nearly two dozen states are considering plans this session that would make drug testing mandatory for welfare recipients, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. And Wyoming lawmakers advanced such a proposal this week. Driving the measures is a perception that people on public assistance are misusing the funds and that cutting off their benefits would save money for tight state budgets - even as statistics have largely proved both notions untrue…”

Need for Public Benefit Programs

townsend — Wed, 15 Feb 2012 23:10:51 +0000

Even critics of safety net increasingly depend on it, By Binyamin Appelbaum and Robert Gebeloff, February 11, 2012, New York Times: “Ki Gulbranson owns a logo apparel shop, deals in jewelry on the side and referees youth soccer games. He makes about $39,000 a year and wants you to know that he does not need any help from the federal government. He says that too many Americans lean on taxpayers rather than living within their means. He supports politicians who promise to cut government spending. In 2010, he printed T-shirts for the Tea Party campaign of a neighbor, Chip Cravaack, who ousted this region’s long-serving Democratic congressman. Yet this year, as in each of the past three years, Mr. Gulbranson, 57, is counting on a payment of several thousand dollars from the federal government, a subsidy for working families called the earned-income tax credit. He has signed up his three school-age children to eat free breakfast and lunch at federal expense. And Medicare paid for his mother, 88, to have hip surgery twice. There is little poverty here in Chisago County, northeast of Minneapolis, where cheap housing for commuters is gradually replacing farmland. But Mr. Gulbranson and many other residents who describe themselves as self-sufficient members of the American middle class and as opponents of government largess are drawing more deeply on that government with each passing year…”

States and Jobless Benefits

townsend — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 14:05:20 +0000

99 week maximum for jobless benefits may drop as low as 59 weeks, By Olivera Perkins, January 26, 2012, Cleveland Plain Dealer: “People thrust out of work in Ohio might have to settle for a much shorter period of unemployment benefits. Jobless workers here have been able to count on 99 weeks of benefits, but the maximum could fall to as low as 59 weeks. That possibility raises a divisive question: Is 99 weeks — almost two years — too long to draw jobless benefits…?”
Jobless benefits to expire unless Pa. House acts, By Laura Olson, January 31, 2012, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette: “Thousands of Pennsylvanians will see their federally funded unemployment benefits expire after this week, with legislation to extend those checks lingering in the state House of Representatives. A pending measure, which passed the state Senate last week, would offer 13 additional weeks of benefits to the state’s jobless residents. The federal funding was approved by Congress in December but requires the state to tweak its unemployment compensation rules in order to receive those dollars. That bill is awaiting consideration by a House panel, which has a vote scheduled for Monday. Legislative staffers say the belatedly approved benefits would be retroactive, but pressures to also enact broader changes to the state’s unemployment compensation system could further hold up that assistance…”
Study: Safety net misses many jobless in Nevada, By Ed Vogel, January 30, 2012, Las Vegas Review-Journal: “Las Vegans Dylan Wikoff and Jorge Suescun Hijuelos know firsthand the downward spiral that occurs once you lose your job and then exhaust your unemployment benefits without finding work. ‘I ended up homeless on Fremont Street,’ said Wikoff, a 36-year-old Marine Corps veteran who was laid off more than two years ago from a sales job at a construction supply company. ‘It was a slow downward spiral for me,’ said Hijuelos, 51, a longtime union construction worker who had never been without work for more than a few weeks until the completion of the CityCenter project. ‘I sold my car, sold my bedroom set, sold everything to pay my rent. I went from a beautiful condo to renting rooms by the week. I slept in a couple of fields.’ These polite and bright men are not unusual. They actually are some of the lucky ones in the never-ending recession in Nevada…”
Tension rises over Maine bill tackling unemployment insurance fraud, By Steve Mistler, January 30, 2012, Lewiston Sun Journal: “A controversial bill that would increase the penalties for unemployment fraud and the qualifications to receive out-of-work benefits is meeting stiff resistance from worker advocates. The proposal, LD 1725, was presented by the Department of Labor, which argued that an increase in unemployment claims has been accompanied by an increased possibility of fraud. Additionally, employer advocates are championing a provision in the proposal that would stop exempting vacation pay from the waiting period to receive benefits. Opponents, however, say the bill’s proposal to increase potential criminal penalties for unemployment fraud from a maximum of one year to 10 years in prison is extreme for a state that has one of the nation’s lowest unemployment fraud rates. In addition, they say the bill’s increased work-search mandates will force unemployed workers to take a job well beneath their skill and wage level…”
Senators want to end jobless benefits for fired workers, By Gina Smith, January 26, 2012, The State: “State senators said Wednesday that they want to make sure that workers who were fired cannot get state unemployment benefits in the future. A Senate panel Wednesday advanced a bill that would prevent workers fired for misconduct from receiving any state unemployment benefits. Under current law, these workers can get jobless benefits for from five to 20 weeks, depending on the type and severity of their workplace infraction. The fired workers still would be eligible for up to 58 weeks of federal unemployment benefits under the proposal…”

State SNAP Policies - Florida, Kansas, New York

townsend — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 14:05:21 +0000

Food stamp bills seek to restrict junk food, By Richard Fausset, January 29, 2012, Los Angeles Times: “Ronda Storms is a Republican state senator from Florida. She is also a mom who buys the groceries for her family of four. A few months ago, Storms, 46, started noticing that some fellow shoppers were using federal food stamp money to purchase a lot of unhealthful junk. And it galled her - at a time when Florida was cutting Medicaid reimbursement rates, public school funding and jobs - that people were indulging in sugary, fatty, highly-processed treats on the public dime. ‘If we’re going to be cutting services across the board,’ she said, ‘then people can live without potato chips, without store-bought cookies, without their sodas.’ That sense of unfairness, plus a concern about the health of needy children, is the motivation behind a bill Storms sponsored that would prohibit people from purchasing ‘nonstaple, unhealthy foods’ with funds provided by the federal Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP…”
No more treats with food stamps?, By Kathleen Haughney, January 31, 2012, South Florida Sun-Sentinel: “Should the state be able to prevent people from using food stamps to buy junk food at the grocery store? For Rep. Scott Plakon, R-Longwood, and Sen. Ronda Storms, R-Valrico, the answer is yes. The two lawmakers are sponsoring legislation - HB 1401 and SB 1658 - that would ban the use of food stamps to buy items such as soda and sweets like candy, cake or ice cream. ‘Should the taxpayer foot the bill for Mountain Dew?’ Storms asked the Senate Children, Families and Elder Affairs Committee last week. Said Plakon to the House Health and Human Services Access Subcommittee on Monday: ‘You can’t buy certain items in the grocery store right now with food stamps. We’re just talking about how big that list is.’ But the issue has ignited criticism, generating complaints even from Plakon’s and Storms’ GOP colleagues…”
Brownback officials defend Kansas’ new food stamp policy, By Brad Cooper, January 31, 2012, Kansas City Star: “Gov. Sam Brownback’s administration on Monday fended off suggestions that it is trying to ferret out undocumented immigrants with a new Kansas policy that cuts food stamp benefits for anyone in the country illegally. Appearing before the House Appropriations Committee, a top official at the state social services agency said the new food stamp policy is only intended to level the playing field between U.S. citizens and illegal immigrants. Michelle Schroeder, the agency’s policy director, told the committee that the new food stamp policy is intended to eliminate discriminatory elements of the old policy. ‘We could have kept the previous policy,’ Schroeder told the committee. ‘We just thought it was better policy to equalize the way we treat income for all households.’ Under the new formula, the state uses the entire income of all members of a household in determining eligibility…”
The clash over fingerprinting for food stamps, By Cindy Rodriguez, January 30, 2012, National Public Radio: “Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants New York City to stop requiring fingerprinting of its food stamp recipients, a stance that puts him at odds with the city’s mayor, who favors the practice. Cuomo says fingerprinting stigmatizes needy people and stops them from applying for help. In a recent State of the State speech, Cuomo pledged to stop fingerprinting food stamp recipients this year. But New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg says without fingerprinting, fraud would escalate. Besides Arizona, New York is the only place where the policy still exists…”

High School Dropout Ages and Graduation Rates

townsend — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:29:20 +0000

Obama wades into issue of raising dropout age, By Tamar Lewin, January 25, 2012, New York Times: “President Obama’s State of the Union call for every state to require students to stay in school until they turn 18 is Washington’s first direct involvement in an issue that many governors and state legislators have found tough to address. While state legislative efforts to raise the dropout age to 18 have spread in recent years, many have had trouble winning passage. Last year, for example, such legislation was considered in Alaska, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland and Rhode Island - but only Rhode Island actually changed its law…”
Missouri, Illinois educators debate raising high school dropout age, By Jessica Bock, January 26, 2012, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “The legal age at which students in Missouri and Illinois can drop out of high school has inched up to 17 in recent years. Now, President Barack Obama wants states to do more. In his State of the Union address on Tuesday night, he called on every state to require students to stay in high school until they either graduate or turn 18. But some educators and researchers question the cost and effectiveness of such a measure. And they say that truly addressing the dropout problem requires far more than changing a number…”
In Ohio, dropout law hard to enforce, By Charlie Boss, January 26, 2012, Columbus Dispatch: “During Tuesday’s State of the Union address, President Barack Obama urged states to require students to stay in school until they graduate or turn 18 - a law already in effect in Ohio and 19 other states. Still, at least 23,000 Ohio teens dropped out in the 2010-11 school year. And only a small number of those kids took advantage of an Ohio provision that lets them ‘officially’ leave school if they’re at least 16, have a full-time job and have permission from a parent and the district. Most of those 23,000 were out of school illegally and could face penalties - if they could be tracked down…”
City students at small public high schools are more likely to graduate, study says, By Winnie Hu, January 25, 2012, New York Times: “New York City teenagers attending small public high schools with about 100 students per grade were more likely to graduate than their counterparts at larger schools, according to new findings from a continuing study released on Wednesday night. The findings are part of a study that tracked the academic performance of more than 21,000 students who applied for ninth grade admission at 105 small high schools, mainly in Brooklyn and in the Bronx, from 2005 to 2008. The study appeared to validate the Bloomberg administration’s decade-long push to create small schools to replace larger, failing high schools…”

Drug Testing and Assistance Programs - Virginia, Indiana

townsend — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:20:43 +0000

Welfare drug testing bill whips up debate in state legislature, By Mike Sluss, January 25, 2012, Roanoke Times: “A House of Delegates committee has advanced legislation that would require drug testing of Virginia welfare recipients, despite objections from Democrats who argued that the proposal amounts to a targeted attack on poor people. The legislation - House Bill 73 - would require local social services agencies to screen recipients in the state welfare program to determine whether they use illegal drugs. Those who refuse to comply or fail a drug test would lose Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits for one year unless they enter a drug treatment program. A recipient would have one opportunity to be reinstated to the program by complying with screening, assessment and treatment requirements…”
Welfare drug-testing bill passes on to vote from full House, By Maureen Hayden, January 25, 2012, News and Tribune: “Indiana lawmakers are pushing forward on legislation that would cut off cash assistance to welfare recipients who fail drug tests. In a 15-5 vote that crossed party lines, the House Committee on Ways and Means approved a bill that would require the state’s Family and Social Services Agency to test out a drug-screening program on a small scale before it was launched statewide. It now goes to the full House for a vote. The focus is narrow: The FSSA would implement the drug-screening program in three test counties for a two-year period, then report back to the legislature. The drug-screening would only apply to adults who are receiving cash payments through a program known as Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, or TANF…”

Politics and Poverty

townsend — Thu, 26 Jan 2012 22:12:23 +0000

Welfare issue makes political comeback, By Dawn Turner Trice, January 22, 2012, Chicago Tribune: “Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich recently offered to attend an NAACP convention to explain why African-Americans ’should demand paychecks instead of food stamps.’ And he has described President Barack Obama as ‘the most successful food stamp president in American history.’ While the Republican presidential race has brought the welfare issue to the forefront, critics say it has also resurrected stereotypical images of the black ‘welfare mother’ having out-of-wedlock babies so she can stay home and live large off the taxpayers. When it comes to welfare, perceptions have often trumped reality…”

Politics and Poverty

townsend — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 21:24:38 +0000

Food stamp recipients to critics: Walk in our shoes, By Jesse Washington (AP), January 20, 2012, Charlotte Observer: “Some have advanced degrees and remember middle-class lives. Some work selling lingerie or building websites. They are white, black and Hispanic; young and old; homeowners and homeless. What they have in common: They’re all on food stamps. As the food stamp program has become an issue in the Republican presidential primary, with candidates seeking to tie President Barack Obama to the program’s record numbers, The Associated Press interviewed recipients across the country and found many who wished critics would spend some time in their shoes. Most said they never expected to need food stamps, but the Great Recession, which wiped out millions of jobs, left them no choice. Some struggled with the idea of taking a handout; others saw it as their due, earned through years of working steady jobs. They yearn to get back to receiving a paycheck that will make food stamps unnecessary…”
The Americans no one wants to talk about, By Michael Gerson, January 19, 2012, Washington Post: “It is an achievement of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street movements to have raised large issues of economic freedom and economic inequality. It is a paradox that their arguments have generally been vague, ideological and unhelpful. Elements on the right reject the whole ideal of distributive justice - opposing most taxation as theft and embracing a utopian project involving the abolition of the modern state. Elements on the left seek a substitute for capitalism - a utopian project that has been tried and found frightening. The political debates on free markets or the privileges of the 1 percent seldom touch on the actual struggles of citizens - say, living in the shadow of foreclosure, or attending a failing school, or surviving in a gang-occupied neighborhood. Ideology is abstract. Hardship is lived concretely. I like a good political philosophic debate as much as the next columnist. Give me a soy latte and a libertarian, and I’m set for the night. Ideas do have consequences. But many Americans are being overlooked in this bipartisan conspiracy of economic abstraction. A significant and growing portion of the population lives in poverty…”
GOP presidential candidates wade into politically tricky territory of food stamp spending, By Associated Press, January 9, 2012, Washington Post: “Politicians normally shy away from saying they want to cut food stamps, but this year’s Republican presidential candidates are using domestic food aid as an example of a welfare state gone awry. Supporters of the program say it is one of the most reliable safety nets for families who suddenly find themselves unable to pay for food, and politically the program has proved almost untouchable over many decades. More than 45 million people received the benefit last year at a $75 billion cost to the government, a record number as the economy has flailed. Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich and fellow contender Rick Santorum, both heavily involved in congressional welfare reform efforts in the mid-1990s, say the government should stop promoting a welfare-like state and convert food stamp spending to block grants to states, a move that could freeze spending and cut the benefit to many who now receive it. A spokesperson for Republican Mitt Romney says the former Massachusetts governor also supports turning the nation’s food stamp program into state block grants, though he rarely mentions it…”

Stateline.org Report: State of the States 2012

townsend — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 22:26:20 +0000

After a contentious political year, Republicans may moderate their approach, By John Gramlich, January 9, 2012, Stateline.org: “From the moment he took office last year, Florida Governor Rick Scott made clear that a new and unabashedly conservative administration had taken power in Tallahassee - just as it had in state capitals around the country following an historic election haul for Republicans in 2010. Scott, a Tea Party-backed Republican, stood before a cheering crowd and introduced a state budget that contained more than $4 billion in tax cuts for corporations and property owners, even as it slashed funding for K-12 education…”
Washington and the states: a year of uncertainty and foreboding, By Pamela M. Prah, January 10, 2012, Stateline.org: “A long siege of deadlock and dysfunction in Washington has left states frustratingly unclear what to expect from the federal government in the coming year. About the only thing they know for sure is that it is not going to be a year of generosity. In fact, it’s likely to be quite the opposite. As a result of last summer’s deal to raise the federal debt ceiling, and the consequent failure of the congressional ’super committee’ to decide on budget cuts, states are bracing for automatic across-the-board cuts in education, social welfare and other programs for the upcoming 2013 fiscal year. Those cuts would come atop federal cuts in 2011 and 2012, not to mention the continuing wind-down of federal stimulus aid…”
Medicaid: a year of excruciating decisions, By Christine Vestal, January 11, 2012, Stateline.org: “In health care history, 2012 will be remembered for the U.S. Supreme Court’s upcoming decision on the Obama administration’s health overhaul. But in the states, 2012 will likely be remembered less as an historic turning point than as a gradual continuation of their longstanding struggles to get Medicaid costs under control. That’s not to say the states aren’t watching the Supreme Court closely. The case set to be heard in March and decided in June was brought by 26 states who argued the federal law’s ‘individual mandate,’ as well as a massive expansion of Medicaid in 2014, were unconstitutional. While the outcome could have long-term consequences for states, it likely won’t change their most pressing short-term budget considerations…”
Unions adapt to new rules, even as they fight to reverse them, By Ben Wieder, January 12, 2012, Stateline.org: “It took nearly a year for Dale Kleinert to negotiate his first teachers’ contract. When Kleinert started his job as schools superintendent in Moscow, Idaho, the talks were already underway. Then, discussions reached an impasse. There were disagreements over pay and health care costs, and the pace slowed further when first an outside mediator and later a fact-finder didn’t render a decision. It wasn’t until May of 2011 that Kleinert and his union counterparts finally reached an agreement. Just before then, while Kleinert and the teachers were still stuck, Republican lawmakers in Boise were finishing work on plans to take away much of the leverage that Idaho teachers had long enjoyed in these kinds of negotiations. So for Kleinert’s next round of talks with Moscow’s teachers, which began pretty much right after the previous ones wrapped up, the rules were very different…”
At last, a state budget year when the sky is not falling, By Daniel C. Vock, January 13, 2012, Stateline.org: “During the depths of the Great Recession, states had to do many unsavory things to balance their budgets. But few things left a more bitter taste than Arizona’s decision to sell off the office space of its state Capitol complex. It helped lawmakers close a gap in one year’s budget, even though it meant taxpayers would essentially have to pay rent on the property for the next two decades. Now, Arizona’s budget outlook is showing some improvement: For the first time since 2006, the state finished its last fiscal year with a surplus, which came as a surprise to state financial forecasters…”

Jobless Benefits - South Carolina

townsend — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:22:13 +0000

SC Senate panel approves unemployment bills, By Seanna Adcox (AP), January 11, 2012, Charlotte Observer: “A Senate panel advanced bills Tuesday that would require people laid off in South Carolina to pass a drug test to receive unemployment benefits, then volunteer 16 hours weekly with a charity or public agency to keep receiving a check. Though the panel heard testimony that both proposals would likely conflict with federal law, its chairman, Sen. Kevin Bryant, said afterward that doesn’t matter…”
Jobless may be forced to take drug tests and volunteer, By Tim Flach, January 11, 2012, The State: “A legislative tug-of-war started Tuesday over proposals to require laid-off workers to take a drug test initially and sign up for community service later to receive unemployment payments. Both proposals won approval from a Senate panel despite warnings the steps probably would be challenged by federal labor officials as too harsh on many of South Carolina’s nearly 214,000 jobless. The drug-test requirement breezed to initial acceptance amid complaints it is punitive. Making a test a condition for benefits doesn’t send ‘the right message,’ said Sue Berkowitz, who runs a Midlands legal service for the poor…”

Economic Mobility in the US

townsend — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:14:26 +0000

Middle class dropouts, By Tami Luhby, January 11, 2012, CNNMoney.com: “Nearly one third of Americans who were raised in the middle class dropped down the economic ladder as adults — and that’s before the Great Recession hit. ‘Being raised in the middle class is not a guarantee that you’ll have that same status as an adult,’ said Erin Currier, project manager at Pew’s Economic Mobility Project. ‘With all the economic turmoil in the past four years, there’s good reason to think that downward mobility is more severe.’ Pew looked at children born in the early- to mid-1960s and assessed their economic status roughly 40 years later. Being middle class in the parents’ generation meant a household income of roughly $33,000 to $64,000 in 1979. But their children had to earn between $54,000 and $111,000 to maintain their relative standing in society in the mid-2000s…”

State Program Cuts - Maine

townsend — Mon, 09 Jan 2012 22:38:36 +0000

Cuts to MaineCare, welfare approved in spring 2011 taking effect, By Kathryn Skelton, January 5, 2012, Lewiston Sun Journal: “Changes in the state budget approved last spring and now in effect include cutting MaineCare coverage for hundreds, stopping food stamps for some and, in two weeks, telling 2,500 people receiving Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Your time’s up. Also coming soon: new rules that end TANF benefits for some immigrants and a measure to drug-screen TANF recipients with drug-related felonies dating back to 1996. With three of the five changes affecting legal noncitizens who have been in the U.S. fewer than five years, one advocate said Portland and Lewiston will be hardest hit…”
New study disputes LePage administration on MaineCare’s childless adults, By Jackie Farwell, January 9, 2012, Bangor Daily News: “The childless adults Gov. Paul LePage has proposed dropping from MaineCare are far from young and healthy, despite rhetoric to the contrary, according to a report released Monday by an advocacy group for the poor. More than 40 percent of childless adults covered through MaineCare are older than 45 and many have serious medical conditions, states the report prepared by Maine Equal Justice Partners. Known as ‘noncategoricals’ because they don’t fall under categories of mandatory coverage, the childless adult group consists of beneficiaries ages 21-64 with no dependents in the home who don’t qualify as disabled under federal guidelines…”

Economic Mobility in the US

townsend — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 22:45:10 +0000

Harder for Americans to rise from lower rungs, By Jason DeParle, January 4, 2012, New York Times: “Benjamin Franklin did it. Henry Ford did it. And American life is built on the faith that others can do it, too: rise from humble origins to economic heights. ‘Movin’ on up,’ George Jefferson-style, is not only a sitcom song but a civil religion. But many researchers have reached a conclusion that turns conventional wisdom on its head: Americans enjoy less economic mobility than their peers in Canada and much of Western Europe. The mobility gap has been widely discussed in academic circles, but a sour season of mass unemployment and street protests has moved the discussion toward center stage…”

Medicaid Programs - Wisconsin, Utah

townsend — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 19:02:09 +0000

Private contractors play increasing role in Medicaid, audit finds, By Jason Stein, December 20, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “As the state’s health programs for the poor have ballooned in recent years, the state relied increasingly on private contractors to run its health programs for the poor and completed fewer investigations into potential fraud, a new audit has found. The report released Tuesday by the Legislative Audit Bureau found that as of June there were at least three times as many contract workers working on Medicaid health programs as there were state workers. Over the past four years, payments to private vendors for Medicaid have nearly doubled, the audit found…”
Utah’s budget debate: transportation and Medicaid, By Kirsten Stewart, December 19, 2011, Salt Lake Tribune: “Unveiling his budget for next year, Utah Gov. Gary Herbert last week bemoaned the growing share flowing to Medicaid. The health insurance program for low-income people consumes 17.6 percent of Utah’s budget, hurting the state’s ability to fund other priorities such as public schools, said Herbert, sounding a theme popular among conservatives. But advocates for the poor say the national strategy of pitting Medicaid against public schools doesn’t reflect reality in Utah. They point to another familiar budget boogeyman: transportation…”

Extension of Jobless Benefits

townsend — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 22:21:29 +0000

Congress weighing length of jobless benefits, By Tom Raum (AP), December 14, 2011, Boston Globe: “Is there any downside to extending federal jobless benefits, as Congress is about to do? The benefits are a crucial lifeline to the longtime unemployed. But they also can be a disincentive to looking for work and prolong joblessness, economists say, as lawmakers weigh shortening them. If Congress does nothing, the current law that provides federal benefits to augment state assistance that last for only 26 weeks will expire at the end of this month. As a result, more than a million out-of-work Americans could lose their benefits in January, and a total of five million could lose them by year’s end. The Republican-led House has passed a bill that extends the coverage but gradually reduces the ceiling on federal and state benefits combined from 99 weeks to 59 weeks by mid-2012…”

Unemployment and Jobless Benefits

townsend — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 17:33:43 +0000

Most of America’s unemployed no long receiving benefits, By Christopher S. Rugaber (AP), November 5, 2011, Denver Post: “The jobs crisis has left so many people out of work for so long that most of America’s unemployed are no longer receiving unemployment benefits. Early last year, 75 percent were receiving checks. The figure is now 48 percent - a shift that points to a growing crisis of long-term unemployment. Nearly one-third of America’s 14 million unemployed have had no job for a year or more. Congress is expected to decide by year’s end whether to continue providing emergency unemployment benefits for up to 99 weeks in the hardest-hit states. If the emergency benefits expire, the proportion of the unemployed receiving aid would fall further. The ranks of the poor would also rise. The Census Bureau says unemployment benefits kept 3.2 million people from slipping into poverty last year. It defines poverty as annual income below $22,314 for a family of four. Yet for a growing share of the unemployed, a vote in Congress to extend the benefits to 99 weeks is irrelevant. They’ve had no job for more than 99 weeks. They’re no longer eligible for benefits…”
Thousands of Oregon jobless will lose unemployment insurance if Congress doesn’t renew federal benefits, By Richard Read, November 3, 2011, The Oregonian: “Thousands of Oregonians will lose their unemployment benefits early next year if Congress doesn’t extend emergency coverage, state projections show. Now, about 2,000 Oregonians a month exhaust their jobless benefits, having failed to find work after as long as 99 weeks. But that number would jump to 13,400 in January and 12,500 in February, according to the projections by the Oregon Employment Department. Democrats in the U.S. House introduced a bill Thursday to extend the federally funded benefits another year, and Congress has never failed to pass an extension when unemployment rates were this high. But the measure — with a $45 billion price tag, plus a potential $7 billion to help states extend benefits — is not certain to pass given heavy public pressure to cut federal spending…”
Oregon unemployed allowed to keep jobless benefits paid by mistake, By Richard Read, November 8, 2011, The Oregonian: “More than 600 Oregonians who received unemployment payments in error can keep the money — which totals $615,000 so far — under a state law passed this year. In each case, the Oregon Employment Department determined that recovering the overpayments from people enduring financial hardships would violate equity and good conscience. The total amount forgiven will increase under the system as more people request and receive repayment waivers. The money comes from a state jobless-benefits trust fund financed by employers, not taxpayers…”
New jobless claims decline to lowest level since April, Reuters, November 10, 2011, New York Times: “New claims for jobless benefits in the United States fell last week to their lowest level since early April and the country’s trade deficit unexpectedly shrank in September, pointing to a slight improvement in the sluggish economy. The Labor Department said on Thursday that initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell for the second consecutive week, dropping 10,000 to a seasonally adjusted 390,000. That is still well above levels from before the 2007-9 recession, but economists say a level below 400,000 could prompt some acceleration in hiring…”

Foster Care - Washington, South Dakota

townsend — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:33:51 +0000

Overhaul to foster-care system wins approval, By Jennifer Sullivan, October 31, 2011, Seattle Times: “A years-long effort to overhaul the state’s foster-care system, making home placements more stable for children and keeping caseloads manageable for social workers, will be completed in just over two years. Under an agreement signed Monday, the state will have a far different child-welfare system in place by the end of 2013 than it did when a class-action lawsuit on behalf of foster children was filed in 1998. The case, known by state Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) officials as Braam, is named after plaintiff Jessica Braam, who had been bounced through 34 foster-care placements by the time she was 12 years old. Her story became emblematic of problems that plagued the foster-care system overseen by the DSHS…”
Governor’s office calls NPR foster care report flawed; congressmen seek review, By Kevin Woster, November 1, 2011, Rapid City Journal: “Staffers for Gov. Dennis Daugaard on Monday attacked a National Public Radio report critical of state child-protection programs that remove Native American children from their homes for foster-care placement, saying NPR was biased and inaccurate in its reporting. But two members of the U.S. House of Representatives thought the NPR report was valid enough to call for an investigation into whether those South Dakota child protection policies and practices with Native American families violate federal law. U. S. Reps. Ed Markey, D-Mass., and Dan Boren, D-Okla., sent a letter to Larry Echo Hawk, assistant secretary of the Interior Department for Indian Affairs, calling for the investigation. They allege, as the NPR report implies, that South Dakota violates the Indian Child Welfare Act, a law that directs officials to place Native American children removed from homes with their relatives or tribes, except in unusual situations…”

Income Inequality in the US

townsend — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 21:39:19 +0000

Utah has nation’s lowest ‘income inequality’, By Lee Davidson, October 26, 2011, Salt Lake Tribune: “More than any other Americans, Utahns live among neighbors whose incomes are similar to their own. The rich live with the rich, and the poor with the poor. But the overall range of Utahns’ household incomes is relatively narrow, too, with comparatively few who are exceptionally high- or low-income. That’s according to a report released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau looking at ‘neighborhood income inequality’ between 2005 and 2009…”
Income inequality lower than average in NW, says Census report, By Jessica Robinson, October 26, 2011, Oregon Public Broadcasting: “New numbers show the gap between the rich and poor has grown across the nation. But income inequality in the Northwest is lower than the national level. That’s according to an analysis released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau. Correspondent Jessica Robinson has more. The report is based on survey data collected between 2005 and 2009 — three years of economic growth, plus two years of recession. It uses three different measurements. And in all of them, Oregon, Idaho and Washington have lower-than-average levels of income inequality. That is, the spread between high wage earners and low wage earners…”
Top earners doubled share of nation’s income, study finds, By Robert Pear, October 25, 2011, New York Times: “The top 1 percent of earners more than doubled their share of the nation’s income over the last three decades, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, in a new report likely to figure prominently in the escalating political fight over how to revive the economy, create jobs and lower the federal debt. In addition, the report said, government policy has become less redistributive since the late 1970s, doing less to reduce the concentration of income…”
The rich are getting richer, U.S. study says, By Jim Puzzanghera, October 27, 2011, Los Angeles Times: “The rich got richer over the last three decades - and the very rich got very much richer - according to a new government study. The top 1% of households saw their after-tax incomes grow by 275% from 1979 to 2007, said the study by the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office. That was more than quadruple the growth of the rest of the top 20% of the population during that period. Meanwhile, income for the 60% of households that make up the middle of the income scale increased by slightly less than 40%, the study found. The poor - the 20% of the population with the lowest incomes - saw just an 18% increase…”

US Household Income

townsend — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 21:38:02 +0000

Recession officially over, U.S. incomes kept falling, By Robert Pear, October 9, 2011, New York Times: “In a grim sign of the enduring nature of the economic slump, household income declined more in the two years after the recession ended than it did during the recession itself, new research has found. Between June 2009, when the recession officially ended, and June 2011, inflation-adjusted median household income fell 6.7 percent, to $49,909, according to a study by two former Census Bureau officials. During the recession - from December 2007 to June 2009 - household income fell 3.2 percent. The finding helps explain why Americans’ attitudes toward the economy, the country’s direction and its political leaders have continued to sour even as the economy has been growing. Unhappiness and anger have come to dominate the political scene, including the early stages of the 2012 presidential campaign…”

States and Voter ID Laws

townsend — Mon, 03 Oct 2011 22:22:05 +0000

New state rules raising hurdles at voting booth, By Michael Cooper, October 2, 2011, New York Times: “Since Republicans won control of many statehouses last November, more than a dozen states have passed laws requiring voters to show photo identification at polls, cutting back early voting periods or imposing new restrictions on voter registration drives. With a presidential campaign swinging into high gear, the question being asked is how much of an impact all of these new laws will have on the 2012 race. State officials, political parties and voting experts have all said that the impact could be sizable. Now, a new study to be released Monday by the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law has tried to tally just how many voters stand to be affected…”

Voter Identification Laws

townsend — Fri, 09 Sep 2011 21:29:07 +0000

Tennessee’s voter-ID law draws congressional scrutiny, By Elizabeth Bewley, September 9, 2011, The Tennessean: “Laws that require voters to show photo identification at the polls reduce election fraud, supporters of Tennessee’s new voter ID law told Senate lawmakers Thursday. Opponents of such laws countered that they target low-income, minority and student voters, who are more likely to vote for Democrats and might lack government-issued IDs such as driver’s licenses and passports. Democrats and voting-rights advocates told members of the Senate subcommittee on civil rights that rural and elderly voters also could be disproportionately affected because they might have trouble traveling to get an ID. In Tennessee, voters older than 60 aren’t required to have a photo on their driver’s licenses…”

Medicaid and Access to Care

townsend — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 21:42:40 +0000

Democrats challenging administration on Medicaid, By Robert Pear, August 8, 2011, New York Times: “In an unusual break with the White House, the Democratic leaders of Congress told the Supreme Court on Monday that President Obama was pursuing a misguided interpretation of federal Medicaid law that made it more difficult for low-income people to obtain health care. The Democratic leaders said Medicaid beneficiaries must be allowed to file suit to enforce their right to care - and to challenge Medicaid cuts being made by states around the country. The Obama administration maintains that beneficiaries and health care providers cannot sue state officials to challenge cuts in Medicaid payment rates, even if such cuts compromise access to care for the poor…”

States and the Debt Deal

townsend — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 21:57:13 +0000

With debt deal, states brace for cuts in federal aid, By Michael A. Fletcher, August 2, 2011, Washington Post: “The domestic spending cuts contemplated in the debt-ceiling deal are sure to compound the dire fiscal situation confronting the states, which already are reducing jobs and slashing once-untouchable programs to balance their budgets. The measure that President Obama signed into law on Tuesday does not lay out specific reductions, but with federal dollars accounting for a third of state revenue, analysts said steep cuts will be unavoidable…”
Fewer cops, more potholes: How debt deal could hit states hardest, By Patrick Wall, August 2, 2011, Christian Science Monitor: “The debt-and-deficit bill signed into law on Tuesday forestalled a dangerous federal government default. But it will also slash aid to states already reeling from the recession, almost certainly forcing them to curtail services and raise revenues to pay for programs once bankrolled by Congress. The bill, which the Senate approved and President Obama signed into law Tuesday, will eventually raise the government’s debt limit by more than $2 trillion in exchange for equivalent savings. Congress will achieve nearly $1 trillion of those savings by cutting domestic discretionary spending - including funds for education, health care, job training - to its lowest level in over half a century, as a share of the GDP…”
For states, debt deal is short on details, By John Gramlich and Melissa Maynard, August 2, 2011, Stateline.org: “As state officials begin to decipher Washington’s spending reduction deal, it’s clear that federal aid to states for certain programs will take a hit over the next decade. But it will be a while before they know exactly which programs and how big a hit. That’s because the deal, which the U.S. House passed Monday night (August 1), leaves a lot of choices hanging into the future. It calls for $917 billion in deficit reduction over 10 years by setting caps on discretionary spending. But exactly how to meet those caps - and what funds to states might be cut - is a question for Washington to answer another day. Also undetermined is how much a joint congressional committee charged with finding another $1.5 trillion in deficit savings would cut from aid to states. So for states, which have been waiting anxiously to see whether the federal government would soon begin defaulting on its payments, there is relief - but also more waiting ahead…”

Jobless Benefits - Wisconsin

townsend — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 21:01:04 +0000

Senate leaves in place one-week wait for jobless benefits, By Patrick Marley, August 1, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Republicans in the state Senate agreed to a deal Monday that would require those who are laid off to wait a week before collecting unemployment compensation, while giving the long-term jobless an additional 13 weeks of benefits. Republicans praised the bill as one that would help those struggling to find a job, while Democrats said it would hurt laid-off workers at a dire time. The vote held high stakes because it came just a week before six Republican senators face recall elections…”

Child Abuse Prevention - Florida

townsend — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:07:21 +0000

Florida spurns $50 million for child-abuse prevention, By Carol Marbin Miller, July 20, 2011, Miami Herald: “Florida lawmakers have rejected more than $50 million in federal child-abuse prevention money. The grants were tied to the Obama administration’s healthcare reform package, which many lawmakers oppose on philosophical grounds. The money, offered through the federal Affordable Health Care Act passed last year, would have paid, among other things, for a visiting nurse program run by Healthy Families Florida, one of the most successful child-abuse prevention efforts in the nation. Healthy Families’ budget was cut in last year’s spending plan by close to $10 million. And because the federal Race to the Top educational-reform effort is tied to the child-abuse prevention program that Healthy Families administers, the state may also lose a four-year block grant worth an additional $100 million in federal dollars, records show…”

Jobless Benefits - Wisconsin

townsend — Fri, 22 Jul 2011 21:05:02 +0000

Dispute on jobless benefits puts unemployed in a bind, By Jason Stein and Patrick Marley, July 21, 2011, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Kathleen Bonchek raised a family and then worked for decades before her job at an insurance company fell victim to the financial crisis. For the first time in her life, the 61-year-old South Milwaukee resident took state jobless benefits and now stands just three weeks away from exhausting them. The federal government is offering an estimated $88 million in extended benefits for unemployed Wisconsin workers like Bonchek, but a dispute between GOP lawmakers has blocked their approval in the Legislature. ‘I’ve worked for 35 years. Is it OK for me to lose my home and everything I’ve worked for?’ Bonchek asked Thursday. ‘We need to act on this, and I don’t know what more we can tell these people.’ On Thursday, the Senate adjourned until at least next week without resolving the dispute over jobless benefits or giving a clear timeline for doing so…”

State Budget and Social Services - Minnesota

townsend — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 21:50:22 +0000

Health care providers, advocates feel budget sting, By Madeleine Baran, July 21, 2011, Minnesota Public Radio: “Advocates, nonprofits and health care providers continue to scrutinize a state Health and Human Services budget that could restructure social services and public healthcare in Minnesota for years to come. Gov. Mark Dayton signed the department’s $11.4 billion budget into law Wednesday along with other bills that ended the state government shutdown. The budget bill that emerged Wednesday preserved health insurance coverage for the state’s poorest residents. It made slight cuts in welfare spending and services for people with disabilities. And it cut payments for health care providers and created incentives for hospitals to reduce emergency room visits and readmissions…”
Budget deal means big changes for schools, health, By Baird Helgeson, Mike Kaszuba and Eric Roper, July 21, 2011, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “Minnesotans awoke Wednesday to a new state budget that clamps down on spending, makes big changes in education and health care, and borrows heavily to make ends meet. The $35.7 billion budget ends a nearly three-week state government shutdown and sends 22,000 laid-off workers back to their jobs, where today they will begin reopening state offices and digging through the backlog of work. They will return to an operation transformed by changes forced largely by sagging revenues, as the state finds itself still trying to emerge from the worst economy in decades…”

Federal Spending on Medicaid

townsend — Tue, 05 Jul 2011 21:14:01 +0000

Administration offers health care cuts as part of budget negotiations, By Robert Pear, July 4, 2011, New York Times: “Obama administration officials are offering to cut tens of billions of dollars from Medicare and Medicaid in negotiations to reduce the federal budget deficit, but the depth of the cuts depends on whether Republicans are willing to accept any increases in tax revenues. Administration officials and Republican negotiators say the money can be taken from health care providers like hospitals and nursing homes without directly imposing new costs on needy beneficiaries or radically restructuring either program…”

State Government Shutdown - Minnesota

townsend — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 20:29:04 +0000

Ruling preserves funding for health care, welfare, By Madeleine Baran and Rupa Shenoy, June 30, 2011, Minnesota Public Radio: “Advocates for the poor expressed relief at a judge’s ruling Wednesday that would preserve funding for health care and welfare programs during a government shutdown. The decision by Ramsey County Judge Kathleen Gearin ended weeks of uncertainty for those who rely on state services for basic needs. The judge determined which essential state functions would continue during a shutdown. Without an agreement from legislators on the budget, all other state functions will cease at the end of Thursday. Advocates said Gearin’s ruling averted what could have been a disastrous situation. Some had worried that sick Minnesotans would go without medicine, hospitals would turn patients away, and welfare recipients would lose their monthly benefits. All of these scenarios have been ruled out by the judge’s ruling. Medical Assistance and Minnesota Care will continue. Group housing, food assistance, and other welfare programs will be funded. Child support payments will be processed, and seniors will continue receiving home-delivered meals…”
Minnesota’s shutdown would jack up jobless rate, By Dee DePass, July 1, 2011, Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune: “The roughly 25,000 state workers who stand to be laid off as a result of the government shutdown could jolt Minnesota’s unemployment rate from 6.6 percent to 7.6 percent — a figure not seen since October 2009. To put the job losses in perspective, consider that the new pink slips would erase most of the 29,300 jobs gained in all of 2010. The layoff of about 25,000 at the state level would ‘add slightly under’ 1 percentage point to the unemployment rate, said Steve Hine, the lead labor market economist who crunches Minnesota’s monthly employment numbers for the state. But additional layoffs will likely follow, as state-funded agencies, nonprofits and private contractors fail to get paid by the state, Hine noted. The reduction of paychecks flowing into the economy also will hurt retailers who depend on consumer discretionary spending…”

States and Voter ID Laws

townsend — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:33:52 +0000

Perdue vetoes photo ID voter bill, By Jim Morrill, June 24, 2011, Charlotte Observer: “In a move that could influence next year’s presidential election in North Carolina, Democratic Gov. Bev. Perdue vetoed a bill Thursday that would have required voters to show a photo ID. Republicans hailed the bill as a common-sense way to ensure against fraud. Critics said it would suppress voter turnout, particularly among students, African-Americans and elderly people, calling it a modern-day poll tax. ‘We must always be vigilant in protecting the integrity of our elections,’ Perdue said in a statement. ‘But requiring every voter to present a government-issued photo ID is not the way to do it.’ Perdue said the bill would ‘unfairly disenfranchise’ voters. Republicans roundly criticized the move. It’s unclear whether they can override the veto…”
Nixon vetoes voter-ID and early-voting legislation, By Jason Noble, June 17, 2011, Kansas City Star: “Missouri Gov. Jay Nixon on Friday vetoed legislation that would have required voters to show photo identification at the polls and allowed some ballots to be cast before Election Day. In his formal veto message, Nixon said the bill would disenfranchise voters who don’t have access to a photo ID or the documents necessary to obtain one, such as a birth certificate. Specifically, he said access to the ballot box could be limited for seniors and the disabled…”

States and Medicaid Changes - Indiana, Arizona

townsend — Wed, 29 Jun 2011 21:25:26 +0000

Indiana law to cut Planned Parenthood funding is blocked, By Robert Pear, June 24, 2011, New York Times: “A federal judge ruled Friday that the State of Indiana could not cut off money for Planned Parenthood clinics providing health care to low-income women on Medicaid. The judge, Tanya Walton Pratt of the Federal District Court in Indianapolis, blocked provisions of a new state law that penalized Planned Parenthood because some of its clinics performed abortions. The law, she said, conflicts with the federal Medicaid statute, which generally allows Medicaid beneficiaries to choose their health care providers. Planned Parenthood provides services other than abortion, including family planning and screenings for cancer and sexually transmitted diseases. In issuing a preliminary injunction late Friday, Judge Pratt said the state law ‘will exact a devastating financial toll on Planned Parenthood of Indiana and hinder its ability to continue serving patients’ general health needs…’”
Arizona Medicaid: New attempt made to block cuts, By Mary K. Reinhart, June 28, 2011, Arizona Republic: “Attorneys for low-income Arizonans filed a motion in Maricopa County Superior Court on Monday to stop sweeping cuts to the state’s Medicaid program from taking effect Friday. It may be the last chance for more than 135,000 people expected to lose coverage in the coming year under the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System, which Gov. Jan Brewer and state lawmakers cut by more than $500 million to balance the budget. Attorneys for three public-interest groups argue that Brewer and lawmakers are violating the state Constitution and the will of voters, who in 2000 agreed to expand AHCCCS and extend health care to everyone earning less than the federal poverty level. The Arizona Supreme Court last Friday declined to accept a similar case, without explanation…”

Job-Training Programs

townsend — Tue, 28 Jun 2011 21:32:22 +0000

Job-training programs come under scrutiny in Congress, By Rob Hotakainen, June 27, 2011, Miami Herald: “After working for seven years as a receptionist, Teresa Sawyer knew how to use a typewriter and a photocopier when she got laid off in 2008, but she knew nothing about computers. Sawyer, 60, of Gig Harbor, Wash., sent out hundreds of resumes but didn’t get a single response, leading her to conclude that she was unemployable. But with a little help from a federal job-training program, Sawyer went back to school to learn how to be a medical office professional. After receiving a two-year associate in applied science degree from Tacoma Community College this month, she has no fears of landing a job. ‘None at all, not with the skill that I have. … I never dreamed I would do this,’ she said. Despite their popularity with many members of Congress and their constituents, however, job-training programs have come under increased scrutiny this year on Capitol Hill, and the attention is about to intensify…”

State Minimum Wage - New Hampshire

townsend — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 17:06:30 +0000

N.H. fights over minimum wage, By Michael McCord, June 20, 2011, SeacoastOnline: “Gov. John Lynch’s recent veto of a House bill to repeal the state’s minimum wage law created a unique ideological role reversal. Republican House Speaker William O’Brien defended the bill by saying the state should follow federal minimum wage guidelines and the four-term Democratic governor took a state’s rights stand, saying the state should keep its options open…”

States and Health Care Reform

townsend — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:55:46 +0000

States slow to adopt health-care transition, By Amy Goldstein and N.C. Aizenman, June 5, 2011, Washington Post: “As many legislatures around the country have finished their work for the year, fewer than one-fourth of states have taken concrete steps to create health insurance marketplaces, a central feature of the federal law to overhaul the U.S. health-care system. A total of 43 states, meanwhile, have made fresh cuts to Medicaid, even as lingering unemployment and diminishing access to private coverage continue to drive up the number of Americans turning to the public insurance program for the poor. Taken together, these trends highlight the ground-level challenges that health care poses to states. A year after Congress passed the biggest revisions to the health-care system since the 1960s, states are grappling with their own versions of the fiscal and ideological battles that still are roiling Washington…”