onPoverty.org

Tax season brings special problems for the low-income

Elise Hansen — Sun, 19 Feb 2012 18:58:38 +0000

Low-income families face additional hurdles with the advent of tax season. Forms can become more complicated and free tax help is scarce, leaving many waiting in long lines in the snow in hopes of volunteer assistance. Moreover, the complexities of the federal tax system keep many unaware of their options: Many will miss out on hundreds or thousands of much-needed dollars because they are unaware of tax credits for which they are eligible.

In Alabama, a county that fell off the financial cliff

Elise Hansen — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 18:53:34 +0000

Jefferson County, home of Birmingham, declared bankruptcy last fall. Since then, government and civil services have completely broken down: Dead cows lie in the roads, prison inmates sleep on the floor, roads remain unpaved, municipal elections are cancelled. The causes and implications of the Jefferson County debacle are unprecedented, but serve as a chilling warning to other states and counties steeped in debt. Photo credit: David Bundy

Columbus, Ohio, lacks housing for poorest citizens

Elise Hansen — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:40:14 +0000

Columbus, Ohio has only 27 affordable and available units for every 100 severely low-income households, new study found. The city needs federal subsidies to help develop safer, more affordable housing. Lack of affordable housing is one of the chief causes of homelessness. Photo credit: National Low Income Housing Coalition

Single parents struggling in Detroit

Elise Hansen — Fri, 17 Feb 2012 14:38:07 +0000

Detroit has one of the country’s highest rates of child poverty: An estimated 39 percent of children live in poverty and over 70 percent live in low-income families. Although single parents frequently work long hours, they are still at risk of living below the poverty line. Nonprofit organizations and parenting classes could help alleviate some of these families’ difficulties.

North Carolina seniors struggle with expenses

Elise Hansen — Thu, 16 Feb 2012 14:46:13 +0000

Seniors across North Carolina are living in economic insecurity—particularly those whose housing and medical expenses take up a large portion of their costs, a new study finds. Many would not survive with federal aid programs such as food stamps, subsidized housing, and Medicare.

Massachusetts child care providers seek pay raise

Elise Hansen — Tue, 14 Feb 2012 14:35:48 +0000

Pre-school teachers and child care providers are pressing for pay increases for early education teachers who serve low-income families. State reimbursement rates for subsidized child care programs have not been raised in five years, despite rising costs, and at the current pay level, programs cannot retain talented staff. Without higher salaries and without low-income child care vouchers, teacher and pupil alike suffer.

New Florida laws strip poor of protections

admin — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 18:24:37 +0000

Laws passed last year by the Florida Legislature have torn holes in the poor’s safety net. Among the changes: requiring jobless benefits recipients to file online reports documenting their job searches and shortening the eligibility period in which people can receive benefits. In the first three months after the measures were enacted 65 percent of unemployment benefits claims were denied. More potentially damaging laws are being considered, including a plan to privatize portions of Medicaid.

Racism still plagues education

Elise Hansen — Mon, 13 Feb 2012 14:15:46 +0000

OPINION: One of the obstacles that black schoolchildren must overcome is the belief, even among sympathetic educators, that the disadvantages they face are insurmountable and they cannot excel academically. In reality, good teaching, not race, determines the difference between failure and success.

Saving the middle class

Elise Hansen — Sun, 12 Feb 2012 14:13:22 +0000

OPINION: U.S. productivity has nearly doubled in a generation, yet the workers who once earned decent wages for their contribution to the nation’s output are now working equally hard for lower incomes. The problem is that the fruits of increased productivity have gone to the wrong people. Labor unions should be one agent of the solution: They should work to increase their leverage and raise the wages of low- to middle-class earners.

Social pathologies contribute to growing underclass

Elise Hansen — Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:09:14 +0000

OPINION: Behavior does indeed contribute to poverty. Drug abuse, single parenthood, and high incarceration rates all contribute to a cycle of poverty that leaves families devastated and communities debilitated. Solutions, however, remain complex and elusive. The United States needs a forthright discussion of the social causes of poverty and various measures that are—and are not—solutions.