Cat Sullivan, WROC activist, wrote a guest column for the Seattle PI
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Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition 4 September 2006
ACTION
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Cat Sullivan, WROC activist, wrote a guest column for the Seattle PI marking the 10th anniversary of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act and connecting it to harmful public policy of full family sanction that our female democratic governor wants to start this fall.
Jean
Just want you all to know today I am the guest columnist in the Seattle PI. Here is the link:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/282867_welfaremom29.html
Love Cat
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Welfare reform is not a success
By CAT SULLIVAN
GUEST COLUMNIST
Welfare reform has reached its 10th anniversary. Many crow about its success and how wonderful it is that low-income moms are now working for a wage; they are now productive members of society. As if raising children to run this country, fight in the wars we create and teach children to become productive parents themselves is not being productive. Some things we do know about the impact of what welfare reform has or hasn't done:
# The U.S. has increased its poverty levels.
# Many welfare families are now part of the working poor and children see their single parent less and less.
# We have the highest infant mortality of all the world's developed nations.
# Underemployment is growing by leaps and bounds.
# We have exponentially raised the presence of whole families becoming homeless.
# More Americans now live without health care.
A recent Princeton study on poverty says the poor age faster and have more health issues before the age of 50 because of their stressful lives. More and more older poor Americans are rearing the next generation and more children are being taken from their parents and placed into foster care.
Gov. Chris Gregoire wants to make it harder for mothers to support their children by throwing children off welfare if their mother is not complying with the welfare-to-work rules. However the state's own statistics show that more than 45 percent of non-compliance is not because mothers "want" to disobey their requirements, but because they don't have appropriate transportation, child care or clothing.
Sanctions mean that all support goes away -- funds to pay the rent, buy clothes or school supplies -- and the entire family is left to fend for itself.
We cannot fully blame the governor for being cold-hearted. There have been few studies about the so-called success of welfare. We really don't know how many Washington families left welfare and still have no job or income. We don't know if parents who start a job at $8 an hour are doing any better. What little we do know is that families that leave welfare are still struggling to make ends meet. In some hunger studies, mothers admit they go hungry so their children can eat.
The governor wants to support early learning among low-income children. How will children learn if their families are homeless because the sanction policy takes away what little is left of their safety net?
Until this society's bottom line is about the success of nurtured families to make a living wage and take care of their children, poverty most likely will continue to spread. Welfare policy should be about helping parents care for their children and move their families out of poverty rather than reducing caseload. Right now it is not looking promising that anything has been accomplished except that U.S. poverty is on the rise.
Cat Sullivan lives in Seattle.
===========================================================
POVERTY
A Poor Record on Poverty
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=917053#3
This morning, the Census Bureau released new poverty, income, and health insurance figures for 2005. Through 2004, the poverty rate had increased each year of George W. Bush's presidency -- from 11.7 percent in 2001 to 12.7 percent in 2004. New 2005 data released this morning shows the problem didn't get any better. The numbers "mark the worst performance in recent decades for poverty and median income during an economic recovery." The Bush administration "dropped the ball entirely" on poverty since the issue "forced its way to the top of President Bush's agendain the confusing days after Hurricane Katrina." ("Does [President Bush] often talk about poverty? No," Tony Snow admitted recently.) But in a "sign that the income inequality may rise higher on the US policy agenda," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson admitted this month that "many Americans simply aren't feeling the benefits" of economic expansion. Now it's time for Bush to take action.
WAGES DOWN AND INCOME INEQUALITY UP: The inflation-adjusted median hourly wage for American workers hasdeclined two percent since 2003, the New York Times reported yesterday, and "wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation’s gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947." Unlike late 20th-century trends, wages have not kept pace with increasing productivity. "Worker productivity rose 16.6 percent from 2000 to 2005, while total compensation for the median worker rose 7.2 percent," with benefits -- not wages -- accounting for most of the increase. Meanwhile, the top one percent of earners "received 11.2 percent of all wage income" in 2004, "up from 8.7 percent a decade earlier and less than 6 percent three decades ago." America's growing income inequality led economist and columnist Paul Krugman to label the past 25 years the "The New Gilded Age." From 1980 to 2004, "real wages in manufacturing fell 1 percent, while the real income of the richest 1 percent -- people with incomes of more than $277,000 in 2004 -- rose 135 percent." Administration policies are only widening the gap. Aug. 20 marked the 10-year anniversary of the last federal minimum wage increase to $5.15 an hour. The minimum wage is now at its lowest level in 51 years, but conservatives played politics with the proposed increase by tying it to estate tax cuts for multimillionaires.
HEALTH CARE CRISIS WORSENS POVERTY: Our broken health care system has made surviving in today's economy more difficult. The new Census data for 2005 shows 46.6 million Americans do not have health insurance, up from 45.3 million in 2004. Since 2000, the Bush administration has created three times as many uninsured Americans as new jobs:six million uninsured versus 1.9 million new jobs between 2000 and 2005. The cost of employer-based insuranceincreased 9.2 percent in 2005 as hourly earnings climbed by only 3.2 percent. The average costs of providing medical care for a family of four rose 9.6 percent. The Commonwealth Fund found 50 percent of families earning less than $35,000 a year reported having trouble paying medical bills. (The percentages are similar for families earning $35,000 to $49,000, making it more likely medical costs could drive them into poverty.) Ninety-five percent of companies polled by benefits consultants Watson Wyatt expect to restrict health benefits for retirees in the next five years. And recently, the administration angered governors by announcing plans to "cut Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes that care for millions of low-income people." The administration's focus has been on health savings accounts (HSAs) and Association Health Plans (AHPs), proposals that "will not begin to solve the problems of the 46 million Americans without health insurance" and "will cause new dilemmas for those fortunate enough to have health care coverage." "We've had absolutely no federal effort or interest in insuring the uninsured since 2000," Emory University's Ken Thorpe said. "This has not been a priority of the Bush administration." To fill the void, states are working to provide comprehensive health care coverage.
HOUSING SQUEEZE: Housing costs are also eating into the budgets of low-income Americans as "the scarcity of affordable housing" becomes a "deepening national crisis." Roughly 15.8 million households spend more than half their incomes on housing, a 14 percent increase between 2001 and 2004. Low-income Americans have been hit the hardest. "Neighborhood decline is fueling the loss of affordable housing and exposing residents to poor neighborhood conditions," Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies found. "From 1993-2003 the supply of rentals affordable on a $16,000 income fell by 1.2 million, while in 2001 12 percent of such rentals were operated at a loss." The report concluded: "Unless governments step up to these challenges, spending on housing will increasingly crowd out spending on pensions and savings among those with low and moderate incomes." The federal government is taking a step back. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a $600 million public housing funding shortfall, which means "public-housing agencies now must deal with an unexpected 14.5 percent cutback in federal funding."
SINGLE MOTHERS AND CHILDREN STRUGGLING AFTER WELFARE REFORM: Ten years after welfare reform passed, many single mothers and their children have been unable to escape poverty; "social workers and researchers are raising concerns about families that have not made the transition and often lead extraordinarily precarious lives." "With some one million single mothers -- with some 2 million children -- in an average month being both jobless and without income assistance from TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), other cash aid programs, or other household members, it is clear that much work remains to be done." The Economic Policy Institute found the poverty rate for low-income single mothers increased three percentage points from 2000 to 2004, but annual hours of work fell from 1,170 to 1,068. Over the same period, child poverty rose from 15.9 percent to 17.5 percent and the "number of children with cash incomes below one-half of the poverty line increased by 758,000." Despite the increasing poverty, the number of children receiving TANF assistance or related state benefits declined. New welfare rules from Congress and the Bush administration create a strong incentive for states to cut their caseloads, whether or not families find jobs. For states whose caseloads don't fall, the new rules will "require states to focus intensely on making more poor people work, while discouraging other activities that might help untangle their lives." "[U]nder new federal rules, studying for a bachelor's degree no longer counts by itself as an acceptable way for people on welfare to spend their time." "I feel nauseous," one welfare recipient and incoming college senior said about the change. "This is my ticket...out of poverty."
Irene Weiser
Stop Family Violence
331 W. 57th St #518
New York, NY 10019
i...@stopfamilyviolence.org
607-539-6856
**************************************
www.StopFamilyViolence.org
the people's voice for family peace
**************************************
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LELO is one of the many local, national, and international organizations
including the AFL-CIO, who will be protesting the Korea-US Free Trade
Agreement negotiations taking place in Seattle the week of Sept 6 thru Sept
9. The we are helping to mobilize in our local community to oppose these
negotiations and hope you can participate in some of the following activity:
9/6 12:30pm Wed Opening Rally and March, Westlake Park (4th & Pine)
9/6 6:30pm Wed International Cultural Performance (featuring local and
Korean performers), Westlake Park
9/6 8:30pm Wed Candlight Vigil, Westlake Park
9/7 1:00pm Thurs Farmers and Farmworkers Event, Victor Steinbrueck Park
(near Pike Place Market)
9/7 3:00pm Thurs Women/Farmers Workshops, Labor Temple (2800 1st Ave)
9/8 1:00pm Fri Sam Bo Il Bae* March, Westlake Park
9/9 1:00pm Sat Closing Rally and March, Federal Building (2nd & Madison)
9/9 8:00pm Sat Solidarity Party, Labor Temple
In February 2006, the Bush and Roh Moo-Hyun administrations began
negotiating a South Korea-US FTA. Farmers, workers, actors, unions,
non-profits, church groups, students and millions of others throughout South
Korea overwhelmingly oppose the FTA.
Some of the devastating impacts of the FTA agreement are:
- Many of South Korea's small farmers, already struggleing, will be forced
into bankruptcy by corporate agribusiness dumping their products, destroying
Korea's long heritage of rice cultivation.
- Workers wages will be cut, jobs will be eliminated, and the number of
temporary workers with no benefits and no security will expotentially
increase.
- Regulations that protect the environment by encouraging consumer to buy
cars with smaller engines will be abolished
Sound familiar?? Remember the WTO?? The impacts of this FTA would parallel
the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). After NAFTA
was signed with Mexico, many US workers saw their jobs disappear. Meanwhile
in MExico, workers and their families were displaced from their land, wages
were lowered, and working conditions worsened.
We are helping to recruit phone bankers and volunteers for security during
the above activities. If you can attend these events or help out, please
contact Michael at LELO (206) 860-1400 x1 or the organizers directly, Soya
jungh...@gmail.com or Vanessa vaness...@gmail.com
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Politicians continue to think they can win if they play the race card. Hopefully the good people of his state will tell him otherwise.
Jean
Begin forwarded message:
"Nita Chaudhary, MoveOn.org Political Action" <moveo...@list.moveon.org> wrote:
Last week, Republican Senator George Allen used a racial slur against a non-white audience member. This kind of bigotry has no place in America. Can you join us in telling the Republican National Committee to take a stand against these tactics and withdraw support for Sen. Allen?
Dear MoveOn member,
On Friday, Republican Senator George Allen sank to a new low. At a campaign stop the senator singled out the only non-white member of the audience—S.R. Sidarth, a young Indian-American volunteering for his opponent and called him "macaca" (a racial slur meaning 'monkey').1 He went on to say, "welcome to America." As it happens, Mr. Sidarth was born and raised in Virginia.
Republicans have used racism to try to win over voters for decades, but this kind of pandering has absolutely no place in our politics. That's why we're standing with Color of Change to ask the Republican National Committee to withdraw support from Sen. Allen. We need to send a strong message that America won't tolerate bigotry.
Can you sign the petition and add your voice? You can sign and watch video of the incident on this page:
http://political.moveon.org/withdrawallen?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=3
The sting of Sen. Allen's words upset me personally, and I'd hoped to see his colleagues in Washington censure him for this display of bigotry. But just yesterday, Senator John McCain stood with him at a town hall meeting. Race-baiting continues to be a time-tested tradition for the Republican party in the South. And it's got to stop.
This is our opportunity—hundreds of thousands of us standing together will make a major statement to our elected officials and the media. I'll deliver these comments to the Republican National Committee when we reach 250,000—we're aiming for the end of the week.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first incident of its kind. Sen. Allen—who's a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008—has a long history of demeaning minorities. Here are just a few examples of his racial hostility.2
* He used to display a noose—hanging from a tree—in his law offices.
* When running for governor he admitted to displaying the confederate flag in his home.
* As governor, he proclaimed April as "Confederate Heritage and History Month" and issued a proclamation calling the civil war "a struggle for independence and sovereign rights" (the statement did not condemn slavery).
* He opposed the creation of a holiday commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.
All of this would be bad enough if Senator Allen were a small-time politician. But he's running in one of the key Senate races, and currently, he's ahead.
The media is watching this story closely and you can help show that ordinary Americans are ready to stand up for each other when a powerful man uses race to divide us. Can you sign the petition today?
http://political.moveon.org/withdrawallen?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=4
Thanks for all you do,
–Nita, Eli, Ben, Wes and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Thursday, August 17th, 2006
Sources:
1. "'Macaca' or 'Macaque'," Jefferey Feldman at MyDD, Monday, August 14, 2006
http://mydd.com/story/2006/8/14/17325/4950
2. "George Allen's Race Problem," The New Republic, April 27, 2006
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060508&s=lizza050806
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.3 million members. We have o corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:
http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=5
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://political.moveon.org/?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=6
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
===========================================================
This is the tenth anniversary of the welfare reform act of 1996. There will be many articles talking of how well it has done. Hopefully there will be some saying that it is not all fine with families.
Jean
Begin forwarded message:
From: Cathleen Palm [mailto:cp...@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2006 12:32 PM
To: 'Cathleen Palm'
Subject: One 'Reform' that worked -- The welfare overhaul of 1996 has helped reduce poverty. Why cant we duplicate this sort of pragmatic progress
One 'Reform' That Worked
The welfare overhaul of 1996 has helped reduce poverty. Why cant we duplicate this sort of pragmatic progress in other areas?
By Robert J. Samuelson
Newsweek
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14096483/site/newsweek/
August 7, 2006 issue - President Bill Clinton signed the person- al Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, better known as "welfare reform," on Aug. 22, 1996. A decade later, it stands as a rarity: a Washington success story. It did not succeed in the utopian sense of eliminating all poverty or family breakdown. It succeeded in a more practical way. It improved life modestly for millions of people and showed that government could orchestrate constructive change. There are small and large lessons in this. The small lessons involve poverty; the large lessons involve politics.
One little-known fact is that we have made gains against poverty in recent decades—and welfare reform deserves some credit. The poverty rate among blacks has fallen sharply, though it's still discouragingly high. From 1968 to 1994 it barely budged, averaging 32.4 percent. By 2000 it was 22.5 percent. (The poverty rate is the share of people living below the government's poverty line, about $19,500 for a family of four in 2004.) Similarly, there have been big drops in child poverty. Since 1989 the number of children in poverty has fallen 12 percent for non-Hispanic whites and 14 percent for blacks.
The economic boom of the 1990s explains much of this improvement. But it is not the whole explanation, because even after the 2001 recession, many poverty rates stayed well below previous levels. For all blacks, it was 24.7 percent in 2004.
The 1996 law replaced Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC)—traditional welfare—with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Congress created AFDC in 1935 as part of the landmark Social Security Act, which also included unemployment insurance and old-age assistance. In an era when few women worked, AFDC was intended to provide modest income support for widows and their children. By the 1980s, it had evolved into something else: guaranteed payments for single, often never-married mothers. Critics argued that the program bred dependence, weakened self-reliance and rewarded out-of-wedlock births.
TANF set new rules. It eliminated the automatic entitlement to benefits. To qualify, mothers had to look for work, take job training or both (states set exact requirements). There was a general five-year lifetime limit on receiving benefits.
In a new book, "Work Over Welfare," Brookings Institution senior fellow Ron Haskins—a top Republican congressional staffer during the welfare debate—cites much evidence of success. Welfare caseloads have plunged. From August 1996 to June 2005, the number of people on welfare dropped from 12.2 million to 4.5 million. About 60 percent of mothers who left welfare got work. Their incomes generally rose. Many qualified for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which subsidizes low-income workers. Finally, there were intangible benefits: work connections, self-respect.
One lesson is that what people do for themselves often overshadows what government does for them. Since 1991, for example, the teen birthrate has dropped by a third. The mothers least capable of supporting children have had fewer of them. Welfare reform didn't single handedly cause this. But it reinforced a broader shift in the social climate—one emphasizing personal responsibility over victimhood.
Of course, poverty endures. Some mothers are unemployable and are worse off without continuous welfare. Even those with low-paying jobs often depend heavily on other government benefits, mainly food stamps and Medicaid (health insurance). And one reason that poverty hasn't decreased more is an unending inflow of poor immigrants. Unlike non-Hispanic whites and blacks, Hispanics are the only major ethnic or racial group with more children in poverty over the last 15 years. Since 1989 the increase is 58 percent.
So: we've made a stubborn problem a bit more manageable. It's pragmatic progress, not a panacea. Why can't we do the same for other pressing problems—energy, immigration, retirement spending (Social Security, Medicare)? Here, welfare reform's political lessons apply.
One is the need to overcome a bias against change. We underestimate people's ability to adapt. In 1995, one think tank forecast that the bill would throw 1 million more children into poverty. If Congress had listened, little would have happened. Today we could gradually raise Social Security and Medicare eligibility ages without causing a social catastrophe. Another lesson is the virtue of candor. Welfare's flaws were openly acknowledged. If we aren't more honest about other problems, they will simply get worse (as they already have).
The final lesson is the value of some bipartisanship. Although welfare reform was mainly a Republican project, President Clinton (who had pledged to end "welfare as we know it") provided general support, as did many Democrats who voted for the final bill. All agreed that the system was broken. Bipartisanship makes big changes in policies more acceptable to the public by signaling a broad consensus. But in today's poisoned and polarized climate, bipartisanship is almost a relic.
The National Poverty Engine is a coalition of grassroots' groups and activist working to reduce and raise consciousness about poverty by sharing strategies and formulas for organizing, conducting direct actions to change policy, and provide methods for change through our peer to peer technical assistance program.
Poverty anywhere is Poverty everywhere!
===============================================================================
JOBS
For FULL job information please visit our Job Web Space at http://wroc.org/home/jobs.html
===========================================
Elizabeth Gregory Home
Program Manager Description
AGENCY INFORMATION
Elizabeth Gregory Home (EGH), a transitional housing program for single adult homeless women, is a private nonprofit organization founded by University Lutheran Church. The mission of Elizabeth Gregory Home is “to serve women who are recovering from homelessness by providing transitional supportive housing and hospitality that will help them move towards an enriched life within the community.” EGH serves 9 homeless women at a time by providing safe and supportive housing for 6-24 months, a communal day center, individual case management, mental health and substance abuse services, job readiness skills, domestic violence support, family reunification services, and therapeutic activities.
POSITION SUMMARY
EGH will open its doors in late September 2006 and seeks a full time Program Manager to help us achieve our mission. The Program Manager will oversee the housing accommodations and communal day center of EGH. The Program Manager will be responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of all EGH programs and provide direct case management services, advocacy and support to 9 clients. The position also entails supervision of staff and interns and the recruitment, retention and support of volunteers. There are also development responsibilities in terms of fundraising support and agency representation within the community.
RESPONSIBILITIES
ADMINISTRATION:
1. Develop policy and procedure for Elizabeth Gregory Home
2. Design therapeutic, social, and recreational program activities.
3. Provide leadership and management for all EGH programs and services
4. Supervision of security staff, interns, service learning students and AARP enrollees.
5. Design and implement volunteer management program. Develop volunteer opportunities within EGH. Recruit, support and retain volunteers.
6. Coordinate in-kind donations and donor activities for EGH.
7. In conjunction with Executive Director and Program Assistant, assist with agency development activities including event-planning, community presentations, individual donor cultivation, and newsletter.
8. Participate in foundation site visits.
9. Serve as EGH liaison within greater community. Attend Seattle King County Coalition for the Homeless (SKKCH) single adult committee meeting, Transitional Housing Providers meeting, and other provider meetings as assigned.
10. Other duties as assigned.
Please submit a cover letter and resume for immediate consideration to:
Elizabeth Gregory Home Executive Director
1604 N.E. 50th Street Seattle, Washington 98105
elizabethg...@yahoo.com
===========================================================
Director of Provider Services Job Announcement
Organizational Overview
If you have a personal mission for helping children and families thrive then you will find good company at Child Care Resources (CCR). Child Care Resources (CCR) leads community efforts to ensure that every family has accessible, affordable, quality care for children. Its staff help providers get licensed and start in-home child care businesses, link parents with high-quality care, and help companies learn about work-life issues. CCR also trains and supports child care providers and advocates on their behalf.
Child Care Resources seeks a Director of Parent Services with an unwavering commitment to quality early learning experiences for children and their families. She/he will work closely with the CEO, management team and staff to coordinate efforts to support the provider community who makes quality childcare and early learning experiences possible. The Director of Provider Services will oversee the ongoing operations of the Provider Services department; providing the key link between the agency and the local community on early learning/child care issues as they relate to the provider perspective.
For more information on Child Care Resources check www.childcare.org
===============================================================================
Seattle Office: 1820 E. Pine Suite 324 | Seattle, WA 98122 | Phone: 206.324.3063 | 1.877.330.3063 | Fax: 206.860.8825 | wro...@wroc.org
Olympia Office: 701 Franklin SE | Olympia, WA 98501 | Phone: 360.352.9716 | 1.866.343.9716 | wro...@wroc.org
Welfare Rights Organizing Coalition 4 September 2006
WROC the NEWS!
"WROC
empowers through education, leadership, and action"
***************************************************************************************************************
Just a reminder that our NEW location for our e-letter is WROC-t...@googlegroups.com
ACTION
ALERTS!
- Cat Sullivan, WROC activist, wrote a guest column for the Seattle PI
- A Poor Record on Poverty
- Korea-US Free Trade Agreement
- Friday, Republican Senator George Allen sank to a new low
- Tenth anniversary of the welfare reform act of 1996
JOBS:
- Elizabeth Gregory Home
Program Manager Description - Director of Provider Services Job Announcement
===============================================================================
ACTION
===========================================
Cat Sullivan, WROC activist, wrote a guest column for the Seattle PI marking the 10th anniversary of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Act and connecting it to harmful public policy of full family sanction that our female democratic governor wants to start this fall.
Jean
Just want you all to know today I am the guest columnist in the Seattle PI. Here is the link:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/282867_welfaremom29.html
Love Cat
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
Tuesday, August 29, 2006
Welfare reform is not a success
By CAT SULLIVAN
GUEST COLUMNIST
Welfare reform has reached its 10th anniversary. Many crow about its success and how wonderful it is that low-income moms are now working for a wage; they are now productive members of society. As if raising children to run this country, fight in the wars we create and teach children to become productive parents themselves is not being productive. Some things we do know about the impact of what welfare reform has or hasn't done:
# The U.S. has increased its poverty levels.
# Many welfare families are now part of the working poor and children see their single parent less and less.
# We have the highest infant mortality of all the world's developed nations.
# Underemployment is growing by leaps and bounds.
# We have exponentially raised the presence of whole families becoming homeless.
# More Americans now live without health care.
A recent Princeton study on poverty says the poor age faster and have more health issues before the age of 50 because of their stressful lives. More and more older poor Americans are rearing the next generation and more children are being taken from their parents and placed into foster care.
Gov. Chris Gregoire wants to make it harder for mothers to support their children by throwing children off welfare if their mother is not complying with the welfare-to-work rules. However the state's own statistics show that more than 45 percent of non-compliance is not because mothers "want" to disobey their requirements, but because they don't have appropriate transportation, child care or clothing.
Sanctions mean that all support goes away -- funds to pay the rent, buy clothes or school supplies -- and the entire family is left to fend for itself.
We cannot fully blame the governor for being cold-hearted. There have been few studies about the so-called success of welfare. We really don't know how many Washington families left welfare and still have no job or income. We don't know if parents who start a job at $8 an hour are doing any better. What little we do know is that families that leave welfare are still struggling to make ends meet. In some hunger studies, mothers admit they go hungry so their children can eat.
The governor wants to support early learning among low-income children. How will children learn if their families are homeless because the sanction policy takes away what little is left of their safety net?
Until this society's bottom line is about the success of nurtured families to make a living wage and take care of their children, poverty most likely will continue to spread. Welfare policy should be about helping parents care for their children and move their families out of poverty rather than reducing caseload. Right now it is not looking promising that anything has been accomplished except that U.S. poverty is on the rise.
Cat Sullivan lives in Seattle.
===========================================================
POVERTY
A Poor Record on Poverty
http://www.americanprogressaction.org/site/apps/nl/newsletter2.asp?c=klLWJcP7H&b=917053#3
This morning, the Census Bureau released new poverty, income, and health insurance figures for 2005. Through 2004, the poverty rate had increased each year of George W. Bush's presidency -- from 11.7 percent in 2001 to 12.7 percent in 2004. New 2005 data released this morning shows the problem didn't get any better. The numbers "mark the worst performance in recent decades for poverty and median income during an economic recovery." The Bush administration "dropped the ball entirely" on poverty since the issue "forced its way to the top of President Bush's agendain the confusing days after Hurricane Katrina." ("Does [President Bush] often talk about poverty? No," Tony Snow admitted recently.) But in a "sign that the income inequality may rise higher on the US policy agenda," Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson admitted this month that "many Americans simply aren't feeling the benefits" of economic expansion. Now it's time for Bush to take action.
WAGES DOWN AND INCOME INEQUALITY UP: The inflation-adjusted median hourly wage for American workers hasdeclined two percent since 2003, the New York Times reported yesterday, and "wages and salaries now make up the lowest share of the nation’s gross domestic product since the government began recording the data in 1947." Unlike late 20th-century trends, wages have not kept pace with increasing productivity. "Worker productivity rose 16.6 percent from 2000 to 2005, while total compensation for the median worker rose 7.2 percent," with benefits -- not wages -- accounting for most of the increase. Meanwhile, the top one percent of earners "received 11.2 percent of all wage income" in 2004, "up from 8.7 percent a decade earlier and less than 6 percent three decades ago." America's growing income inequality led economist and columnist Paul Krugman to label the past 25 years the "The New Gilded Age." From 1980 to 2004, "real wages in manufacturing fell 1 percent, while the real income of the richest 1 percent -- people with incomes of more than $277,000 in 2004 -- rose 135 percent." Administration policies are only widening the gap. Aug. 20 marked the 10-year anniversary of the last federal minimum wage increase to $5.15 an hour. The minimum wage is now at its lowest level in 51 years, but conservatives played politics with the proposed increase by tying it to estate tax cuts for multimillionaires.
HEALTH CARE CRISIS WORSENS POVERTY: Our broken health care system has made surviving in today's economy more difficult. The new Census data for 2005 shows 46.6 million Americans do not have health insurance, up from 45.3 million in 2004. Since 2000, the Bush administration has created three times as many uninsured Americans as new jobs:six million uninsured versus 1.9 million new jobs between 2000 and 2005. The cost of employer-based insuranceincreased 9.2 percent in 2005 as hourly earnings climbed by only 3.2 percent. The average costs of providing medical care for a family of four rose 9.6 percent. The Commonwealth Fund found 50 percent of families earning less than $35,000 a year reported having trouble paying medical bills. (The percentages are similar for families earning $35,000 to $49,000, making it more likely medical costs could drive them into poverty.) Ninety-five percent of companies polled by benefits consultants Watson Wyatt expect to restrict health benefits for retirees in the next five years. And recently, the administration angered governors by announcing plans to "cut Medicaid payments to hospitals and nursing homes that care for millions of low-income people." The administration's focus has been on health savings accounts (HSAs) and Association Health Plans (AHPs), proposals that "will not begin to solve the problems of the 46 million Americans without health insurance" and "will cause new dilemmas for those fortunate enough to have health care coverage." "We've had absolutely no federal effort or interest in insuring the uninsured since 2000," Emory University's Ken Thorpe said. "This has not been a priority of the Bush administration." To fill the void, states are working to provide comprehensive health care coverage.
HOUSING SQUEEZE: Housing costs are also eating into the budgets of low-income Americans as "the scarcity of affordable housing" becomes a "deepening national crisis." Roughly 15.8 million households spend more than half their incomes on housing, a 14 percent increase between 2001 and 2004. Low-income Americans have been hit the hardest. "Neighborhood decline is fueling the loss of affordable housing and exposing residents to poor neighborhood conditions," Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies found. "From 1993-2003 the supply of rentals affordable on a $16,000 income fell by 1.2 million, while in 2001 12 percent of such rentals were operated at a loss." The report concluded: "Unless governments step up to these challenges, spending on housing will increasingly crowd out spending on pensions and savings among those with low and moderate incomes." The federal government is taking a step back. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development recently announced a $600 million public housing funding shortfall, which means "public-housing agencies now must deal with an unexpected 14.5 percent cutback in federal funding."
SINGLE MOTHERS AND CHILDREN STRUGGLING AFTER WELFARE REFORM: Ten years after welfare reform passed, many single mothers and their children have been unable to escape poverty; "social workers and researchers are raising concerns about families that have not made the transition and often lead extraordinarily precarious lives." "With some one million single mothers -- with some 2 million children -- in an average month being both jobless and without income assistance from TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families), other cash aid programs, or other household members, it is clear that much work remains to be done." The Economic Policy Institute found the poverty rate for low-income single mothers increased three percentage points from 2000 to 2004, but annual hours of work fell from 1,170 to 1,068. Over the same period, child poverty rose from 15.9 percent to 17.5 percent and the "number of children with cash incomes below one-half of the poverty line increased by 758,000." Despite the increasing poverty, the number of children receiving TANF assistance or related state benefits declined. New welfare rules from Congress and the Bush administration create a strong incentive for states to cut their caseloads, whether or not families find jobs. For states whose caseloads don't fall, the new rules will "require states to focus intensely on making more poor people work, while discouraging other activities that might help untangle their lives." "[U]nder new federal rules, studying for a bachelor's degree no longer counts by itself as an acceptable way for people on welfare to spend their time." "I feel nauseous," one welfare recipient and incoming college senior said about the change. "This is my ticket...out of poverty."
Irene Weiser
Stop Family Violence
331 W. 57th St #518
New York, NY 10019
i...@stopfamilyviolence.org
607-539-6856
**************************************
www.StopFamilyViolence.org
the people's voice for family peace
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LELO is one of the many local, national, and international organizations
including the AFL-CIO, who will be protesting the Korea-US Free Trade
Agreement negotiations taking place in Seattle the week of Sept 6 thru Sept
9. The we are helping to mobilize in our local community to oppose these
negotiations and hope you can participate in some of the following activity:
9/6 12:30pm Wed Opening Rally and March, Westlake Park (4th & Pine)
9/6 6:30pm Wed International Cultural Performance (featuring local and
Korean performers), Westlake Park
9/6 8:30pm Wed Candlight Vigil, Westlake Park
9/7 1:00pm Thurs Farmers and Farmworkers Event, Victor Steinbrueck Park
(near Pike Place Market)
9/7 3:00pm Thurs Women/Farmers Workshops, Labor Temple (2800 1st Ave)
9/8 1:00pm Fri Sam Bo Il Bae* March, Westlake Park
9/9 1:00pm Sat Closing Rally and March, Federal Building (2nd & Madison)
9/9 8:00pm Sat Solidarity Party, Labor Temple
In February 2006, the Bush and Roh Moo-Hyun administrations began
negotiating a South Korea-US FTA. Farmers, workers, actors, unions,
non-profits, church groups, students and millions of others throughout South
Korea overwhelmingly oppose the FTA.
Some of the devastating impacts of the FTA agreement are:
- Many of South Korea's small farmers, already struggleing, will be forced
into bankruptcy by corporate agribusiness dumping their products, destroying
Korea's long heritage of rice cultivation.
- Workers wages will be cut, jobs will be eliminated, and the number of
temporary workers with no benefits and no security will expotentially
increase.
- Regulations that protect the environment by encouraging consumer to buy
cars with smaller engines will be abolished
Sound familiar?? Remember the WTO?? The impacts of this FTA would parallel
the effects of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). After NAFTA
was signed with Mexico, many US workers saw their jobs disappear. Meanwhile
in MExico, workers and their families were displaced from their land, wages
were lowered, and working conditions worsened.
We are helping to recruit phone bankers and volunteers for security during
the above activities. If you can attend these events or help out, please
contact Michael at LELO (206) 860-1400 x1 or the organizers directly, Soya
jungh...@gmail.com or Vanessa vaness...@gmail.com
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Politicians continue to think they can win if they play the race card. Hopefully the good people of his state will tell him otherwise.
Jean
Begin forwarded message:
"Nita Chaudhary, MoveOn.org Political Action" <moveo...@list.moveon.org> wrote:
Last week, Republican Senator George Allen used a racial slur against a non-white audience member. This kind of bigotry has no place in America. Can you join us in telling the Republican National Committee to take a stand against these tactics and withdraw support for Sen. Allen?
Dear MoveOn member,
On Friday, Republican Senator George Allen sank to a new low. At a campaign stop the senator singled out the only non-white member of the audience—S.R. Sidarth, a young Indian-American volunteering for his opponent and called him "macaca" (a racial slur meaning 'monkey').1 He went on to say, "welcome to America." As it happens, Mr. Sidarth was born and raised in Virginia.
Republicans have used racism to try to win over voters for decades, but this kind of pandering has absolutely no place in our politics. That's why we're standing with Color of Change to ask the Republican National Committee to withdraw support from Sen. Allen. We need to send a strong message that America won't tolerate bigotry.
Can you sign the petition and add your voice? You can sign and watch video of the incident on this page:
http://political.moveon.org/withdrawallen?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=3
The sting of Sen. Allen's words upset me personally, and I'd hoped to see his colleagues in Washington censure him for this display of bigotry. But just yesterday, Senator John McCain stood with him at a town hall meeting. Race-baiting continues to be a time-tested tradition for the Republican party in the South. And it's got to stop.
This is our opportunity—hundreds of thousands of us standing together will make a major statement to our elected officials and the media. I'll deliver these comments to the Republican National Committee when we reach 250,000—we're aiming for the end of the week.
Unfortunately, this isn't the first incident of its kind. Sen. Allen—who's a contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2008—has a long history of demeaning minorities. Here are just a few examples of his racial hostility.2
* He used to display a noose—hanging from a tree—in his law offices.
* When running for governor he admitted to displaying the confederate flag in his home.
* As governor, he proclaimed April as "Confederate Heritage and History Month" and issued a proclamation calling the civil war "a struggle for independence and sovereign rights" (the statement did not condemn slavery).
* He opposed the creation of a holiday commemorating Martin Luther King, Jr.
All of this would be bad enough if Senator Allen were a small-time politician. But he's running in one of the key Senate races, and currently, he's ahead.
The media is watching this story closely and you can help show that ordinary Americans are ready to stand up for each other when a powerful man uses race to divide us. Can you sign the petition today?
http://political.moveon.org/withdrawallen?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=4
Thanks for all you do,
–Nita, Eli, Ben, Wes and the MoveOn.org Political Action Team
Thursday, August 17th, 2006
Sources:
1. "'Macaca' or 'Macaque'," Jefferey Feldman at MyDD, Monday, August 14, 2006
http://mydd.com/story/2006/8/14/17325/4950
2. "George Allen's Race Problem," The New Republic, April 27, 2006
http://www.tnr.com/doc.mhtml?i=20060508&s=lizza050806
Support our member-driven organization: MoveOn.org Political Action is entirely funded by our 3.3 million members. We have o corporate contributors, no foundation grants, no money from unions. Our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. If you'd like to support our work, you can give now at:
http://political.moveon.org/donate/email.html?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=5
PAID FOR BY MOVEON.ORG POLITICAL ACTION, http://political.moveon.org/?id=8472-1311165-vAzbqx6V9esMpy2Bhtnt.Q&t=6
Not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
===========================================================
This is the tenth anniversary of the welfare reform act of 1996. There will be many articles talking of how well it has done. Hopefully there will be some saying that it is not all fine with families.
Jean
Begin forwarded message:
From: Cathleen Palm [mailto:cp...@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, July 30, 2006 12:32 PM
To: 'Cathleen Palm'
Subject: One 'Reform' that worked -- The welfare overhaul of 1996 has helped reduce poverty. Why cant we duplicate this sort of pragmatic progress
One 'Reform' That Worked
The welfare overhaul of 1996 has helped reduce poverty. Why cant we duplicate this sort of pragmatic progress in other areas?
By Robert J. Samuelson
Newsweek
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14096483/site/newsweek/
August 7, 2006 issue - President Bill Clinton signed the person- al Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, better known as "welfare reform," on Aug. 22, 1996. A decade later, it stands as a rarity: a Washington success story. It did not succeed in the utopian sense of eliminating all poverty or family breakdown. It succeeded in a more practical way. It improved life modestly for millions of people and showed that government could orchestrate constructive change. There are small and large lessons in this. The small lessons involve poverty; the large lessons involve politics.
One little-known fact is that we have made gains against poverty in recent decades—and welfare reform deserves some credit. The poverty rate among blacks has fallen sharply, though it's still discouragingly high. From 1968 to 1994 it barely budged, averaging 32.4 percent. By 2000 it was 22.5 percent. (The poverty rate is the share of people living below the government's poverty line, about $19,500 for a family of four in 2004.) Similarly, there have been big drops in child poverty. Since 1989 the number of children in poverty has fallen 12 percent for non-Hispanic whites and 14 percent for blacks.
The economic boom of the 1990s explains much of this improvement. But it is not the whole explanation, because even after the 2001 recession, many poverty rates stayed well below previous levels. For all blacks, it was 24.7 percent in 2004.
The 1996 law replaced Aid to Families With Dependent Children (AFDC)—traditional welfare—with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF). Congress created AFDC in 1935 as part of the landmark Social Security Act, which also included unemployment insurance and old-age assistance. In an era when few women worked, AFDC was intended to provide modest income support for widows and their children. By the 1980s, it had evolved into something else: guaranteed payments for single, often never-married mothers. Critics argued that the program bred dependence, weakened self-reliance and rewarded out-of-wedlock births.
TANF set new rules. It eliminated the automatic entitlement to benefits. To qualify, mothers had to look for work, take job training or both (states set exact requirements). There was a general five-year lifetime limit on receiving benefits.
In a new book, "Work Over Welfare," Brookings Institution senior fellow Ron Haskins—a top Republican congressional staffer during the welfare debate—cites much evidence of success. Welfare caseloads have plunged. From August 1996 to June 2005, the number of people on welfare dropped from 12.2 million to 4.5 million. About 60 percent of mothers who left welfare got work. Their incomes generally rose. Many qualified for the federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which subsidizes low-income workers. Finally, there were intangible benefits: work connections, self-respect.
One lesson is that what people do for themselves often overshadows what government does for them. Since 1991, for example, the teen birthrate has dropped by a third. The mothers least capable of supporting children have had fewer of them. Welfare reform didn't single handedly cause this. But it reinforced a broader shift in the social climate—one emphasizing personal responsibility over victimhood.
Of course, poverty endures. Some mothers are unemployable and are worse off without continuous welfare. Even those with low-paying jobs often depend heavily on other government benefits, mainly food stamps and Medicaid (health insurance). And one reason that poverty hasn't decreased more is an unending inflow of poor immigrants. Unlike non-Hispanic whites and blacks, Hispanics are the only major ethnic or racial group with more children in poverty over the last 15 years. Since 1989 the increase is 58 percent.
So: we've made a stubborn problem a bit more manageable. It's pragmatic progress, not a panacea. Why can't we do the same for other pressing problems—energy, immigration, retirement spending (Social Security, Medicare)? Here, welfare reform's political lessons apply.
One is the need to overcome a bias against change. We underestimate people's ability to adapt. In 1995, one think tank forecast that the bill would throw 1 million more children into poverty. If Congress had listened, little would have happened. Today we could gradually raise Social Security and Medicare eligibility ages without causing a social catastrophe. Another lesson is the virtue of candor. Welfare's flaws were openly acknowledged. If we aren't more honest about other problems, they will simply get worse (as they already have).
The final lesson is the value of some bipartisanship. Although welfare reform was mainly a Republican project, President Clinton (who had pledged to end "welfare as we know it") provided general support, as did many Democrats who voted for the final bill. All agreed that the system was broken. Bipartisanship makes big changes in policies more acceptable to the public by signaling a broad consensus. But in today's poisoned and polarized climate, bipartisanship is almost a relic.
The National Poverty Engine is a coalition of grassroots' groups and activist working to reduce and raise consciousness about poverty by sharing strategies and formulas for organizing, conducting direct actions to change policy, and provide methods for change through our peer to peer technical assistance program.
Poverty anywhere is Poverty everywhere!
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JOBS
For FULL job information please visit our Job Web Space at http://wroc.org/home/jobs.html
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Elizabeth Gregory Home
Program Manager Description
AGENCY INFORMATION
Elizabeth Gregory Home (EGH), a transitional housing program for single adult homeless women, is a private nonprofit organization founded by University Lutheran Church. The mission of Elizabeth Gregory Home is “to serve women who are recovering from homelessness by providing transitional supportive housing and hospitality that will help them move towards an enriched life within the community.” EGH serves 9 homeless women at a time by providing safe and supportive housing for 6-24 months, a communal day center, individual case management, mental health and substance abuse services, job readiness skills, domestic violence support, family reunification services, and therapeutic activities.
POSITION SUMMARY
EGH will open its doors in late September 2006 and seeks a full time Program Manager to help us achieve our mission. The Program Manager will oversee the housing accommodations and communal day center of EGH. The Program Manager will be responsible for the development, implementation and oversight of all EGH programs and provide direct case management services, advocacy and support to 9 clients. The position also entails supervision of staff and interns and the recruitment, retention and support of volunteers. There are also development responsibilities in terms of fundraising support and agency representation within the community.
RESPONSIBILITIES
ADMINISTRATION:
1. Develop policy and procedure for Elizabeth Gregory Home
2. Design therapeutic, social, and recreational program activities.
3. Provide leadership and management for all EGH programs and services
4. Supervision of security staff, interns, service learning students and AARP enrollees.
5. Design and implement volunteer management program. Develop volunteer opportunities within EGH. Recruit, support and retain volunteers.
6. Coordinate in-kind donations and donor activities for EGH.
7. In conjunction with Executive Director and Program Assistant, assist with agency development activities including event-planning, community presentations, individual donor cultivation, and newsletter.
8. Participate in foundation site visits.
9. Serve as EGH liaison within greater community. Attend Seattle King County Coalition for the Homeless (SKKCH) single adult committee meeting, Transitional Housing Providers meeting, and other provider meetings as assigned.
10. Other duties as assigned.
Please submit a cover letter and resume for immediate consideration to:
Elizabeth Gregory Home Executive Director
1604 N.E. 50th Street Seattle, Washington 98105
elizabethg...@yahoo.com
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Director of Provider Services Job Announcement
Organizational Overview
If you have a personal mission for helping children and families thrive then you will find good company at Child Care Resources (CCR). Child Care Resources (CCR) leads community efforts to ensure that every family has accessible, affordable, quality care for children. Its staff help providers get licensed and start in-home child care businesses, link parents with high-quality care, and help companies learn about work-life issues. CCR also trains and supports child care providers and advocates on their behalf.
Child Care Resources seeks a Director of Parent Services with an unwavering commitment to quality early learning experiences for children and their families. She/he will work closely with the CEO, management team and staff to coordinate efforts to support the provider community who makes quality childcare and early learning experiences possible. The Director of Provider Services will oversee the ongoing operations of the Provider Services department; providing the key link between the agency and the local community on early learning/child care issues as they relate to the provider perspective.
For more information on Child Care Resources check www.childcare.org
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Seattle Office: 1820 E. Pine Suite 324 | Seattle, WA 98122 | Phone: 206.324.3063 | 1.877.330.3063 | Fax: 206.860.8825 | wro...@wroc.org
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