Poverty to Prosperity......

Published

Thirty-seven million Americans live below the official poverty line. Millions more struggle each month to pay for basic necessities, or run out of savings when they lose their jobs or face health emergencies. Poverty imposes enormous costs on society. The lost potential of children raised in poor households, the lower productivity and earnings of poor adults, the poor health, increased crime, and broken neighborhoods all hurt our nation. Persistent childhood poverty is estimated to cost our nation $500 billion each year, or about four percent of the nation's gross domestic product. In a world of increasing global competition, we cannot afford to squander these human resources.

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1. Raise and index the minimum wage to half the average hourly wage. At $5.15, the federal minimum wage is at its lowest level in real terms since 1956. The federal minimum wage was once 50 percent of the average wage but is now 30 percent of that wage. Congress should restore the minimum wage to 50 percent of the average wage, about $8.40 an hour in 2006. Doing so would help nearly 5 million poor workers and nearly 10 million other low-income workers.

2. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit. As an earnings supplement for low-income working families, the EITC raises incomes and helps families build assets. The Child Tax Credit provides a tax credit of up to $1,000 per child, but provides no help to the poorest families. We recommend tripling the EITC for childless workers and expanding help to larger working families. We recommend making the Child Tax Credit available to all low- and moderate-income families. Doing so would move as many as 5 million people out of poverty.

3. Promote unionization by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act. The Employee Free Choice Act would require employers to recognize a union after a majority of workers signs cards authorizing union representation and establish stronger penalties for violation of employee rights. The increased union representation made possible by the Act would lead to better jobs and less poverty for American workers.

4. Guarantee child care assistance to low-income families and promote early education for all. We propose that the federal and state governments guarantee child care help to families with incomes below about $40,000 a year, with expanded tax help to higher-earning families. At the same time, states should be encouraged to improve the quality of early education and broaden access for all children. Our child care expansion would raise employment among low-income parents and help nearly 3 million parents and children escape poverty.

5. Create 2 million new "opportunity" housing vouchers, and promote equitable development in and around central cities.

6. Connect disadvantaged and disconnected youth with school and work.

7. Simplify and expand Pell Grants and make higher education accessible to residents of each state.

8. Help former prisoners find stable employment and reintegrate into their communities.

9. Ensure equity for low-wage workers in the Unemployment Insurance system.

10. Modernize means-tested benefits programs to develop a coordinated system that helps workers and families. A well-functioning safety net should help people get into or return to work and ensure a decent level of living for those who cannot work or are temporarily between jobs. Our current system fails to do so. We recommend that governments at all levels simplify and improve benefits access for working families and improve services to individuals with disabilities. The Food Stamp Program should be strengthened to improve benefits, eligibility, and access. And the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Program should be reformed to shift its focus from cutting caseloads to helping needy families find sustainable employment.

11. Reduce the high costs of being poor and increase access to financial services.

12. Expand and simplify the Saver's Credit to encourage saving for education, homeownership, and retirement.

http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/04/poverty_report.html

if we the people decide to use our tax money to provide necessities of survival to our fellow americans what is so bad about that?

nothing . . .except if there wasn't so much waste already . . . we have to start there. we can't keep increasing money without cutting the waste.

nothing . . . except the direction of so many of the programs for the poor simply perpetuate people being poor.

one of my heroes is star parker. i'm a member of this organization because i was so impressed with her.

http://www.urbancure.org/dev/pagedetails.asp?subcatid=162

cure’s influence is proven. the nonprofit organization was instrumental in developing and passing the 1996 federal welfare reform bill, and parker used her testimony of faith and entrepreneurism to make time limits and work requirements part of national law.

cure’s primary focus is to interject concepts of self-government and free enterprise into headline debates about poverty. to achieve this mission, it targets its efforts in three specific areas – the media, public policy and poor neighborhoods.

in the media, cure aims to interject opinions on and debate issues that impact race and poverty concerns.

in public policy, cure consults with politicians on how to develop social policies that encourage individual merit and personal responsibility, uses policy think tanks to educate allied organizations and their members and conducts a college lecture series that challenges students of government, social work and political science to study free market and conservative alternatives to entitlement programs and liberal philosophies.

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"fighting poverty and restoring dignity through faith, freedom, and responsibility."

I cannot find out how "CURE" helps people like the single welfare mother.

Please educate me.

How would they help the woman I met who worked as a costodian in a public park.

She supported her kids with that job. Her husband was sick and disabled after returning from Desert Storm.

Her job was eliminated. She tried to get another but resorted to welfare, food stamps, and MediCal.

With the Clinton welfare reform of 1996 she was forced to work for her welfare check.

They put her to work cleaning the bathrooms in a public park.

I'm not kidding.

How is THAT an improvement?

Sorry but businesses are in it for profit. Why not let WE THE PEOPLE share that profit instead of corporations that do NOT care about our country or our people?

I have had a drivers license since 1960. My DH and millions of others Social Security checks arrive on time every month."

I already know you want to get rid of the Social Security insurance many of us have been paying for all these years.

I guess it comes down to what you think of as the common welfare.

So do I want others to help? YES. Even those who have no ability to see that when everyone does better everyone does better.

If WE THE PEOPLE decide to use OUR tax money to provide necessities of survival to OUR fellow Americans what is so bad about that?[/quote]

Space, very very well written. I would add that SS operates at less than 1% expense costs and that Medicare admin costs are less than 5%. My experience with government employees is that they are usually hardworking and usually ask how can we make things better for the people we serve. As a public servant I abhor waste just as much as any other taxpayer. Saying we should do nothing because of "waste" is equivalent with throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

nothing . . .except if there wasn't so much waste already . . . we have to start there. we can't keep increasing money without cutting the waste.

nothing . . . except the direction of so many of the programs for the poor simply perpetuate people being poor.

one of my heroes is star parker. i'm a member of this organization because i was so impressed with her.

http://www.urbancure.org/dev/pagedetails.asp?subcatid=162

cure’s influence is proven. the nonprofit organization was instrumental in developing and passing the 1996 federal welfare reform bill, and parker used her testimony of faith and entrepreneurism to make time limits and work requirements part of national law.

from her website:

after receiving christ, star returned to college, received a bs degree in marketing and launched an urban christian magazine.

i wonder how she paid for her degree? i imagine there were at least a few dollars of taxpayer money used to provide her with the chance to develop real job skills. under the 1996 welfare reform bill she would not have been able to attend college but would have been forced to take a job at walmart.

i am not begrudging her earning her degree in the least. her story illustrates my central point. that if we want to work towards poverty reduction as a society we will need to invest resources into teahing people the job skills that are needed to move out of poverty. there is no problem with expecting people to work while on assistance. that work should be coupled with developing real job skills that lead to living wage jobs.

which path leads to real value for society?

a. 35-40 hours per week at walmart. (which is almost impossible because most walmarts won't allow anything over 32 hours /week.) (earning maybe 22,000/year.) lifetime eligibility for eitc, reduced price lunches, housing vouchers etc

b. 20 hours per week working at a job (ideally related to the technical field being trained for). 20 hours per week in school for 2 years picking up technical skills. (rn, lpn, mechanic machinist etc.) earns a living wage after 2 years (40-45,000/year). never uses any form of direct or indirect public assistance ever again.

imho teaching people real job skills leads to increased self esteem leads to increased productivity leads to increased income and leads to decreased dependence.

the other part of this is that his/her children see mom/dad working at a job earning a good living and they get the message that staying in school pays off, if you work hard in school you will get a good job and be valued by society. progressives are trying to help people through the barriers to achievement (health, education or whatever) but are not trying to guarantee equality of outcome just equality of opportunity.

what is the best predictor of being a middle class adult? having middle class parents.

Specializes in Cardiac.

I'm not Republican OR Democrat. I have registered independent because I got sick of folks assuming I am one way or the other when they find out my party registration.

I feel the same way as well. Once you state an opinion about something, people just assume what you feel about everything. The only party I could be a part of is the independent party!

The reality is, SOMEBODY is going to be on the bottom rung of the economic ladder, no matter what we do or don't do. Not everyone can earn $20 an hour or more; if tomorrow that became the norm, prices would rise dramatically due to the increased cost of doing business, and then........the $20/hr wage earner will be back on the bottom again.

Unless, of course, we adopt a socialist form of government, and America is not about to do that.

Now, I've been poor, and I've been not-so-poor, and you can call me selfish if you want---I don't believe I should be forced to give up what I've worked hard for, in order to make life cushy for those who refuse to help themselves or take responsibility for their actions. I will go to the mat for someone willing to pull him/herself up by the bootstraps and work hard, however, and I agree that people should be encouraged and supported in making as much of their lives as possible.

To that end, I think all concerned would benefit greatly if the government programs serving them were geared to helping them escape poverty, rather than perpetuating it as the current system does. But once again, there will ALWAYS be people working at Wal-Mart or Mc Donald's for 7 bucks an hour or so, because a) that is what the market will bear, and b) we are not all created equal, intellectually or educationally. And again, I suppose I'm just being selfish and mean when I say that I don't think someone who dropped out of high school and works as a day laborer should have the same lifestyle and earnings that I do. By the same token, I don't have, or deserve, the lifestyle and earnings of a Donald Trump or a Bill Gates.......the only difference is, I don't expect the government to help me reach those lofty heights, and I'm not angry at the world for not handing everything to me on a silver platter.

Wonderfully said!

Affordable public transist is an antipoverty measure.

A brief word about the Hiawatha light rail line. These are the real construction costs from their website:

Construction funding (in millions $):

  • Federal 334.3
  • State of Minnesota 100.0
  • Metropolitan Airports Commission 87.0
  • Hennepin County 84.2
  • Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality grant 49.8
  • Transit capital grant 39.9
  • Minnesota Dept of Transportation 20.1
  • Total 715.3

285 million less than previously asserted.

Length: 12 miles, connecting three of the Twin Cities’ most popular destinations – downtown Minneapolis, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and Mall of America in Bloomington.

Fares: Light-rail fares are the same as bus fares. Transfers valid between bus and rail if used within 150 minutes.

Ridership: 19,300 per weekday in 2005 and 24,600 per weekday by year 2020

http://www.metrotransit.org/improvingTransit/hiawathaLightRail.asp

The point of this is that by having coordinated affordable public transportation this helps low income people have access to jobs etc. There are also real health benefits by reducing transportation related hydrocarbon emissions which will reduce the incidence and severity of respiratory illnesses.

Specializes in Critical Care.
Affordable public transist is an antipoverty measure.

A brief word about the Hiawatha light rail line. These are the real construction costs from their website:

Construction funding (in millions $):

  • Federal 334.3
  • State of Minnesota 100.0
  • Metropolitan Airports Commission 87.0
  • Hennepin County 84.2
  • Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality grant 49.8
  • Transit capital grant 39.9
  • Minnesota Dept of Transportation 20.1
  • Total 715.3

285 million less than previously asserted.

Length: 12 miles, connecting three of the Twin Cities’ most popular destinations – downtown Minneapolis, Minneapolis/St. Paul International Airport and Mall of America in Bloomington.

Fares: Light-rail fares are the same as bus fares. Transfers valid between bus and rail if used within 150 minutes.

Ridership: 19,300 per weekday in 2005 and 24,600 per weekday by year 2020

http://www.metrotransit.org/improvingTransit/hiawathaLightRail.asp

The point of this is that by having coordinated affordable public transportation this helps low income people have access to jobs etc. There are also real health benefits by reducing transportation related hydrocarbon emissions which will reduce the incidence and severity of respiratory illnesses.

I'm sorry, but 715 MILLION DOLLARS for a 12 mile light rail track?

That is a waste of money.

For THAT amount of money, you could have buses running between those destination at 2 minute intervals forever. Plus, have money left over to maybe, shore up a bridge that officials in the community KNEW needed work on for the whole time this light rail project was moving forward.

There was no more economical way to provide transit than to do so at a cost of 60 million dollars/mile infrastructure? 60 Million dollars/mile could have paved roads, provided vehicles for transit, and built single family dwellings for the poor all along that 12 mile pathway.

~faith,

Timothy.

I'm sorry, but 715 MILLION DOLLARS for a 12 mile light rail track?

That is a waste of money.

For THAT amount of money, you could have buses running between those destination at 2 minute intervals forever. Plus, have money left over to maybe, shore up a bridge that officials in the community KNEW needed work on for the whole time this light rail project was moving forward.

There was no more economical way to provide transit than to do so at a cost of 60 million dollars/mile infrastructure? 60 Million dollars/mile could have paved roads, provided vehicles for transit, and built single family dwellings for the poor all along that 12 mile pathway.

~faith,

Timothy.

Yup . . . . . . ;)

steph

There are also real health benefits by reducing transportation related hydrocarbon emissions which will reduce the incidence and severity of respiratory illnesses.

I think that this was the key point of the decisional process for choosing light rail vs buses as well as the benefits of reduced air pollution and traffic congestion.

It is all relative. Eleven million dollars an hour: http://www.kenspace.net/2006/09/28/11-million-a-day/

If we weren't spending $200,000 a minute in an unjust war in Iraq, blowing things up to install democracy, we might have the money to invest in an energy policy - improve inner city schools, or provide adequate health coverage (absent HMOs - the pharmaceuticals - insurance companies)?

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=10573

it is all relative. eleven million dollars an hour: http://www.kenspace.net/2006/09/28/11-million-a-day/

if we weren't spending $200,000 a minute in an unjust war in iraq, blowing things up to install democracy, we might have the money to invest in an energy policy - improve inner city schools, or provide adequate health coverage (absent hmos - the pharmaceuticals - insurance companies)?

http://www.speroforum.com/site/article.asp?id=10573

in a forthcoming paper for the new america foundation economist (and sometime nation contributor) james k. galbraith writes, "contrary to considerable myth, economic development in america has never been a purely private matter." galbraith cites the congress of 1862 and its authorization of land grant universities, homesteading, and the transcontinental railroads. and the new deal which "laid down much of the public architectural legacy with which we live today."

http://www.thenation.com/blogs/edcut?pid=221239

galbraith is speaking directly to your point space. i think we ignore his wisdom at the peril of a secure and prosperous future for our country.

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