The Network is pleased to announce that the PBS series, Moyer's and Company, will feature Network Affiliate Scholar and PolicyLink Founder/CEO Angela Glover Blackwell. Ms. Blackwell will be discussing strategies to fulfill the national promise of, "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" for all. Given the current state of the American economy, and the deleterious effects of the economic downturn on the middle class, Ms. Blackwell will be discussing the need for hope in a period of increased economic insecurity.
Prior to founding PolicyLink, Ms. Blackwell served as Senior Vice President of the Rockefeller Foundation's Domestic and Cultural divisions. She came to national prominence after she founded the Urban Strategies Council, an Oakland based organization that developed innovation solutions to revitalize urban neighborhoods. Ms. Blackwell has also worked in the world of progressive lawyering, while a partner at Public Advocates, a nationally renowned public interest law firm. In addition to her impressive resume, Ms. Blackwell authored the book, Uncommon Common Ground: Race and America's Future.
See the link below to watch a preview of Ms. Blackwell's appearance on Moyer's and Company and check your local listings for details.
Blog
Join the Network, the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies and friends as we come together to discuss how we can:
Work across practices
to respond holistically to poverty
Generate systemic change as we directly serve those in need
Talk about the change we need in a way that others hear us
SCHEDULE OF EVENTS:
Registration and Breakfast: 8:30am
Panel Discussion: 9:00am- 10:00am
Barbara Levy Simon - Columbia School of Social Work
Deborah Axt - Make the Road by Walking
C.Nicole Mason - Dir. of Women of Color Policy Network, NYU
Working Session: 10:15am - 11:45am
Berlin Rosen: "Addressing Poverty & Institutional Messaging"
Luncheon
and Remarks: 12:00pm- 1:30pm
KEYNOTE SPEAKER: Prof. Frances Fox Piven, Distinguished
Professor,
CUNY Graduate Center
Special Anniversary Ticket Pricing:
1 Ticket $45
2 Tickets $80
3 Tickets $100
Event Location:
New York University's Kimmel Center
60 Washington Square South
New York, NY 10012
On March 20, 2012, the House Budget Committee released its 2013 budget, which includes large tax breaks for high-income earners, and changes to the Medicare benefit guarantee. Budget Committee Chairman, Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI), appears in a video on the Budget Committee's website, stating that the House budget proposes a reduction in the top marginal tax rate to 25 percent. Such tax cuts would reduce government revenue by $4 trillion over the next decade, and are paired with domestic discretionary spending cuts that are likely to endanger the economic security of low-income communities across the country. The House budget proposes other tradeoffs that would increase economic insecurity, such as replacing the Medicare benefit guarantee with a subsidy to purchase care, and an increase in discretionary military spending in a time of record unemployment. The Obama Administration's 2013 budget increases tax equity while investing in jobs and education; a model likely to increase economic security and work supports for women of color, their families, and communities. Read the Network analysis of the Obama Administration's 2013 budget here.
CAP Study Highlights the Economic Benefits of Food Security
In March of 2012, the Center for American Program released a report entitled, "The Economic Consequences of Cutting the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program," (SNAP) which provides an explanation of the stimulative impact that SNAP benefits provide to the U.S. economy. The report notes that in addition to protecting the food security of millions of families and children, the program steadies demand for groceries, producing direct and indirect employment for thousands of Americans. The report found that cuts to SNAP included in Congressman Paul Ryan's (R-WI) 2011 budget proposal would not only have increased food insecurity across the country, but would also have resulted in the loss of 174,200 jobs over ten years. SNAP benefits free up financial resources for low-income families, allowing these participants to support spending in other sectors of the economy. The report highlights that a reduction in the availability of SNAP would result in a reduction in demand for other goods in the economy. Thus, SNAP benefits not only provide nutritional support and added economic security to participants, but also provide an economic stimulus to the economy - a key factor for creating jobs.
Trouble in Texas: Voter ID Laws and Barriers to Reproductive Health Face Federal Opposition
On March 15, 2012, the Department of Health and Human Services announced that it would be cutting off Medicaid funding for Texas' Women's Health Program, after the state adopted a law barring funding for clinics that provide abortion procedures. Federal law, relating to the administration of Medicaid funding, requires that patients choose their health care providers and doctors. The Texas law in question cuts off state funding to any health clinics that are affiliated with abortion providers - thus conflicting with the rules governing Medicaid. Cindy Mann, Director of the Centers for Medicaid and CHIP Services, has stated that the funding will be cut off slowly to prevent recipients from suddenly losing coverage.
Earlier in the week, on March 12, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) blocked a piece of Texas law requiring voters to present a photo ID at polling places in order to cast a ballot. The U.S. DOJ stated that the law would disproportionately impact Latino voters, since Latino voters are less likely to have either a personal identification card or a driver's license. The U.S. DOJ has the power to block voting laws in 16 states, including Texas, that have a "history of discrimination." These 16 states must submit changes in voter laws to the US DOJ for approval, as required by the 1965 Voting Rights Acts.
The Nation Magazine's Week in Poverty Discusses Social Costs of PRWORA
On March 9, 2012, the Nation Magazine's Greg Kaufman focused on the negative impacts of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PROWORA) of 1996, otherwise known at the Welfare Reform Act. In Kaufman's column, the Week in Poverty, it is noted that since welfare reform was enacted the number of families living on less than $2 per person per day has increased by 130 percent. Furthermore, Kaufman cites commentary - from the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities - noting that extreme poverty doubled during the same period, and tripled for female-headed households. The column also references research from the National Poverty Center, at the University of Michigan, which tracked extreme poverty since 1996. The National Poverty Center report states that, while food stamps and housing subsidies have helped to ease the destructive impact of PRWORA, "it would be wrong to conclude that the U.S. safety net is strong, or even adequate, when one in five poor households with children is living without meaningful cash income." The Network has focused on the troubling outcomes of welfare reform in our policy brief on TANF reauthorization.
Urban Institute Report Focuses on Barriers to Child Care Equity
In late February, the Urban Institute released the report, "How Contextual Constraints Affect Low-Income Working Parents' Child Care Choices," focusing on the child care needs of low-income communities. The report found, through the collection and analysis of qualitative data, that many low-income working parents face significant barriers towards securing child care access. The report outlines several impediments towards access, including: a lack of awareness of child care and inadequate outreach to provide this information; a low supply of child care in low income communities; and a dearth of affordable child care programs for low-income communities. The report also found that the accessibility of information about child care availability is limited amongst immigrants, especially those with limited English proficiency. Access to quality and affordable child care provides both support for working parents, and critical services that meet the development needs of children. The Urban Institute report also emphasizes the importance of designing child care programs to be flexible, so that they are able to meet the needs of the often irregular and shifting hours that can accompany low-wage jobs.
A report released this month by the National Women's Law Center (NWLC) found that recent employment gains in the manufacturing industry have largely left women out. The NWLC report, entitled "A 'Man'ufacturing Comeback: Men's and Women's Employment Gains and Losses in 2011," finds that between 2010 and 2011 females lost 25,000 jobs in the manufacturing sector, while males gained a 230,000 jobs in the sector. Furthermore, the report found women are increasingly underrepresented in manufacturing fields with higher wages. The report notes that in order to reverse these disparities, women must receive equal access to job training and equal employment opportunities. The chart below, reproduced from the NWLC report, illustrates the gender-based wage disparities in the four highest paying manufacturing sectors.
The Network report, Race, Gender and the Recession [PDF], highlighted that Black and Latino workers were underrepresented in the manufacturing sector based on 2008 Bureau of Labor Statistics data. At the time of publication, that report predicted that concerted efforts would be necessary to make sure that manufacturing jobs created (or retained) by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act were equitably distributed across race, gender and ethnicity. Furthermore, the chart below - reproduced from the aforementioned Network report - shows that Black women and Latinas were especially underrepresented in the manufacturing sector at the start of the Great Recession.
This Sunday, March 18, 2012, at 4:00 p.m. Tavis Smiley and a panel of thinkers, media personalities and change-makers will discuss the rising rates of poverty impacting women and children in the United States. The event, entitled "Made Visible: Women, Children and Poverty in America," will include Network Affiliate Scholar and Practitioner Julianne Malveaux who serves as the President of Bennett College. Other featured panelists will be Suze Orman, Susan Sarandon, and U.S. Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis. We look forward to a provocative discussion on women and poverty. The event will be held at New York University's Skirball Center for Performing Arts, see below for the event's flyer.
These measures have garnered significant opposition from Republican lawmakers in the Senate, who argue that the bill is a tactic by Senate Democrats to appeal to liberal voters in an election year. Senator Jeff Sessions (R- AL) stated: "I favor the Violence Against Women Act and have supported it at various points over the years, but there are matters put on that bill that almost seem to invite opposition." Sessions remarks offer insight into the thinking of those who would oppose legislative action to make much needed improvements to VAWA. Senator Sessions' remarks highlight that issues of domestic violence intersect with immigration status and marriage equality. To reauthorize the bill, without these considerations, suggests that conservative lawmakers would prefer to craft legal protections to protect those facing domestic abuse within specific contexts. Public safety, and the mental and physical health of countless Americans, would certainly suffer should legislation be crafted in such a narrow manner.
In the context of recent national discussions of health insurance coverage of contraception, the proposed reauthorization and improvement of VAWA highlights that women's health and well-being is receiving attention in Congress and the White House. It is critical that as these issues are considered by lawmakers and the President, subsequent regulations and laws are crafted to foster inclusion, public health, and safety for victims of domestic violence.
Today, the Network's recent report, "Above Board: Raising the Standards for Passenger Service Workers at the Nation's Busiest Airports," [PDF] was featured on Demos' blog - Policy Shop. In the post, Demos Senior Policy Analyst Amy Traub discusses the findings of the Network report, citing recent press coverage the issue received in the Village Voice, under the headline "Air Safety on the Cheap."
Traub writes of the Network's findings:
"The NYU report points out that the federal government provided $15 billion in grants and loans to the airlines after 9/11 and continues to bestow public subsidies such as tax-free bonds and fuel breaks on the industry. And despite all this public largesse, the airline industry chooses to do business with such low-wage contractors that their workforce policies necessitate a second set of public subsidies: nearly one in four passenger service workers at airline contractors rely on government sponsored health coverage, and one in five depend on food stamps to feed their families. Other subsidies, from the earned income tax credit to rental and heating assistance were not quantified in the report, but are likely substantial."
We appreciate the feedback from Demos and look forward to a pro-active effort by the Port Authority of NY-NJ to improve the wages and benefits of contract airport personnel.
Earlier this month, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) released a report showing that many workers receiving unemployment benefits (UI) are exhausting them, despite UI extensions enacted by Congress. The report found that, of 15 million workers who lost their jobs between 2007 and 2009, half received unemployment benefits. Of these UI recipients one-quarter exhausted their benefits. This amounts to approximately 2 million UI recipients losing their benefits over a two year period. Also noted in GAO report is that an additional 3.5 million workers exhausted benefits between 2010 and 2011.
Of these workers who are disconnected from UI benefits, the unemployment rate and poverty rate was shown to be extremely high. According to the GAO report, the unemployment rate for those exhausting UI benefits was 46 percent in 2010, drastically higher than the national average of 8.3 percent. Trends in high unemployment for those exhausting benefits results in a higher poverty rate for these workers. Disconnected workers have a poverty rate of 18 percent, compared to just 13 percent for working-age adults. Workers disconnected from UI also tend to earn less when they do reenter the labor force, with 40 percent having "relatively low-incomes."
While disconnected workers are clearly struggling with a lack of economic security as a result of the "Great Recession," many of those locked out of UI are not eligible for TANF benefits because they do not have children below the age of 18. The statistics included in the GAO report show that, while the safety net is responding to the crisis, it is also letting many slip into poverty and economic insecurity. The Network has written about the crisis of long-term unemployment in communities of color, and understands the need for added supports to decrease the deleterious impacts of labor market disconnection. The conclusion of the GAO report notes that:
"As for the programs UI exhaustees and their households have turned to for additional assistance, few have received TANF as of 2009 in part because most do not match the target population of TANF. As currently financed and structured at the federal and state levels TANF does not appear to provide many of those we studied income support to help them weather the bad economic times."The Network has continually highlighted that TANF must be strengthened, so that it is more responsive to tough economic times - and so that those receiving it have opportunities for human capital development without time limits (or other draconian barriers to access). Read the Network's congressional testimony on ways that the next reauthorization of the TANF block grant can help to make cash assistance programs stronger for low-income families.