AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons)
"AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people 50 and over. We provide information and resources; advocate on legislative, consumer, and legal issues; assist members to serve their communities; and offer a wide range of unique benefits,special products, and services for our members. These benefits include AARP Webplace at www.aarp.org, Modern Maturity and My Generation magazines, and the monthly AARP Bulletin. Active in every U.S. state and territory, AARP celebrates the attitude that age isn't just a number -- it's about how you live your life."

Internet Resources Related to Aging (U.S.)
List of Contents - like a site map, incl. links to sites organized under the following headings : General Interest - Government - Health - Housing - Income - Law - Leisure - Libraries, Clearinghouses and Databases - Social Services - States and Communities - Statistics and Research - Listservs - Newsgroups - Electronic Magazines - Search Tools - Alphabetical Index
Other Internet Directories Related to Aging - links to 9 directories, most from the U.S. Administration on Aging, including state and even local links to resources for seniors

Links to AARP sites in all states

AARP Online U.S. Pension Calculator

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AgeSource/AgeStats Worldwide
http://www.aarpinternational.org/database/
AgeSource Worldwide identifies several hundred information resources in some 25 countries which are significant either in size or in their unique coverage of particular aging-related issues. The resources include, among others, clearinghouses, libraries, databases, training materials, major reports, and Web metasites. AgeStats Worldwide provides access to statistical data that compare the situation of older adults across countries or regions around a variety of issues, such as demography, pensions, health and long-term care. The most recent data and projections as far ahead as 2050 are provided where available. You may search either or both databases at one time. Access is free-of-charge. AgeSource and AgeStats Worldwide have been created by AARP to facilitate the international exchange of policy and program-relevant information in aging.

American Public Human Services Association (APHS)
"Founded in 1930, APHSA is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization of individuals and agencies concerned with human services. Our members include all state and many territorial human service agencies, more than 1,200 local agencies, and several thousand individuals who work in or otherwise have an interest in human service programs."

American RadioWorks
"AMERICAN RADIOWORKS® is the national documentary unit of American Public Media. ARW is public radio's largest documentary production unit; it creates documentaries, series projects, and investigative reports for the public radio system and the Internet."
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.

After Welfare
In August 1996, landmark legislation fulfilled the promise to "end welfare as we know it" in the U.S. Congress gave the states money to run their own programs and required them to move many welfare recipients into the workforce.
Supporters declared it a new day, the beginning of self-sufficiency for poor families. Others warned the action would push women and children into the streets, perhaps by the millions.

After Welfare - U.S.
May 2006
[requires Real Player and Macromedia Flash Player]
Over the past few years, the American RadioWorks has raised the bar for like-minded radio documentary programs, producing thought-provoking and insightful studies on topics such as, Congressional reform, intelligent design, and international adoption programs. In this recently released documentary, John Biewen has created this introspective look into the world of welfare reform in the United States, and how it has affected the lives of five different women and their families. The women profiled come from a host of different backgrounds, and visitors may be surprised at some of the findings that Biewen presents in the documentary. The site also includes an interactive feature that allows users to find out how their own state ranks in terms of welfare and foodstamp recipients, welfare check sizes, time limits, and unemployment rates. Visitors can also look over a list of additional external links of interest and also read the complete transcript of the program.
Source:

Related Links:

Your State of Welfare (also fromAmerican RadioWorks)
"Find out how your state ranks in terms of welfare and foodstamp recipients, welfare check sizes, time limits poverty and unemployment rates, welfare cases closed (and why) and more."
Comment: Wow - very impressive. Move your cursor over the map of the U.S. and it expands to let you click on the smaller states - provided that you know the names and locations of the states (it took me three tries to find Minnesota

Links and Resources - links to a dozen online resources

The latest Government report to Congress on welfare reform:

TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)
Sixth Annual Report to Congress
November 2004
Source:
Office of Family Assistance
[ part of the Administration for Children and Families ]
[ part of the Department of Health and Human Services ]

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate-income families, with over 100,000 member families organized into 500 neighborhood chapters in 40 cities across the country. Since 1970 ACORN has taken action and won victories on issues of concern to our members. Our priorities include: better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments, and better public schools. We achieve these goals by building community organizations that have the power to win changes -- through direct action, negotiation, legislation, and voter participation.
See other ACORN affiliate websites:
ACORN Housing Corporation
ACORN Law on the Web
Living Wage Resource Center - Brief history of the national living wage movement, background materials such as ordinance summaries and comparisons, drafting tips, research summaries, talking points, and links to other living wage-related sites.

Beliefnet

The Twelve Tribes of American Politics
The religious groups that comprise the U.S. electorate--and how they voted in 2004.
Source:

NOTE:
Although this is not Canadian social policy as such, I was nonetheless compelled to include a link to this short (8-page) synopsis after the death last week of Jerry Falwell, icon of the Religious Right.
Religious groups that work to influence American public policy include:
• the "religious right" • heartland culture warriors moderate evangelicals • white bread protestants • convertible catholics • the "religious left" • spiritual but not religious • seculars • latinos • jews • muslims & other faiths • black protestants

- incl. info for each group on:
• Percent of voting-age population • Percent of 2004 voters • Who they are • Examples • Ideology • Political Party • Political trend • How they voted • What they care about

Benton Foundation - ("... working to realize the social benefits made possible by the public interest use of communications")
- Washington, D.C.
 - **Coalition for America's Children

 - **Children and Foster Care (June 1998)
American Public Human Services Association (formerly the American Public Welfare Association)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill and Melinda Gates believe every life has equal value. In 2000, they created the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world.

Remarks of Bill Gates
Harvard Commencement
June 7, 2007
“From those to whom much is given, much is expected...
(...) We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes. If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change the world. (...) I hope you will come back here to Harvard 30 years from now and reflect on what you have done with your talent and your energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities … on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity."

Bloomberg
" Bloomberg is the leading global provider of data, news and analytics."

House Adopts Higher Minimum Wage, $310 Billion in Tax Cuts
July 29 2006
"The House voted to boost the minimum wage for the first time since 1997 in Republican-backed legislation that also cuts $310 billion in taxes, largely by reducing a levy on multimillion-dollar estates. The minimum wage increase, and the inclusion of $38 billion in tax cuts that many Democrats support, were described by some Republicans as a bid to attract votes for the estate tax legislation when it reaches the Senate, where it has been rejected twice in the last month."

Related Link:

COMPARING THE HOUSE MINIMUM WAGE AND ESTATE TAX PROPOSALS:
Who Benefits and By How Much?
July 28, 2006
by Joel Friedman and Aviva Aron-Dine
http://www.cbpp.org/7-28-06tax2.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/7-28-06tax2.pdf, 2pp.
Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington)

Google News Search Results:
"US, minimum wage"
Google Web Search Results:
"US, minimum wage"
Source:
Google.ca

Brookings Institution
The Brookings Institution is a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. Our mission is to conduct high-quality, independent research and, based on that research, to provide innovative, practical recommendations that advance three broad goals:
* Strengthen American democracy;
* Foster the economic and social welfare, security and opportunity of all Americans and
* Secure a more open, safe, prosperous and cooperative international system.

Sample reports from the Brookings Institution:

Five Myths About Our Land of Opportunity
By Isabel V. Sawhill and Ron Haskins
November 01, 2009
Americans have always believed that their country is unique in providing the opportunity to get ahead. Just combine hard work with a bit of talent and you'll climb the ladder—or so we've told ourselves for generations. But rising unemployment and financial turmoil are puncturing that self-image. The reality of this "land of opportunity" is considerably more complex than the myths would suggest:
1. Americans enjoy more economic opportunity than people in other countries.
2. In the United States, each generation does better than the past one.
3. Immigrant workers and the offshoring of jobs drive poverty and inequality in the United States.
4. If we want to increase opportunities for children, we should give their families more income.
5. We can fund new programs to boost opportunity by cutting waste and abuse in the federal budget.

See also:
The Socialist-Free Purity Pledge (U.S.)

What Do the Recently-Released U.S. Poverty Numbers Tell Us? (PDF - 48K, 9 pages)
September 25, 2008
Testimony to the Joint Economic Committee
Hearing entitled “Leave No Family Behind: How Can We Reduce the Rising Number of
American Families Living in Poverty?”
By Rebecca M. Blank
"(...)

Highlights:
- poverty did not fall to any appreciable extent during the economic expansion of the 2000s. This is quite unusual.
- In past decades,the poverty rate and the unemployment rate have moved together. When unemployment fell in the 1980s expansion, so did poverty. Unemployment and poverty both fell rapidly in the strong expansion of the 1990s. But when unemployment fell after 2003, poverty remained essentially flat.
- the rise in poverty reflects the generally sluggish growth in income by all families in the bottom half of the income distribution

Anti-Poverty Strategies for the Next Decade:
* Continue to Incentivize and Support Low-Wage Work
--- Work and earnings must be at the center of any anti-poverty strategy.
--- Expanding the EITC for workers without children in their immediate households would help incentivize work among less-skilled men.
--- Increase assistance to help pay child care expenses for single mothers who are caring for children.
*Assuring the Presence of an Effective Safety Net
--- Help disconnected women and their families stabilize their incomes.
--- Revisions in Unemployment Insurance. (...)
We have had real successes in our anti-poverty efforts over the past 30 years, but there is more that we can do to reduce economic need among our citizens."

Related link:

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance
Coverage in the United States: 2007 (PDF - 2.9MB, 84 pages)
August 2008
Source:
U.S. Census

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The Challenge of Achieving High Work Participation Rates in Welfare Programs - U.S.
Policy Brief
by LaDonna Pavetti
October 2004
"Efforts to reform the welfare system over the last two decades have largely focused on reducing welfare dependency by getting welfare recipients to work. By the time the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was created by the welfare reform law of 1996, there was widespread agreement in the states that welfare recipients should be required to look for work and to do so shortly after (or even before) they began receiving cash assistance. Once TANF was implemented, work became a central focus of local welfare offices. However, as shown by the recent debates on the reauthorization, consensus on work requirements remains elusive."
HTML version
PDF version (284K, 8 pages)

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Welfare Reform: Plenty of Work Left
November 2, 2004
Philadelphia Daily News
by Margy Waller
"Late last summer, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson celebrated the eighth anniversary of the historic welfare-to-work law by announcing a small welfare caseload decline in 2003: 'American families are improving their lives by leaving public assistance and entering the workforce,'he said. A mere three days later, the U.S. Census Bureau announced the 2003 poverty estimates. Poverty increased and unfortunately, children accounted for most of the overall increase and more than a third of all poor people. This isn't the way things should work."
Source:
Welfare Reform - links to these two files plus dozens more articles, op-eds, speeches, (etc.) going back to 1997 on the subject of welfare reform
[ Welfare Reform and Beyond Project ]
[ The Brookings Institution ]

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Heeding Clinton's Welfare Advice
Op-ed by Margy Waller
Philadelphia Daily News
February 6, 2004
"PRESIDENT Clinton shared a few ideas about how to next proceed on welfare reform just before he left office in 2001. His thoughts are worth reviewing as the Senate prepares to take up the reauthorization of the historic 1996 welfare law. Noting that it had then been five years since the bill had passed, he said, "We need to look and see where it's working and what the problems are."
He identified five issues for policy-makers: Helping the 'hard to place' to find work, job-training, transportation, addressing the needs of places with a disproportionate concentration of recipients and reducing recidivism.
Then he went on, saying 'one of the great stories of the last eight years is that all of us who thought poor people would rather work than draw a government check for not working were right.' But he worried that 'people still have to be able, even on modest wages, to succeed at work and at home,' citing the need to raise minimum wage and his disappointment that this hadn't happened since 1996.
Finally, he said something few politicians have been willing to say in the context of welfare policy: 'we've got to make sure that people who are working, particularly if they're single parents, can do a good job with their kids, because raising children is still the most important job of any society.'"

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Welfare Reform: Building on Success
Testimony of Margy Waller (Brookings Institution) to the Senate Committee on Finance
March 12, 2003
"In my testimony, I will first review some important outcomes and lessons of the state and local implementation of the welfare law. Next, I will outline my concern that these successes will be undermined by the limitations and cost of the administration's proposal. Finally, I will make some specific recommendations to the committee for your consideration as you draft a reauthorization bill."
Full testimony (PDF file - 58K, 21 pages)

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Tax Policy as Housing Policy: The Earned Income Tax Credit's Potential to Make Housing More Affordable for Working Families
by Michael Stegman,Walter Davis, and Roberto Quercia
October 2003
Full report (PDF file - 200K, 16 pages)

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Block-Grant Mania: A Way to Cut Aid to the Working Poor?
In this op-ed, Margy Waller reviews the history of block grants and asks whether the administration's many block grant proposals are intended to lead to reduced federal funding to working poor families.
July 28, 2003

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Tax Credits for Working Families: The New American Social Policy
August 2003
Highlights
"In a policy environment averse to direct spending on programs dedicated to income support, a variety of federal tax credits have emerged as key vehicles for providing assistance to low-to-moderate income families. Indeed, the two largest individual income tax credits—the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC)—will represent over $75 billion in tax expenditures in 2003."
Full Report (PDF file - 389K, 61 pages)

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Tax Reform for Families
Publication Date: July 01, 2003
"This brief argues that the time is ripe for an integrated credit that combines the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit into an Earned Income Child Credit (EICC). The proposed EICC simplifies and standardizes the definition of qualifying children and those who may claim them, and indexes the new credit for inflation so that it retains its purchasing power over time. The EICC also provides enhanced benefits to low-income working families and reduces marginal tax rates. One version would cost $6 billion relative to current law (JGTRRA) in calendar year 2003.
Summary (HTML)
Complete report (PDF file - 271K, 8 pages)

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Stunning Progress, Hidden Problems: The Dramatic Decline of Concentrated Poverty in the 1990s (PDF file - 1.1MB, 24 pages)
"The issue of concentrated poverty is one that continues to engage the attention of social workers, politicians, and scholars alike. In this intriguing 24-page report from the Brooking Institution's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, Paul A. Jargowsky presents findings that suggest that concentrated poverty declined significantly during the 1990s. Some of his findings include statistics indicating that the number of people living in high-poverty neighborhoods declined by 24 percent, and that concentrated poverty declined among all racial and ethnic groups, especially African-Americans. The methodology section is quite helpful, as it explains the exact definition of "high-poverty concentrations" and the federal government standards for poverty levels. Additionally, the report contains numerous tables, graphs, and charts that document this transformation, including several organized maps detailing this change in Detroit, Los Angeles, and Chicago."
Reviewed in The Scout Report (May 28, 2003), Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2002

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Business Week

The Poverty Business
Inside U.S. companies' audacious drive to extract more profits from the nation's working poor
May 2007
"(...) In recent years, a range of businesses have made financing more readily available to even the riskiest of borrowers. Greater access to credit has put cars, computers, credit cards, and even homes within reach for many more of the working poor. But this remaking of the marketplace for low-income consumers has a dark side: Innovative and zealous firms have lured unsophisticated shoppers by the hundreds of thousands into a thicket of debt from which many never emerge."

NOTE: you'll find links to the following related items on the same page as the above article:

* Chart: Borrowing Binge
* Graphic: Extreme Interest
* Chart: The Other Banking System
* Graphic: From Thin Wallets, Big Money
* Study Now—And Pay And Pay And Pay Later
* Chart: Expensive Debt
* The Economics of the Poverty Business
* Cutting the Cost of Poverty

Source:
Business Week - May 21/07 issue

Canadian Policy Research Networks

Redesigning the “Welfare Mix” for Families: Policy Challenges
Discussion Paper by Jane Jenson, Director of the Family Network
Canadian Policy Research Networks
February 2003
Impressive, extensive collection of information on Canadian, American and European welfare (social assistance) programs and recent initiatives to improve labour market attachment as a means of reducing welfare dependency.
Includes some excellent info on the following topics (to mention but a few):
Defining the Welfare Mix - Current Challenges (An Ageing Society- Economic Marginalization and Social Exclusion - Changing Families - Child Poverty) - Redesigning the Welfare Mix: What is Being Done Elsewhere --- The European Union (An Employment-Centred Strategy for Achieving a Better Welfare Mix) - The United States (Welfare Mix of Hidden Expenditures and Dramatic Reforms) - The Adequacy of Social Assistance Benefits in Canada - Canada’s Strategies for Increasing Labour Force Attachment - Work and Family (Child Benefits and Other Supports for Families)
- also includes info about the Self-Sufficiency Project (Final Results), a table showing Adequacy of Welfare Benefits by Province and Location of Residence (Lone Parent, One Child Families and Couples with Two Children) - Comparison of Selected Countries’ Programs to Foster Labour Force Participation, Aid Transition from Social Assistance to Work, and Ensure Adequate Income - Rankings of Provinces by Amount of Social Benefit and “Poverty Gap” - Comparison of Provinces’ Programs to Foster Labour Force Participation, Aid Transition from Social Assistance to Work, and Ensure Adequate Income.

Cases and Materials on American Federalism
Purdue University - Calumet, Indiana
By Dr. Douglas G. Amber
"These materials were developed for the Introductory American Government & public policy classes that I teach at Purdue University Calumet. The cases and materials contained herein are an attempt to create an organized net-based resource for a political science student's journey of discovery into both the "hows" and the "whys" of American Government and public policy without getting bogged down in shallow discussions of the propriety vel non of the polarizing (and usually inflammatory) current topics of popular discussion."
- great collection of historical resources, includes links to : American Socio-Political Heritage - Our Constitutional Beginnings - The Consequences of Federalism - "Democracy": Its Definition(s) & Structure(s) - The Congress - The President - The Federal Courts - Civil Liberties & Rights - Glossary - Appendices [State Law -- Relevant Political Works Available Online - A Timeline of Events Related to American Federalism - PoliticalParties & Organizations With Websites - Additional Significant "Federalism" Cases]
Sample Content :
A Timeline of Events Related to American Federalism - 1066 to 2002

Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty
The Center for American Progress is a think tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action. We combine bold policy ideas with a modern communications platform to help shape the national debate, expose the hollowness of conservative governing philosophy, and challenge the media to cover the issues that truly matter.

Selected recent site content:

August 25, 2008
Inequality Matters
Kate Bell provides analysis of new research that shows it’s not just poverty that affects children’s outcomes—it’s inequality, too.

August 5, 2008
UK-Style Welfare Reform
Kate Bell explains why the British government should look to its own poverty success rather than the United States' early failures for welfare reform help.

July 30, 2008
Elderly Poverty: The Challenge Before Us
The elderly are disproportionately suffering in the economic downturn. It's time to help.

July 28, 2008
Issue Brief: The Child Tax Credit
Making the Child Tax Credit fully refundable would lift some of the barriers that prevent low-income families from getting the help they need.

July 28, 2008
Want to Help 13 Million Children?
The Child Tax Credit currently leaves out many low-income families who need the help most, but a new law would help change that.

House Embraces Poverty Goal
January 25, 2008
Last April, the Center for American Progress released the report of CAP’s Task Force on Poverty, From Poverty to Prosperity [see the link below], calling for a national goal of cutting poverty in half in 10 years. This week, the House of Representatives endorsed this goal, when on January, 22, 2008, the House passed House Concurrent Resolution 198 via voice vote without objection, declaring the sense of the Congress that the United States should set a national goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 years.

Related link:

From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
April 25, 2007
[ Highlights and recommendations - HTML ]
"(...)Consider the following facts:
* One in eight Americans now lives in poverty.
* Millions of Americans will spend at least one year in poverty at some point in their lives. One third of all Americans will experience poverty within a 13-year period.
* Poverty in the United States is far higher than in many other developed nations.
* Inequality has reached record highs.

A strategy to cut poverty in half should be guided by four principles:
* Promote Decent Work.
* Provide Opportunity for All.
* Ensure Economic Security.
* Help People Build Wealth.

Twelve key steps to cut poverty in half:
1. Raise and index the minimum wage to half the average hourly wage.
2. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
3. Promote unionization by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act.
4. Guarantee child care assistance to low-income families and promote early education for all.
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.
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.

Our recommendations would cut poverty in half. "
[Excerpts from the report]

Full report (PDF - 8.1MB, 80 pages)
Executive Summary (PDF - 3.9MB, 8 pages)

Related links:
Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

Investing in Our Children: The U.S. Can Learn From the U.K.
By Jane Waldfogel
July 30, 2007
The former and newly installed British prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, are longstanding Labour Party rivals, yet they were able to unite in what history may one day view as their most important domestic achievement—a commitment to end child poverty in the United Kingdom.
(...)
Although most of the focus in the United Kingdom is on relative poverty, the government also tracks its progress using an absolute poverty line, similar to the one the United States uses. On this measure, the United Kingdom has reduced poverty by a stunning 50 percent since the start of its anti-poverty campaign—reducing the numbers of children in absolute poverty before housing costs from 3.4 million in 1999 to 1.6 million in 2006. From a U.S. vantage point, this is a remarkable achievement.
Source:
Center for American Progress

Check the CEPR Publications Page for 150+ reports about everything from Social Security and NAIRU to IMF and WTO.

Sample reports:

New Method Needed to Assess What Working-Class Families Need to Make Ends Meet
Federal Poverty Measure Falls Short
News Release
December 22, 2008
Washington, D.C.- In an effort to address the shortcomings of the current federal poverty measure and inform efforts to expand the middle class, a new report from the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) evaluates current poverty metrics and suggests a new measure for a broader standard of basic income adequacy.

Complete report:

Measuring Povertyand Economic Inclusion:
The Current Poverty Measure, the NAS Alternative, and the
Case for a Truly New Approach (PDF - 918K, 47 pages)
December 2008
By Shawn Fremstad
Summary:
This report examines the current U.S. poverty measure and finds that it has failed to keep up with public consensus on the minimum amount of income needed to “get along” in the United States in the 21st Century. The author then examines a potential approach to revising the measure, based on recommendations made by a National Academy of Sciences panel in 1995, that improves in some ways on the current measure, but has serious limitations of its own that require further research before it is adopted. Moreover, the NAS approach results in a poverty measure that would remain far below the public’s get-along level. This report concludes by suggesting a truly new approach that the incoming Administration should adopt- a “tiered” poverty and economic-inclusion measure that is modeled on the child poverty measure adopted in 2003 by the United Kingdom.

Source:
Center for Economic and Policy Research (Washington)
The Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR) was established in 1999 to promote democratic debate on the most important economic and social issues that affect people's lives.

Related links: Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page:
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

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Tens of Millions of Families with Low-Wage Workers Fall Into Gap Left by Employers and Government
Nearly 41 million people in working families cannot afford basics like health care, housing, or child care, even with public work supports.
Press Release
October 10, 2007
Washington, DC--Low wages, inadequate benefits, and limited work supports leave one-in-five people (nearly 41 million) in working families struggling to make ends meet. According to a study released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC, and the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

National report:

Bridging the Gaps: A Picture of How Work Supports Work in Ten States (PDF file - 1.3MB, 47 pages)
October 2007
"...new findings on how well six work supports (child care assistance, Earned Income Tax Credit, Food Stamps, housing (public housing and section), Medicaid/State Children's Health Insurance Program, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) provide working families with the opportunity to bridge the gaps between their earnings and a basic standard of living."

Technical Report (PDF file - 1.1MB, 88 pages)
Podcast

Welfare-To-Nothing (Op-ed)
Heather Boushey
July 10, 2006

"(...)The new welfare rules set down by the Department of Health and Human Services last week establish uniform definitions of what constitutes work or work preparation activities for welfare recipients, limiting states’ ability to make these determinations. (...) In an Orwellian fashion, the administration refers to the increased work requirements as increasing self-sufficiency and reducing dependency. But a parent who must show up in study hall rather than do her homework with her children around the kitchen table is not less self-sufficient, not more. A parent who cannot take a day off to care for a sick child is not meeting her family’s needs. It’s time this administration stopped talking about self-sufficiency and sits down to look at the actual, rather than imagined, lives of working families and developed policies that—sufficiently—foster a workable balance between work and family."

The Conservative Nanny State
How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer (U.S.)
A free e-book by Dean Baker, published May 2006
"In his new book, economist Dean Baker debunks the myth that conservatives favor the market over government intervention. In fact, conservatives rely on a range of “nanny state” policies that ensure the rich get richer while leaving most Americans worse off. It’s time for the rules to change. Sound economic policy should harness the market in ways that produce desirable social outcomes – decent wages, good jobs and affordable health care."

"The key flaw in the stance that most progressives have taken on economic issues is that they have accepted a framing whereby conservatives are assumed to support market outcomes, while progressives want to rely on the government. This framing leads progressives to futilely lash out against markets, rather than examining the factors that lead to undesirable market outcomes. The market is just a tool, and in fact a very useful one. It makes no more sense to lash out against markets than to lash out against the wheel." (Excerpted from Preface)

Complete report:
PDF version (1MB, 119 pages)
HTML version

Press Release

Source:
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)
[Dean Baker is a macroeconomist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC.]

Related Link:

Socialism for the rich
by Scott Piatkowski
May 25, 2006
Source:
rabble.ca

CERP Briefing- poverty, income, and health insurance coverage for 2003
August 19, 2004
"On August 26, the U.S. Census will release new numbers on poverty, income, and health insurance coverage for 2003. This data will come from the Current Population Survey's Annual Demographic Supplement, conducted in March 2004. The Census will also release data from the 2003 American Community Survey. CERP is previewing this data on August 19 by presenting analysis on poverty, income, and health insurance coverage from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), another Census data product, for the first six months of 2003."

Globalization - links to two dozen recent publications and news, plus links to resources on the following: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank - Taxing Speculation (Tobin Tax) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) - The Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) - The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)

IMF / World Bank - links to 50+ online resources

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
Since 1968, CLASP has been a trusted resource, a creative architect for systems change, and one of the country's most effective voices for low income people. CLASP's mission is to develop and advocate for policies at the federal, state and local levels that improve the lives of low income people. In particular, we seek policies that work to strengthen families and create pathways to education and work.
[ Source: About CLASP ]

Sample reports from the Center for Law and Social Policy:

New Report Reveals Higher State Poverty Rates Based on Alternative Measure
State-by-State Report Calculates Poverty Based on Modern Measure
News Release
November 4, 2009
Washington, D.C. --- The percent of Americans living in poverty is higher than the current poverty measure captures, according to a new report that, for the first time, lists how poverty rates change in each state using a modern poverty measure. The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) compiled the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) calculations of each state's poverty rate using a Census web tool and published these calculations in Measure by Measure: the Current Poverty Measure v. the National Academy of Sciences Measures.

Complete report:
Measure by Measure: the Current
Poverty Measure v. the National Academy of Sciences Measures (PDF - 687K, 11 pages)
November 2, 2009
This report highlights alternative poverty measures for each state and the District of Columbia using a Census tool that calculates alternative measures based on a National Academy of Sciences recommendation and an NAS recommendation that considers geographic price difference adjustment.

Related links:
Go to the Poverty Measures - International Resources page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/poverty2.htm

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A Tool to Examine State Child Care Subsidy Policies
and Promote Stable, Quality Care for Low-Income Babies and Toddlers (Word file - 182K, 21 pages)
November 2, 2009
This tool, part of CLASP's Charting Progress for Babies in Child Care project, is designed to provide a policy framework that lays out child care subsidy policies that can be implemented to better support babies and toddlers and their families. Users can download and save a copy of this tool, then fill in the appropriate columns with their state's current policies and opportunities for change. In addition, links are included to online resources and examples of state policy initiatives. Assistance in using this tool is available from CLASP.

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Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reports:

TANF Emergency Funds:
State Applications Approved as of October 27, 2009 (PDF - 480K, 4 pages)
November 2, 2009
The American Recover and Reinvestment Act of 2009 created a new $5 billion TANF Emergency Fund. This document compiles data on which states applied for emergency TANF funding as of October 27, 2009, compared with the maximum they are allowed to receive.

Analysis of Fiscal Year 2008 TANF and MOE Spending by States
October 28, 2009
(Read the disclaimers re. limitations and copyright,
then click "Download Spreadsheet" to access the Excel spreadsheet.)
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has published data concerning use of federal TANF and state maintenance of effort (MOE) funds in FY 2008. This set of state-by-state charts shows how each state reported using its TANF and MOE funds in FY 2008.

Questions and Answers about the TANF Emergency Fund (PDF - 508K, 9 pages)
November 2, 2009
Since 1996, the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) grant has been assisting needy families and children. This new report answers questions about TANF funding and how it relates to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

What the TANF Emergency Fund
Can Do For Your Cash-Strapped State
CLASP Audio Conference
Monday, November 16th
12:30 - 1:30 PM EST
On Monday, November 16, CLASP will bring together leading TANF experts to discuss the latest federal guidance on innovative ways that states can draw on the TANF Emergency Fund and claim expenditures by third parties, such as counties, nonprofit service-providers, and even merchants. Participants will have an opportunity to ask questions about the TANF Emergency Fund.

Earlier CLASP reports:

Cash Assistance since Welfare Reform (PDF - 810K, 4 pages)
By Elizabeth Lower-Basch
August 6, 2009
- includes ten links to related resources (in the endnotes)
Highlights:
* Caseloads remain historically low
* No progress in employment and poverty
* Participation rate requirements were tightened by the Deficit Reduction Act
* Many "diverted" from assistance

The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Block Grant (PDF - 758K, 4 pages)
By Elizabeth Lower-Basch
August 6, 2009
- includes seven links to related resources (in the endnotes)
"(...) The ambitious goals of the TANF Program are not matched by proportionate resources, especially in states with high rates of poverty and low fiscal capacity."

Civil Legal Aid in the United States:
An Update for 2009 (PDF - 212K, 29 pages)
By Alan W. Houseman
July 2009
"(...) An integrated and comprehensive civil legal assistance system should have the capacity to: (1) educate and inform low-income persons of their legal rights and responsibilities and the options and services available to solve their legal problems; and (2) ensure that all low-income persons, including individuals and groups who are politically or socially disfavored, have meaningful access to high-quality legal assistance providers when they require legal advice and representation. The United States has made considerable progress in meeting the first of these two objectives, but progress has been slow in meeting the second."
Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is a national non-profit that works to improve the lives of low-income people. CLASP’s mission is to improve the economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income parents, children, and youth and to secure equal justice for all.

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Related link from
Statistics Canada:

Legal Aid in Canada:
Resource and Caseload Statistics, 2007/2008 (PDF - 616K, 127 pages)
February 2009
* In 2007/2008, $670 million was spent on providing legal aid services in 10 provinces and territories. This represents over $20 for every person living in these jurisdictions.
* In the last five years, legal aid spending after inflation has decreased just as many times as it has increased, but on average, it has risen about 1% per year. Compared to the previous year, spending in 2007/2008 was virtually unchanged, up by less than one-half of one percent.
[ Highlights ]
[ Earlier editions of this report ]

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Preliminary Summary of Key Provisions of the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Aimed
at Improving the Lives of Low-Income Americans (PDF - 184K, 5 pages)
February 13, 2009
Preliminary summary of the key provisions of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act aimed at improving the lives of low-income Americans.

Target Practice: Lessons for Poverty Reduction (PDF - 355K, 20 pages)
January 2009
By Jodie Levin-Epstein and Webb Lyons
Target Practice outlines how governments (local, state and the federal) can use targets (goals and timelines to achieve those goals) as a policy tool for reducing poverty by drawing on lessons learned from targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and homelessness.

Seizing the Moment: State Governments
and the New Commitment to Reduce Poverty in America
April 2008
By Jodie Levin-Epstein and Kristen Michelle Gorzelany

The three leading presidential candidates are now on record with a public commitment to address poverty and opportunity in the United States. This is in concert with growing state efforts and signals a dramatic turnaround in tackling poverty. In just the last two years, one of every five states has taken action to put poverty on the political agenda. This joint report from CLASP and Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity outlines those efforts and provides charts detailing action by policy area.

* Complete report (PDF - 540K, 53 pages)

* Overview (PDF - 138K, 14 pages)

* State-by-State Narratives (PDF - 447K, 31 pages)

* Charts Tracking State Initiatives (PDF - 131K, 11 pages)

Spotlight on Poverty and Opportunity - "...to make sure that 2008 sets the stage for concerted action on poverty and opportunity in 2009 and beyond."

Final TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] Rules Include Modest Improvements;
Further Action Needed to Restore the Safety Net (PDF File - 32K, 2 pages)
by Elizabeth Lower-Basch
February 1, 2008
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services placed on public display the final rules implementing the changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. These regulations are scheduled for publication in the Federal Register next week. The final rule contains a number of modest changes from the interim final rule published in June 2006 and the guidance that HHS has given states since then. Many of the changes respond to concerns that CLASP and numerous other organizations submitted in response to the interim final rule. The rule also provides some helpful clarifications in areas where states were concerned that they might be subject to penalty.

What's TANF?
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a block grant created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as part of a federal effort to “end welfare as we know it.” The TANF block grant replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which had provided cash welfare to poor families with children since 1935...

Improving Access to Education and Training for TANF Participants (PDF file - 31K, 2 pages)
May 18, 2007
By Elizabeth Lower-Basch
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant is one of the major sources of funding for services designed to help low-income parents succeed in the workplace. The TANF law limits the degree to which states can count TANF families engaged in education and training activities toward federal work participation rate requirements—an unfortunate limitation, given the strong link between educational attainment and earnings. In this two-pager, CLASP recommends that Congress remove these arbitrary limits on education and training.
"(...)policies limiting access to education and training are highly counterproductive, as there is strong evidence that education leading to a credential—whether a training certificate or a postsecondary degree—is an effective pathway to higher earnings. (...) welfare to work programs that have succeeded in helping participants find higher paying jobs typically have made substantial use of education and training, including access to postsecondary programs."

Securing Equal Justice for All:
A Brief History of Civil Legal Assistance in the United States (3.2MB, 71 pages)
January 2007 (Revised)
by Alan W. Houseman and Linda E. Perle.
This document chronicles civil legal assistance for the low-income community in the United States from its privately funded beginnings, through its achievement of federal funding, and to its expansion and growth into a national program operating throughout the U.S. It also describes some of the political battles that have been fought around the legal services program and the restrictions that have come with government funding. It concludes with some brief thoughts about the future.

Child Care and Early Education State-by-State Data - U.S.
November 16, 2006
This set of state-by-state data includes new analysis of 2005 child care spending from Child Care Development Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds and of 2005 Head Start Program Information Report data, along with data (published in March 2006) on states’ use of community-based child care to provide pre-kindergarten.

Child Care Assistance in 2005: State Cuts Continue (PDF file - 78K, 9 pages)
November 1, 2006
State spending on child care assistance declined in 2005 for the second consecutive year. Twenty-two states made cuts to their child care programs, as the number of children living in low-income families that received help from these programs continued to decline. Many families turn to child care assistance programs to get help paying for the child care they need in order to work and to succeed. This policy brief provides an overview of national expenditure data for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds directed towards child care. 9 pages.

Analysis of Fiscal Year 2005 TANF and MOE Spending by States
October 10, 2006

Two-Thirds of States Qualify as "Needy States" for
Extended Counting of TANF Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance
July 28, 2006
by Elizabeth Lower-Basch
Under TANF rules, job search and job readiness assistance may only be counted toward the work participation rate for 6 weeks in a fiscal year; however this limit is extended to 12 weeks in high unemployment states and those qualifying as "needy" under the Contingency Fund provisions of the law. This provision gives eligible states some flexibility in providing activities that address barriers to employment and that are only countable toward meeting TANF participation rates under the job search/job readiness work activity as defined in the interim final regulations.

CLASP Federal Budget Resources
July 12, 2006
"CLASP actively tracks and analyzes developments in the areas of our focus—with the goal of promoting a federal budget that does not disproportionately disadvantage programs for vulnerable families or reduce services and supports that are effective in moving families toward self-sufficiency."

Source:

Analysis of New Interim Final TANF Rules (PDF file - 286K, 34 pages)
July 21/06
by CLASP and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
This collaborative analysis provides an overview of the major regulatory provisions and the implications for state policies of rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on June 29, 2006. The interim final regulations implement the changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The analysis explains the new federal definitions of the countable work activities and their implications for education and training and services for individuals with barriers to employment. The analysis also examines the treatment of child-only cases, how hours of participation must be counted tracked and verified, implications for child care, and changes in the maintenance of effort requirement.

Getting Punched: The Job and Family Clock...It's Time for Flexible Work for Workers of All Wages (PDF file - 159K, 32 pages)
July 20/06 by Jodie Levin-Epstein
Get the facts on the dramatic labor market changes that result in more and more workers facing dual and dueling responsibilities - those at work and those at home. Businesses that recognize this tension address it through responsive scheduling and paid time off; and, these businesses benefit from cost savings when they do. Getting Punched suggests 10 ways that government should get more involved in promoting responsive workplaces for workers of all wages. It's about time.

All 2006 CLASP publications on welfare reform (with links to earlier years at the bottom of the page)
All 2006 publications on child care and early education (ditto)

The UK Commitment: Ending Child Poverty by 2020 (PDF file - 100K, 17 pages)
by Elisa Minoff
January 30, 2006
In 1999, the United Kingdom (UK) announced its pledge to cut child poverty by one-quarter by 2004 and eliminate it by 2020. This paper examines the history of this ambitious commitment, and the progress to date. It also analyzes the components of the national effort—which range from employment supports, asset building initiatives, and child-targeted assistance to tax, welfare, and education policies—and the next steps the UK is considering to meet the goal of eradicating child poverty.
Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) - U.S.
"...a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1968, conducts research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and advocacy on issues related to economic security for low-income families with children."

House Cuts to Foster Care Funding Would Jeopardize Children
Living With Grandparents and Other Relatives (PDF file - 43K, 5 pages)
November 9, 2005
"The House of Representatives is considering budget reconciliation legislation that would decrease federally funded foster care services by $577 million over five years and $1.3 billion over ten years. This brief examines the provisions, which, if implemented, would discourage the placement of abused and neglected children with grandparents and other relatives, impede efforts to reunify children with their parents, and make it more difficult to provide critical services to children and families."

Families Will Lose Child Care Assistance under Ways and Means Committee Welfare Reauthorization Bill (PDF file - 36K, 4 pages)
November 1, 2005
"The House Ways and Means Committee’s budget reconciliation bill includes provisions to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Even as the bill increases families’ work requirements—and thus, the need for child care—it provides only $500 million in new child care funding over five years, despite Congressional Budget Office estimates that keeping pace with inflation will cost $4.8 billion over five years. If enacted, this bill would force states to cut child care assistance for low-income working families over the coming years."

CLASP Federal Budget and Tax Policy Page
"For quick links to these and other CLASP analyses, as well as comprehensive background materials and resources from partner organizations and coalitions, visit the CLASP federal budget and tax policy page."

Testimony of Mark Greenberg to the
Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness (PDF file - 74K, 14 pages)
Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives
March 15, 2005
Mark Greenberg
Director of Policy
Center for Law and Social Policy
This testimony discusses the work and child care provisions of the 1996 welfare law, pending reauthorization proposals, and CLASP’s recommendations.
"Between 1996 and 2000, combined federal and state funding for child care tripled. Most of the growth was attributable to federal funds, and the single biggest factor was the ability of states to redirect TANF funds. As a result of this increased funding, the number of children receiving subsidies grew from an estimated 1 million in 1996 to 2.4 million in 2001, and states were able to improve child care payment rates to providers, reduce required family copayments to make child care more affordable, and expand quality initiatives. (...) During the last three years, several key indicators have become less positive. (...) The economy entered into a recession, after which initial job growth was slow. States entered into a period of large budget deficits, placing strains on TANF funds and other state resources, and forcing cutbacks in child care and other services. The pressures resulting from the economy and state budget crises are apparent in indicators of employment, child poverty, child care, and welfare participation." (Excerpt, p. 2)
Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy

Welfare Caseloads Increase in 27 States Between June and September 2003 (PDF file - 116K, 7 pages)
February 2004

Administration is Misstating Amount of Child Care Funding in Pending TANF Reauthorization Bills
CLASP and Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
December 2003

Centre for Public Sector Studies (University of Victoria)
The Centre for Public Sector Studies was established in 1978 to encourage interdisciplinary research in public policy at the University of Victoria.
Summer Institute for Social Policy Analysis (UVic)
North American Institute - "NAMI's mission is to examine all aspects of the North American regional relationship, recognizing the challenges facing the governments, peoples and cultures of North America, and to develop better approaches to this changing relationship"
Center for North American Studies (Duke University) Interdisciplinary international center focusing on the political, social, and cultural consequences of regionalization, and attempts to place them within the long history of the interaction of Canada and Mexico with the United States.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)
"...one of the leading organizations in the country working on fiscal policy issues and issues affecting low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center specializes in research and analysis oriented toward policy decisions that policymakers face at both federal and state levels. The Center examines data and research findings and produces analyses designed to be accessible to public officials, other non-profit organizations, and the media."

List of reports in the CBPP Publications Library: All recent material is online and free; paper copies of older studies can be ordered from CBPP.
- Includes many reports and studies organized under the following themes: Federal Tax Policies - Federal Budget Priorities - State Fiscal Policies - State Welfare and TANF Issues - Federal Welfare Policies - Social Security Reform - Poverty & Income Issues - Low-Income Housing - Health - EITC Analyses - Food Assistance - Labor Market Policies - Immigrants

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Sample reports from the CBPP
(in reverse chronological order):

Income Gaps Between Very Rich and Everyone Else
More Than Tripled In Last Three Decades, New Data Show
By Arloc Sherman and Chad Stone
June 25, 2010
HTML version
PDF version (516K, 7 pages)
The gaps in after-tax income between the richest 1 percent of Americans and the middle and poorest fifths of the country more than tripled between 1979 and 2007 (the period for which these data are available), according to recent data from the Congressional Budget Office. Taken together with prior research, the new data suggest greater income concentration at the top of the income scale than at any time since 1928.

Top 1% Leaving Others in the Dust
June 25, 2010
After-tax incomes nearly quadrupled for the top 1 percent of Americans in the last three decades, while barely rising among middle- and lower-income households, according to new data from the Congressional Budget Office.
(...) The new CBO data — the most comprehensive numbers available on income inequality — only go through 2007, so they don’t show the impact of the recession and the stock market plunge. These events may have reduced inequality somewhat by shrinking incomes the most at the top, as the bursting of the dot.com bubble did a decade ago

Source:
Off the Charts Blog
[ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities ]
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities is a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy organization working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals.

Related links:

Average Federal Tax Rates in 2007 (PDF - 65K, 7 pages)
June 2010
Source:
Congressional Budget Office

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What about the wealth gap?

Top 1% Increased Their Share of Wealth in Financial Crisis
April 30, 2010
By Robert Frank
Many economists and journalists, myself included, assumed inequality would decline during the global financial crisis. The rich tend to be the bi-polars of the economy, reaping the most when times are good and losing the most (on a percentage basis) during busts. (...) New calculations by Edward Wolff, the New York University economist and an expert on U.S. wealth statistics, show that the top 1% actually held onto its share of national wealth in the crisis, and may have even gained a bit.
Source:
The Wealth Report

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Is there a growing gap in Canada?

The Growing Gap project takes an in-depth and sustained look at one of the biggest challenges of our time: Worsening income and wealth inequality in Canada. Growing Gap is an initiative of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives

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Health Reform Package Represents Historic Chance to Expand Coverage, Improve Insurance Markets, Slow Cost Growth, and Reduce Deficits
By Sarah Lueck, January Angeles, Paul N. Van de Water, Edwin Park, and Judith Solomon
March 19, 2010
“The health reform legislation now before Congress represents a historic opportunity to make significant progress in three critical areas:
* expanding the availability and affordability of health coverage,
* instituting much-needed improvements to the flawed health insurance marketplace, and
* taking steps to slow the relentless growth in health care costs.

“Not only would this legislation produce the greatest gains in health coverage since the enactment of Medicare and Medicaid 45 years ago and provide stability and security for tens of millions of Americans who now have health insurance, its costs are also fully offset and would reduce budget deficits by $138 billion over ten years, according to the Congressional Budget Office.”

View the full report:
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3126
http://www.cbpp.org/files/3-19-10health.pdf (PDF - 6 pages)

Also from CBPP:

State-Level Data Show Recovery Act Protecting Millions from Poverty
December 17, 2009
By Arloc Sherman
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) is keeping large numbers of Americans out of poverty in states across the country, according to new data covering 36 states and the District of Columbia. In addition to boosting economic activity and preserving or creating jobs, the recovery act is softening the recession’s impact on poverty by directly lifting family incomes.

View the full report online:
HTML - http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=3035
PDF (181K, 5pp.) http://www.cbpp.org/files/12-17-09pov.pdf

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The Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families in 2008
By Phil Oliff and Ashali Singham
November 4, 2009
“Sixteen states taxed working-poor families deeper into poverty last year….
“Dire economic conditions are already reducing states’ tax revenue. This makes it harder for states to enact new tax cuts targeted to poor families. But doing so should still be a priority.
"Taxing people deeper into poverty runs counter to the goal of helping families achieve self-sufficiency.”

View the full report:
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2976
http://www.cbpp.org/files/11-4-09sfp.pdf

View the press release:
State Income Taxes Push Many Working-Poor Families Deeper Into Poverty
HTML : http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2977
PDF : http://www.cbpp.org/files/11-4-09sfp-pr.pdf

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Statement: Greenstein on Census’ 2008 Health Insurance and Poverty Data
September 10, 2009
By Robert Greenstein
Today’s grim Census Bureau report shows the nation lost substantial ground in 2008 on poverty, median income, and the number of people who are uninsured. Several aspects of the Census report stand out. The number of people living in poverty jumped by 2.6 million to 39.8 million — the highest since 1960. The poverty rate — the percentage of people living in poverty — also rose, to 13.2 percent, which is its highest level since 1997. Similarly, real median household income fell by $1,860 to $50,303, its lowest level since 1997. These figures are particularly grim because they come after the disappointing record of the 2001-2007 expansion.

Stimulus Keeping 6 Million Americans Out Of Poverty In 2009, Estimates Show
by Arloc Sherman
September 9, 2009
“This analysis, which comes one day before the Census Bureau will release updated poverty figures (for 2008), examines seven of the recovery act’s provisions — two improvements in unemployment insurance, three tax credits for working families, an increase in food stamps, and a one-time payment for retirees, veterans, and people with disabilities — and finds that they alone are preventing more than 6 million Americans from falling below the poverty line and are reducing the severity of poverty for 33 million more. The analysis includes state-specific estimates for California, Texas, Florida, New York, and Illinois.”

View the full statement:
HTML
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2910
PDF ( 16pp.)
http://www.cbpp.org/files/9-9-09pov2.pdf

Related link:

U.S. Census Bureau

NOTE - for more about Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008,
see the American Government Social Research Links page of this website.

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The Impact of State Income Taxes on Low-Income Families in 2008
By Phil Oliff and Ashali Singham
November 4, 2009
“Sixteen states taxed working-poor families deeper into poverty last year….
“Dire economic conditions are already reducing states’ tax revenue. This makes it harder for states to enact new tax cuts targeted to poor families. But doing so should still be a priority.
"Taxing people deeper into poverty runs counter to the goal of helping families achieve self-sufficiency.”

View the full report:
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2976
http://www.cbpp.org/files/11-4-09sfp.pdf

View the press release:
State Income Taxes Push Many Working-Poor Families Deeper Into Poverty
HTML : http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2977
PDF : http://www.cbpp.org/files/11-4-09sfp-pr.pdf

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The Safety Net’s Response to the Recession
By LaDonna Pavetti, Director of Welfare Reform and Income Support
Testimony Before the House Subcommittee on Income Security and Family Support
October 8, 2009
[ PDF version - 8 pages]
Testimony focuses on four points:
* With recent Census data showing increases in poverty and declines in incomes even before Americans began experiencing the worst effects of the recession — and with further deterioration expected in both areas — policymakers face a serious challenge in helping low-income populations cope with the downturn.
* The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 [from Recovery.gov ] passed in February has kept this serious recession from being even worse. It has not only moderated the decline in GDP and increase in unemployment, but also prevented millions of Americans from falling into poverty and has helped some states to forgo significant cuts that would have weakened the safety net for very poor families with children.
* The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), formerly food stamps, has responded quickly to rising need in all states, but the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) cash assistance program has lagged behind and has been moderately or substantially responsive in less than half of the states.
* To help ease hardship and avoid short-circuiting an economic recovery, Congress will need to adopt policy solutions that are responsive to both immediate needs and the long-term consequences of the recession.

Related links:

Policy Basics: An Introduction to
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) *
By Liz Schott
Revised March 19, 2009
What Is TANF? Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a block grant created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as part of a federal effort to “end welfare as we know it.” The TANF block grant replaced the Aid to Families… [ more ]

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Overview of the TANF Provisions
in the Economic Recovery Act
The TANF provisions in section 2101 of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 create a new Emergency Contingency Fund under which states can receive 80 percent federal funding for increases (relative to a base year quarter) in certain TANF-related expenditures in federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010.

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Online Information About Key
U.S. State Low-Income Benefit Programs *
Revised April 27, 2009
Links by state to Policy Manuals, Descriptive Information, and Applications for:
* State Food Stamp Programs
* Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
* Child Care Programs
* Medicaid
* State Children's Health Insurance (SCHIP) Programs

* Recommended starting point for research on the above-mentioned programs in each American state!
[ Note: The Canadian equivalent of the above guide, for welfare programs at least, is
http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/welfare.htm ]

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Food Stamps On-Line: A Review of State Government Food Stamp Websites
Updated July 8, 2009
This paper provides links to the addresses for each state’s food stamp web pages and also provides an overview of the types of information and services that states provide.

Safety Net Effective at Fighting Poverty, But Has Weakened for the Very Poorest
By Arloc Sherman
July 6, 2009
As mounting job losses threaten to push more Americans into poverty and make poor families still poorer, a new examination of the public benefits system finds that it is more effective in reducing poverty than previously known but has become less effective over the past decade in protecting Americans from deep poverty. In 2005 (the last year for which we have data), the nation’s safety net protected 31 million people from poverty and kept 34 million from slipping below half of the poverty line. Nonetheless, this protection became weaker for children in the poorest families from 1995 to 2005.
View the full report:
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2859
http://www.cbpp.org/files/7-6-09pov.pdf (15pp.)

Source:
Poverty and Income - incl. links to related resources
[ Center on Budget and Policy Priorities ]
The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities conducts research and analysis to help shape public debates over proposed budget and tax policies and to help ensure that policymakers consider the needs of low-income families and individuals in these debates. We also develop policy options to alleviate poverty.

Related link:

Safety Net Is Fraying for the Very Poor
By Erik Eckholm
July 4, 2009
Government “safety net” programs like Social Security and food stamps have pulled growing numbers of Americans out of poverty since the mid-1990s. But even before the current recession, these programs were providing less help to the most desperately poor, mainly nonworking families with children, according to a new study by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a private group in Washington. The recession is expected to raise poverty rates, economists agree, although the impact is being softened by the federal stimulus package adopted this year, which temporarily expanded measures like food stamps, child tax credits, unemployment benefits and housing and tuition aid.
Source:
New York Times

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Statement by Chad Stone, CBPP Chief Economist, on the April Employment Report
CBPP Statement
May 8, 2009
[ PDF version - 2pp.]
Today’s jobs report brings more sobering news about the depth and duration of the recession. Even if the economy hits bottom soon and begins growing again, it will take time to reverse the severe job losses and sharp increase in unemployment that have already occurred. The official unemployment rate hit 8.9 percent in April, the highest it has been since 1983. But that figure does not portray the full difficulties that job seekers face. The Labor Department’s most comprehensive alternative unemployment rate measure — which includes people who want to work but are discouraged from looking and people working part time because they can’t find full-time jobs — rose to 15.8 percent in April, an increase of 7.1 percentage points since the recession began and the highest level on record in data that go back to 1994.

Related links:
o Special Series: Economic Recovery Watch
o Unemployment

All CBPP Reports by Date

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Income Gaps Hit Record Levels In 2006, New Data Show
Rich-Poor Gap Tripled Between 1979 and 2006
April 17, 2009
By Arloc Sherman
"New data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) show that in 2006, the top 1 percent of households had a larger share of the nation’s after-tax income, and the middle and bottom fifths of households had smaller shares, than in any year since 1979, the first year the CBO data cover. As a result, the gaps in after-tax incomes between households in the top 1 percent and those in the middle and bottom fifths were the widest on record."

HTML - http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2789
PDF - http://www.cbpp.org/files/4-17-09inc.pdf (6pp.)

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AN UPDATE ON STATE BUDGET CUTS:
At Least 34 States Have Imposed Cuts That Hurt Vulnerable Residents, But the Federal Economic Recovery Package Is Reducing the Harm
March 18, 2009
By Nicholas Johnson, Phil Oliff and Jeremy Koulish
HTML version
PDF version (13pp.)
At least nine states are already using fiscal relief provided in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to minimize cuts in public services. At least 34 states made budget cuts that threaten vital services for many residents before enactment of the recovery package. Additional cuts are likely in the coming months as recovery act funding is sufficient only to fill about 40 percent of state shortfalls.
Cuts have been enacted in the following areas:
* Public health: 18 states
* Elderly and disabled services: 18 states
* K-12 education: 21 states
* Colleges and universities: 28 states
* State workforce reductions: 37 states
* At least 15 states have increased taxes or taken other revenue raising measures.

---

STATE BUDGET TROUBLES WORSEN
March 13, 2009
By Elizabeth C. McNichol and Iris Lav
HTML version
PDF version (10pp.)
At least 47 states faced or are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this and/or next year, and severe fiscal problems are highly likely to continue into the following year as well. Combined budget gaps for the remainder of this fiscal year and state fiscal years 2010 and 2011 are estimated to total more than $350 billion."
* At least 47 states faced or are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this and/or next year.
* Mid-year shortfalls of $53 billion have opened up in the 2009 budgets of at least 42 states and the District of Columbia. This new round of mid-year shortfalls is in addition to the budget gaps of $48 billion that 29 states closed as they adopted their budgets for this fiscal year.
* Forty-four states already project shortfalls totaling more than $105 billion for fiscal 2010. This total 2010 shortfall is expected to grow to about $145 billion. Joining this list since the last update: West Virginia.

---

POLICY POINTS:
OVERVIEW OF STATES AND THE WEAK ECONOMY
March 13, 2009
HTML version
PDF version (3pp.)
This snapshot of state budget problems has been updated to reflect the new data on state budget cuts and shortfalls included in the above analyses.

Funding for states in economic recovery package will close less than half of state deficits
February 20, 2009
By Nicholas Johnson, Elizabeth C. McNichol, and Iris J. Lav
[ PDF version (2pp.) ]
The final economic recovery bill provides to states approximately $135 billion to $140 billion — or about 40 percent of projected state deficits — to reduce the depth of state budget cuts and moderate state tax and fee increases, which hurt the economy.

---

Should progressives shun the economic recovery package?
by Robert Greenstein (Executive Director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities)
Special Op-Ed in The Huffington Post
Some of my fellow progressives have expressed disappointment with the economic recovery package that President Obama just signed into law. Forgive me, but I don't share it. I view the package as an outstanding piece of legislation - all the more remarkable when you consider that it came less than 30 days after the new administration took office....

View the Center's Economic Recovery Watch Series:
http://www.cbpp.org/pubs/stimulus.htm

---

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009:
State-by-State Estimates of Key Provisions Affecting
Low- and Moderate-Income Individuals
February 13, 2009
- short descriptions and tables with estimated state-by-state impacts of the following key provisions:
* Temporary Increase in State FMAP (federal matching funds for Medicaid assistance)
* State Fiscal Stabilization Fund
* Education
* Unemployment Insurance
* Child Care
* Child Support
* Training and Employment Services
* Food Stamp (or Supplemental Nutrition Assistance) Program
* Emergency Shelter Grant Program
* Child Tax Credit
* Making Work Pay Tax Credit

Facing deficits, two-thirds of states are imposing cuts that hurt vulnerable residents (12 pages)
Updated January 14, 2009
By Nicholas Johnson, Elizabeth Hudgins and Jeremy Koulish
At least 33 states have made or proposed budget cuts that threaten vital services for many residents. Targeted areas include:
* Public health: 22 states
* Elderly and disabled services: 21 states
* K-12 education: 21 states
* Colleges and universities: 28 states
* State workforce reductions: 34 states
* At least fourteen states have increased taxes or taken other revenue raising measures.

Related link:

Most states are cutting education (3 pages)
Updated January 14, 2009

States budget troubles worsen (9 pages)
Updated January 14, 2009
By Elizabeth C. McNichol and Iris Lav
At least 45 states faced or are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this and/or next year, and severe fiscal problems are highly likely to continue into the following year."
* Combined state budget gaps for the remainder of this fiscal year and fiscal years 2010 and 2011 are estimated to total more than $350 billion.
* At least 45 states faced or are facing shortfalls in their budgets for this and/or next year, and severe fiscal problems are highly likely to continue into 2011. Texas has joined this list since the last update.
* Mid-year shortfalls of $43 billion have opened up in the 2009 budgets of at least 41 states and the District of Columbia. This new round of mid-year shortfalls is in addition to the budget gaps of $48 billion that 29 states closed as they adopted their budgets for this fiscal year.
* Thirty-nine states already project shortfalls totaling more than $80 billion for fiscal 2010. This total 2010 shortfall is expected to grow to about $145 billion. Joining this list since the last update: Texas.

For additional background on the Center's state budget estimates, please see:

Current and projected state deficits (3 pages)
Updated January 14, 2009

Policy Points: Overview of States and the Weak Economy (3 pages)
Updated January 14, 2009
This snapshot of state budget problems has been updated to reflect the new data on state budget cuts and shortfalls included in the above analyses.

---------------------------

TWO STATE BUDGET UPDATES:
STATE BUDGET TROUBLES WORSEN
Updated December 10, 2008
By Elizabeth C. McNichol and Iris Lav
Selected High/Lowlights
* In total, 43 states are facing shortfalls in their fiscal 2009 and/or 2010 budgets.
* Mid-year shortfalls totaling $31.2 billion have opened up in the 2009 budgets of at least 37 states and Washington, DC. Joining this list since the last update: Nebraska and South Dakota.
* This new round of mid-year shortfalls is in addition to the budget gaps of $48 billion that 29 states closed as they adopted their budgets for this fiscal year.
* Twenty-eight states already project shortfalls totaling more than $60 billion for fiscal 2010. Joining this list since the last update: Delaware, Idaho, Nebraska, Ohio and South Dakota.
* The total 2010 state budget gaps will likely grow to about $100 billion, based on the rate at which states’ revenue bases are deteriorating and the history of prior recessions.

This periodically-updated analysis is posted to:
http://www.cbpp.org/9-8-08sfp.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/9-8-08sfp.pdf [ 9pp. ]

---------------------------

POLICY POINTS:
OVERVIEW OF STATES AND THE WEAK ECONOMY
Updated December 10, 2008
This snapshot of state budget problems has been updated to reflect the new data on 2009 and 2010 state budget shortfalls included in the above analysis.

This periodically-updated analysis is posted to:
http://www.cbpp.org/policy-points10-20-08.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/policy-points10-20-08.pdf [ 2pp. ]

-----------------------------

On August 26, 2008, the U.S. Census Bureau released its annual report Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2007.
Below, you'll find links to the report itself and to analysis by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute.

Examining new Census data on poverty, income and health coverage
August 26, 2008
By Arloc Sherman, Robert Greenstein, and Sharon Parrott
This marks the first time on record that poverty and the incomes of typical working-age households have worsened despite six consecutive years of economic growth. The new data show that in terms of poverty and median income, the economic expansion that started at the end of 2001 was the worst on record. The data provide fresh evidence that the gains from the expansion were quite uneven and flowed primarily to high-income households.
Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
[ other CBPP poverty and income reports ]

Median income rose as did poverty in 2007
2000s have been extremely weak for living standards of most households
August 26, 2008
by Jared Bernstein
"(...) While last year’s overall income gains are good news, the longer-range view is quite different. The Census figures show that the economic cycle that began in 2000 and ended late last year was one of the weakest on record for working families, despite strong overall economic growth during the same period."
Source:
Economic Policy Institute (EPI)
[ more EPI reports on poverty and family budgets ]

Related link:

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance
Coverage in the United States: 2007 (PDF - 2.9MB, 84 pages)
Released August 26, 2008
Source:
U.S. Census Bureau

Also from EPI:

Overall health insurance coverage rises, but masks decline in private coverage
August 26, 2008

Our Inequality of Outcomes
By Steven Pearlstein
August 27, 2008
Hey, good news on the income front: The Census Bureau reported yesterday that median earnings for full-time male workers rose by $1,653 last year, to $45,113, after adjusting for inflation. Another year like that, and maybe the typical male worker will finally catch up to where he was in 1973.
Source:
Washington Post

Related Web/News/Blog links:

Google Search Results Links - always current results!
Using the following search terms (without the quote marks):
"Census Bureau, Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage"
Web search results page
News search results page
Blog Search Results page
Source:
Google.ca

--------------------------------------------------

TAX FOUNDATION FIGURES DO NOT REPRESENT TYPICAL HOUSEHOLDS’ TAX BURDENS:
Figures May Mislead Policymakers, Journalists, and the Public
April 23, 2008
By Robert Greenstein and Aviva Aron-Dine
Each year, the Tax Foundation releases a report projecting “Tax Freedom Day,” which it describes as the day when “Americans will finally have earned enough money to pay off their total tax bill for the year.” Over the years, many pundits and policymakers have misinterpreted the Tax Foundation’s report as reflecting the tax burdens that the broad swath of middle-income families must shoulder.

In fact, however, according to data from authoritative sources such as the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, middle-income Americans pay significantly less in taxes as a share of their income than the Tax Foundation’s report implies.

This analysis explores significant flaws in the Tax Foundation’s report.

This piece is posted to:
http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-08tax.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/4-23-08tax.pdf (7pp.)

Related link:

Tax Freedom Day: A Cause for Celebration or Consternation?
Prepared by:
Sheena Starky
Economics Division
18 September 2006
Source:
Parliament of Canada website

PULLING APART: A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends
April 2008
by Jared Bernstein, Elizabeth McNichol, and Andrew Nicholas

"The gap between the richest and poorest families...grew significantly in most states over the past two decades...In fact, the nation’s longstanding trend of growing inequality accelerated since the late 1990s as incomes fell for poor families in a number of states."

Press Release (with state contacts):
Income Inequality Grew in Most States Over Past Two Decades: Low-Income Families Lost Ground Since Late 1990s
April 9, 2008
http://www.cbpp.org/4-9-08sfp-pr.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/4-9-08sfp-pr.pdf (5pp.)

Report:
http://www.cbpp.org/4-9-08sfp.htm (executive summary)
http://www.cbpp.org/4-9-08sfp.pdf (74pp.)

State-by-State Fact Sheets:
http://www.cbpp.org/4-9-08sfp-states.htm

State Data Tables:
http://www.cbpp.org/08state-datatables.xls

----------------------

2009 Federal Budget Analysis
February 4, 2008
- incl. links to extensive budget analysis and special features, e.g., Introduction to the Federal Budget, Slideshow: Federal Budget Overview
Sample content:
--- The Dubious Priorities of the President’s Budget
"The President's budget would provide more tax cuts heavily skewed to the most well-off while cutting vital services for low- and moderate-income Americans, generating large deficits, and increasing the strain on states already confronting budget problems as a result of the economic downturn. The budget reflects misguided priorities that would leave the American people more vulnerable in a number of ways...."
--- President's Budget Would Push States Deeper into Fiscal Crisis
"Federal grants to states and localities cut deeply in Fiscal Year 2009 Federal Budget"

----------------------

State Budget Debates
- analysis of state budget issues including multi-state trends, the adequacy and equity of tax policies, structural budget issues, and budget transparency

U.S. 2009 Federal Budget Links from the Center for Law and Social Policy:

President’s Budget Disregards Sound Investments for Young Children (small PDF file - 5 pages)
February 4, 2008
by Hannah Matthews and Danielle Ewen.
Every Administration uses the budget to send a signal about its priorities for the coming year. In this period of economic downturn, when our most vulnerable children and families need access to comprehensive supports, the message of this budget is simple and stark: children in low-income working families don’t matter.

----------------------

Related link from the Government Printing Office (GPO):

Fiscal Year 2009 Budget (FY09)
- Transmitted to Congress on February 4, 2008
- Covers the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2008

Browse the FY09 budget - links to: Budget Documents | Appendix | Supporting Documents | Related Documents | Spreadsheets
Description of FY09 budget documents

Related link from the
National Association of State Budget Officers:

State Budget Links

Poverty and hardship affect tens of millions of Americans
December 20, 2007
During the holiday season, we know that many national, regional, and local media focus attention on less-fortunate Americans and the efforts to help them through charities, food banks, and other institutions. With this in mind, the Center has issued a new snapshot of the state of poverty and hardship in this country. The analysis takes stock of how the poor are faring in terms of incomes, food availability, housing needs, and health coverage and explains the inadequacy of current federal programs to address those problems.

Full report:
HTML : http://www.cbpp.org/12-20-07pov.htm
PDF : http://www.cbpp.org/12-20-07pov.pdf (3pp.)

Appendix providing additional information on the data:
http://www.cbpp.org/12-20-07pov-app.pdf (4pp.)

Other reports on poverty and income

Income inequality hits record levels, new CBO data show
Incomes Rose $180,000 for Top 1 Percent in 2005 But Just $400 for Middle-Income Households
December 14, 2007
By Arloc Sherman
[PDF version - 4 pages]
Real after-tax incomes jumped by an average of nearly $180,000 for the top 1 percent of households in 2005, while rising just $400 for middle-income households and $200 for lower-income households, according to new data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Taken together with prior research, the new data indicate that income is now more concentrated at the top than at any time since 1929.
Other highlights of the CBO data show that as of 2005:
* The share of the nation’s total after-tax income going to the top 1 percent of households more than doubled and hit the highest level on record (with data back to 1979).
* The share of national after-tax income going to the middle fifth of households (the middle 20 percent) was the smallest on record.
* Similarly, the share of national after-income tax going to households in the bottom fifth was the smallest on record.
The $180,000 average income gain for these households in 2005 is more than three times the average middle-income household’s total income.

Policy Points:
ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE NEW SENATE BUDGET PLAN
March 16, 2007
The new Senate budget resolution is a bigger break with recent congressional budget practices — and a larger step in the direction of fiscal responsibility — than some initial media reports suggest.
http://www.cbpp.org/policy-points3-16-07.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/policy-points3-16-07.pdf - 2pp

THE SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE'S BUDGET PLAN: A Brief Analysis
By James Horney
This analysis examines various aspects of the budget plan including:
* the adherence to Pay-As-You-Go rules,
* provisions for funding discretionary and entitlement programs,
* revenue assumptions, and
* effects on the deficit.
http://www.cbpp.org/3-16-07bud.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/3-16-07bud.pdf - 5pp

President's budget would cut deeply into important public services and adversely affect states
February 2007
by Arloc Sherman, Sharon Parrott and Danilo Trisi
This new analysis finds that:
* The President’s budget would reduce funding for most parts of the domestic discretionary budget below the 2007 funding levels, adjusted for inflation. The cuts would start in 2008 and grow deeper in each of the four succeeding years.
* The proposed reductions would effectively shift billions of dollars in costs on to states, requiring them to scale back key public services or raise taxes to plug the holes left by the federal cuts.
* The reductions would come from a wide range of areas, including education, environmental protection, community development, and key supports for low-income families.
* At the same time, the budget would permanently extend virtually all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Extending the tax cuts would cost much more each year than all of the proposed discretionary program cuts would save.

Summary:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud.htm

Full Report:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud.pdf (PDF file - 294K, 21pages)

State-by-State Tables:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud-tables.pdf (PDF file - 498K, 48 pages)

Myths and realities about the Alternative Minimum Tax
February 14, 2007
by Aviva Aron-Dine
Public discussion of issues surrounding the AMT suffers from several misconceptions, which seem to be widespread among policymakers and others.

The Alternative Minimum Tax was created in 1969 to ensure that the highest-income households could not exploit loopholes, exclusions, and deductions to avoid paying any federal income tax. The AMT acts as a stop-gap tax system, with taxpayers owing their regular income tax or AMT liability, whichever is higher. Because the AMT parameters were never indexed for inflation, and because the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts substantially lowered taxpayers’ liability under the regular income tax without changing the structure of the AMT, the tax will affect a rapidly increasing number of taxpayers in future years in the unlikely event that no changes are made.

This piece examines 1) who pays the AMT, 2) the causes of the AMT problem, and 3) options for AMT reform.
http://www.cbpp.org/2-14-07tax.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/2-14-07tax.pdf 6pp.

Tax Cuts : Myths and Realities
Revised February 13, 2007
Since 2001, the Administration and Congress have enacted a wide array of tax cuts, including reductions in individual income tax rates, repeal of the estate tax, and reductions in capital gains and dividend taxes. Nearly all of these tax cuts are scheduled to expire by the end of 2010. Making them permanent would cost about $3.5 trillion over the next decade (when the cost of additional interest on the federal debt is included). Because important decisions about these tax policies must be made in the next few years, it is essential to understand their effects on deficits, the economy, and the distribution of income. Supporters of the tax cuts have sometimes sought to bolster their case by understating the tax cuts’ costs, overstating their economic effects, or minimizing their regressivity. Here, we address some of the myths heard most frequently in recent tax-cut debates.

Implementing the TANF changes in the Deficit Reduction Act:
“win-win” solutions for families and states
Second Edition
February 9, 2007
In the coming months, states will face key choices as they decide the next direction for their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. After a lengthy and contentious reauthorization process, Congress enacted changes to TANF in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) that substantially increase the proportion of assistance recipients who must participate in work activities for a specified number of hours each week. In June 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new regulations that implement these changes and significantly limit states’ flexibility in assigning recipients to work activities. The new requirements will be challenging for most states to meet and likely will require increased investments in welfare-to-work programs and work supports. (...) This guidebook, intended for state policymakers, human service agency staff, policy analysts, and others, discusses strategies that can help states as they consider their policy options for this next phase of welfare reform.

Complete report (PDF file - 665K, 129 pages)
Executive summary (PDF file - 156K, 6 pages)
Table of contents - download the individual chapters and appendix by clicking on the links appearing in the table of contents in the right-hand margin of the page.
[HINT: scroll down the table of contents page to see a short sumamry of all chapters before clicking on any individual chapter link.]
--- Chapter 1: Changes to TANF Requirements Under the Deficit Reduction Act
--- Chapter 2: Improving Welfare-To-Work Programs and Increasing Engagement
--- Chapter 3: Income Supplements for Working Families
--- Chapter 4: Making TANF Work for Individuals with Disabilities
--- Chapter 5: Examining TANF Spending Priorities
--- Appendix: Additional Resources on Work Support Programs

Poverty Remains Higher, and Median Income for Non-Elderly Is Lower, Than When Recession Hit Bottom:
Poor Performance Unprecedented For Four-Year Recovery Period
August 30, 2006

The Number of Uninsured Americans Is at an All-Time High
August 29, 2006

How to Assess Tomorrow's Income and Poverty numbers
August 28, 2006
by Arloc Sherman and Robert Greenstein
Tomorrow, August 29, the Census Bureau will release findings regarding household income and poverty for 2005. This analysis provides some context within which the data should be viewed.
HTML - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.htm
PDF - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.pdf 2pp.

How to Assess Tomorrow's Income and Poverty numbers
August 28, 2006
by Arloc Sherman and Robert Greenstein
Tomorrow, August 29, the Census Bureau will release findings regarding household income and poverty for 2005. This analysis provides some context within which the data should be viewed.
HTML - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.htm
PDF - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.pdf 2pp.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) AT 10:
Program Results are More Mixed than Often Understood
by Sharon Parrott and Arloc Sherman
August 17, 2006
"The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Under TANF, states received fixed block grants and had broad flexibility to design their own rules for their cash assistance programs, and broad authority to use the block grant resources for other programs outside of cash assistance to assist low-income families, promote marriage, and reduce non-marital childbearing.

Many discussions of TANF focus on three sets of trends:
- the decline in the number of families receiving cash assistance through TANF programs,
- the increase in employment rates of single mothers during the 1990s, and
- the decline in child poverty during the 1990s.

While important, these three sets of trends miss important information about the functioning of the TANF program and the impacts on low-income families over the last decade.
This report examines a broader set of indicators.

HTML : http://www.cbpp.org/8-17-06tanf.htm
PDF : http://www.cbpp.org/8-17-06tanf.pdf 16pp.

2006 Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit Outreach Kit
Make Tax Time Pay!
Links to 11 documents about the 2006 EITC, including:
- Facts About Tax Credits for Working Families
- Strategies for Promoting Tax Credits for Working Families
- Opportunities for Linking Workers to Free Tax Help and Asset Development
- Katrina Survivors and the Earned Income Credit and Child Tax Credit
- EIC Participation for Tax Year 2004 and 2003
- EIC and CTC Benefit Amounts
- State Earned Income Credits and Child and Dependent Care Benefits
- Why Pay When You Can Get Your Taxes Done for Free?

THE COST AND COVERAGE IMPACT OF THE
PRESIDENT'S HEALTH INSURANCE BUDGET PROPOSALS
by Jonathan Gruber, MIT
This new analysis by one of the nation's leading health economists finds that the Administration's proposals to expand tax breaks for Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) would cause a net increase in the number of uninsured Americans.

Press Release:
February 15, 2006
http://www.cbpp.org/2-15-06health-pr.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/2-15-06health-pr.pdf - 2pp.

Full Report:
February 2006
http://www.cbpp.org/2-15-06health.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/2-15-06health.pdf - 5pp.

------------------

Administration's Health Savings Accounts Proposals
Would Cause Net Increase in Number of Uninsured:
Decline in Employer-Sponsored Coverage Would Offset Gain in Individual Coverage
February 2006
[Press Release - Feb. 15]

------------------

Administration Defense of
Health Savings Accounts Rests on Misleading Use of Statistics
February 16, 2006

------------------

Pulling Apart:
A State-by-State Analysis of Income Trends (PDF file - 622K, 66 pages)
By Jared Bernstein, Elizabeth McNichol, Karen Lyons
January 2006
"(...)The growth of income inequality is primarily due to the growth in wage inequality. (...) Several factors have contributed to increasing wage inequality, including long periods of high unemployment, globalization, the shrinkage of manufacturing jobs and the expansion of low-wage service jobs and immigration, as well as the lower real value of the minimum wage and fewer and weaker unions. These factors have led to an erosion of wages for workers with less than a college education, who make up approximately the lowest-earning 70 percent of the workforce. More recently, even those with a college education have experienced real wage declines, in part due to the bursting of the tech bubble in high-wage industries, but also due to the downward pressure on wage growth from offshore competition."

Larger reconciliation cuts would put low-income programs at greater risk
October 21, 2005
HTML
PDF 8pp.

Impact of Additional Entitlement Cuts: A State-by-State Analysis
October 21, 2005
HTML
PDF 4pp

New IRS Data Show Income Inequality Is Again On The Rise
October 17, 2005
HTML version
PDF version (66K, 6 pages)
"New figures from the Internal Revenue Service show that income disparities grew substantially from 2002 to 2003. After adjusting for inflation, the after-tax income of the one percent of households with the highest incomes shot up in 2003 by an average of nearly $49,000 per household while the after-tax incomes of the bottom 75 percent of households fell on average. (...) Data from the Congressional Budget Office that go through 2002 show that income inequality that year was wider than in all but six years (1988 and 1997-2001) since the middle of the 1930s. This backdrop is worth noting as Congress proposes to tackle “reconciliation” legislation that will likely result in cuts to programs for the poor and the middle class but new tax reductions of greatest benefit to the wealthy. The net effect of such an approach would be to widen further the gulf between high-income households and other Americans."
Source:
Poverty and Income Publications

What Does the Safety Net Accomplish?
- special Series on accomplishments of the safety net (incl. individual reports on medical coverage/Medicaid, food and nutrition programs, the Earned Income Tax Credit [see the link below], Supplemental Security Income, etc.)
- links to the individual reports appear in the grey box near the top of the page
News Release - July 19, 2005

Sample report from this series:

The Earned Income Tax Credit:
Boosting Employment, Aiding the Working Poor
Revised August 17, 2005
"An innovative tax credit that was established in 1975 for low-income working families and has long enjoyed bipartisan support, the Earned Income Tax Credit has been found to produce substantial increases in employment and reductions in welfare receipt among single parents, as well as large decreases in poverty. Research indicates that families use the EITC to pay for necessities, repair homes and vehicles that are needed to commute to work, and in some cases, to help boost their employability and earning power by obtaining additional education or training."

ECONOMIC RECOVERY FAILED TO BENEFIT MUCH OF THE POPULATION IN 2004
"Despite the fact that 2004 represented the third full year of economic recovery, the Census data released today show that poverty increased again last year and median income failed to rise."
http://www.cbpp.org/8-30-05pov.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/8-30-05pov.pdf, 4pp.

THE NUMBER OF UNINSURED AMERICANS CONTINUED TO RISE IN 2004
"Data released today by the Census Bureau show that the number of uninsured Americans stood at 45.8 million in 2004, an increase of 800,000 people over the number uninsured in 2003 (45.0 million). The percentage of people without health insurance, 15.7 percent in 2004, was not significantly different from the 15.6 percent rate in 2003."
August 30, 2005

HTML version:
http://www.cbpp.org/8-30-05health.htm
PDF version:
http://www.cbpp.org/8-30-05health.pdf, 4pp.

Top Ten Facts on Social Security's 70th Anniversary
by Jason Furman
Revised August 11, 2005
PDF version of this report (57K, 5 pages)
"President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed the Social Security Act on August 14, 1935, which established a basic compact between generations: younger workers would contribute payroll taxes, and retired workers would have a more secure retirement. Presidents from Dwight Eisenhower to Ronald Reagan have signed landmark Social Security reforms to expand Social Security to provide disability insurance (1954), index Social Security benefits so people would not become poorer as they grew older (1972), and reform Social Security to add decades to its life (1983). As Social Security approaches its 70th anniversary on August 14, 2005, it remains one of the most successful and effective, as well as one of the most popular, of government programs. It provides a universal benefit that is progressive and lifts millions of people out of poverty. It also provides extremely valuable social insurance, providing payments to those who need them most — including workers who become disabled, families whose breadwinner dies, dependent spouses, and retirees who live to a very old age and outlive their assets. (...) As policymakers contemplate changes in Social Security, they should keep in mind 10 important facts about the program:
Fact #1: About half of the elderly have incomes that, without Social Security, leave them below the poverty line. Social Security lifts 13 million elderly Americans above the poverty line.
Fact #2: Social Security does more to reduce poverty among children than any other government program.
Fact #3: Social Security is more than just a retirement program: one-third of Social Security beneficiaries receive survivors benefits or disability insurance benefits. 10 million beneficiaries are adults below the age of 65, and 4 million are children.
Fact #4: For two-thirds of the elderly, Social Security provides the majority of their income. For one-third of the elderly, it provides nearly all of their income.
Fact #5: Social Security provides benefits to 48 million Americans, with the average beneficiary receiving $10,500 per year.
Fact #6: Social Security is especially beneficial for women.
Fact #7: Social Security is particularly important for African Americans.
Fact #8: Social Security provides an especially good deal for Hispanics.
Fact #9: Social Security provides a progressive benefit that keeps up with increases in the cost of living.
Fact #10: Social Security is an extremely efficient program, with administrative costs equaling only 0.6 percent of retirement and survivors benefits."

Putting the Social Security Debate in Context
- incl. links to : An Introduction to Social Security - The President’s Social Security Plan - Other Social Security Proposals - Social Security Solvency - Accomplishments of Social Security - Social Security by the Numbers

Online Information About Key Low-Income Benefit Programs
- incl. links to information in each U.S. state (600+ links in total) about the five main state-administered low-income benefit programs — food stamps, Medicaid, SCHIP, TANF and child care — available to the public via the internet.

What Does the Safety Net Accomplish?
New Series of Reports Examines Research Findings (U.S.)
Press Release
July 19, 2005
"Public benefit programs cut the number of poor Americans nearly in half (from 58 million to 31 million) and dramatically reduce the severity of poverty for those who remain poor, while providing health coverage to tens of millions of people who otherwise would be uninsured, according to a new report from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities."
NOTE: this press release includes a short summary of each of the reports in this series

Individual reports (approx. 8-10 pages each):

• Overall Impacts of the Safety Net
• Medicaid
• The Earned Income Tax Credit
• Supplemental Security Income
• Food and Nutrition Assistance

Related Link:

July 20, 2005
Programs have cut poverty in half, report says
By The Associated Press
"Food and nutrition programs, Supplemental Security Income and other public benefits have helped lift 27 million Americans out of poverty, according to a report released Tuesday by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. In 2003, the number of people nationwide living below the poverty line was nearly 31 million after counting public benefits, compared to about 58 million without those programs, said the report, which also looked at the impact of Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Program and the federal earned income tax credit."
Source:
Charleston Gazette

Number of Unemployed Who Have Gone Without Federal Benefits Hits Record 3 Million
October 13, 2004
"From late December 2003 (when the temporary federal benefits program was permitted to phase out) through today, a record 3 million jobless workers have exhausted their regular unemployment benefits and gone without federal aid."
HTML version
PDF version (23K, 3 pages)

Unemployment Insurance Does Not Explain Why TANF Caseloads Are Falling As Poverty and Need Are Rising
October 12, 2004
HTML version
PDF version (57K, 4 pages)

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) Response to Health and Human Services Announcement that Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Caseloads Fell in 2003
Trend Touted by HHS but Should Be Cause for Concern
August 23, 2004
"The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services announced today that caseloads in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program fell in 2003. In the press release announcing the decline, Secretary Tommy Thompson said that "American families are improving their lives by leaving public assistance and entering the workforce." Last year, shortly after the Census Bureau released data showing a marked rise in child poverty in the United States in 2002, HHS issued a similar press released that trumpeted TANF caseload declines in 2002 and called them 'encouraging.' Just as last year’s release failed to note that child poverty increased in 2002, this year’s release fails to note that the proportion of single mothers who are employed fell in 2003 and the unemployment rate rose markedly among single mothers."

For additional information on employment for single mothers in 2003 and the decline in TANF participation by families who are poor enough to qualify, see the Center’s paper:
Employment Rates For Single Mothers Fell Substantially During Recent Period Of Labor Market Weakness (June 2004)

View Related CBPP Reports on Welfare Reform and TANF

States are Cutting TANF and Child Care Programs
Supports for Low-Income Working Families and
Welfare-to-Work Programs are Particularly Hard Hit
June 3, 2003
"More than 35 states have made cuts in programs funded with TANF and child care block grant funds, and most of these cuts are in programs that promote the goals of welfare reform. The cuts reflect both the exhaustion of many states’ surplus TANF funds from prior years and the large budget gaps many states face."
PDF of the full report - (150K, 28 pages)
Press release
View Related Analyses

States cutting welfare reform programs;
Upcoming Federal Welfare Law Could Force Additional Cuts
June 4, 2003
"Many states are making significant cuts in their welfare and child care programs, a new Center study finds, including programs to help families move from welfare to work. Even deeper cuts could be in store if the legislation Congress is crafting to renew the 1996 welfare law imposes new requirements on states but does not provide the new money needed to help meet these requirements."
- Highlights page, incl. links to the press release and the complete report

House Budget Plan Calls for Deep Cuts in Key Low-Income Entitlement Programs:
State-by-State Table Shows How Benefits and Services in Each State Would Be Affected
Revised March 28, 2003
"The budget plan passed by the House on March 21 includes deep reductions in low-income entitlement programs. The plan includes $265 billion in entitlement cuts between 2004 and 2013. Some $165 billion in cuts would be made to key low-income programs such as Medicaid, the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, SSI, EITC, Food Stamps, TANF, child nutrition programs, foster care and adoption programs, child care, and the Social Services Block Grant."

An Introduction to TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families)
Revised January 13, 2003
(5 pages if printed)
"Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a block grant created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as part of a federal effort to 'end welfare as we know it.' The TANF block grant replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which had provided cash welfare to poor families with children since 1935."
NOTE: The shift from AFDC to TANF occurred at the same time - April 1996 - as the shift from the Canada Assistance Plan (CAP) to the Canada Health and Social Transfer (CHST) in Canada. Both TANF and CHST are block funds from the federal government to the province/state level, but that's where the similarity ends. The only condition that Canadian provinces and territories must respect to avoid incurring a sanction under the CHST is not to impose a minimum period of residency for eligibility under their financial assistance programs of last resort (welfare / social assistance / income support). In the U.S., the federal grant is attached to more conditions - read the text for details.

Introduction to Unemployment Insurance - Updated Jan. 2003
(5 pages if printed)
"The basic unemployment insurance program is run by the states, although it is overseen by the U.S. Department of Labor. States provide most of the funding, and pay for the actual benefits provided to workers; the federal government pays only for the administrative costs to the states of running the program. Although subject to a few federal requirements, states are generally able to set their own eligibility criteria and benefit levels."

Other CBPP reports on unemployment insurance - links to 30+ reports on UI

2003 Earned Income Tax Credit Outreach Kit
December 2002
"Earned Income Credit Campaign 2003, a national effort to help working families and individuals claim the tax credits they’ve earned. In 2002, over 19 million low- and moderate-income workers claimed Earned Income Credits (EIC) worth more than $31 billion. And, for the first time last year, many working families also were able to claim Child Tax Credit (CTC) refunds, providing an additional boost to their paychecks. The Earned Income Credit — and now the CTC — continue to be vital work supports for employees in low-wage jobs, helping many to make the transition from public assistance into the labor force."

Child Trends Data Bank
Child Trends Data Bank is "the one-stop-shop for the latest [U.S.] national trends and research on over 100 key indicators of child and youth well-being."

Welfare Receipt Among Children under AFDC and TANF
HTML version
PDF version (99K, 6 pages)
April 2007
Between 1996, the year in which federal welfare reform was implemented, and 2004, the number of children receiving benefits from welfare declined by more than half. This continued a downward trend that started after 1995. (...) After rising from 6.1 million children in 1970 to 9.5 million children in 19949, the number of children living in families receiving AFDC/TANF payments fell to 3.9 million children in 2004. Similarly, the percentage of children living in families receiving AFDC/TANF has steadily decreased from 13.0 percent in 1995 to 5.3 percent in 2004. Among children in families with incomes below the poverty threshold, the percentage of children in families receiving AFDC/TANF also decreased from 61.5 percent in 1995 to 29.8 percent in 2004.

NOTE: for a good two-page overview of TANF and AFDC, with links to more detailed info, see
Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) / Temporary Aid for Needy Families (TANF)
- from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Related Indicators:

Food Stamp Receipt

Long-term Poverty

Long-Term Welfare Dependence

-------

AFDC/TANF State and Local Estimates (5.3MB, 54 pages)
This is a large download, but well worth the wait for the amount of program information and welfare statistics going back to the 1960s...
Source:
Appendix A, Table TANF13,
Indicators of Welfare Dependence Annual Report to Congress 2006
By the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)

Child Welfare Research Institute
(located at the University of California, Los Angeles)

U.S. Welfare Reform Myths
Duncan Lindsey - UCLA
- Welfare Reform led to a Reduction in Child Poverty: False
Welfare reform allowed states to reduce and, in several states, essentially dismantle income assistance for poor children. This can be seen by the declining ratio of children receiving welfare to children living in poverty:
- Welfare Reform Reduced Children Born Out-of-Wedlock: False
State charts show the percentage of children born to unmarried mothers from 1993 to 2002 has continued to increase in almost every state
- Welfare Reform Impacts All Children Equally: False
The largest proportion of children receiving welfare are Black. The reduction of income assistance to poor children has a disproportionate impact on Black children. This can be seen by the disproportionate number of Black children who receive welfare.
- Welfare Reform will Lead to an End to Child Poverty: False
The charts displayed in “Programs for Children” indicate that post welfare reform, more children qualify for subsidized free lunch, WIC, and Head Start. In many states the child poverty rate is approaching and even exceeding pre welfare reform levels, except that these states have not restored welfare to the children living in poverty. It is unlikely that the welfare benefits will be restored. For most of the poor and disadvantaged children affected by welfare reform the essential consequence has been to make a bleak life only bleaker. Ending child poverty will require more than welfare reform.

Children's Defense Fund
"For over 30 years, CDF has struggled to make sure no child in the United States gets left behind. (...) Since 1973,CDF has worked toward, and made great progress in, reducing the numbers of neglected, sick, uneducated, and poor children in the United States. CDF's research, public education campaigns, budget and policy advocacy, and coalition building have contributed to millions of children gaining immunizations; health care; child care; Head Start; a right to education; adoptions; a chance to escape poverty; and protections in our child welfare, mental health, and juvenile justice systems. More than 400 CDF publications have educated millions about child conditions and what can be done individually and collectively to change things."

On the home page, you'll find links to content under the following headings:
Meeting Children's Needs - Preventing Poverty - Advocating for Children - Engaging Faith Communities
(the home page also includes links to : About CDF - Events - Press Releases - Data - Webstore - Donations

Income, Poverty and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2008
September 10, 2009

Children's Defense Fund Statement on
New Data Showing 8.1 Million Uninsured Children, 14.1 Million Children in Poverty in 2008
Number of Children Living in Poverty Increased by Nearly 750,000
September 10, 2009
WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Children's Defense Fund (CDF) President Marian Wright Edelman issued the following statement in response to the Census Bureau's release of data showing that, in 2008, 8.1 million children were uninsured and 14.1 million children lived in poverty.
"Today’s Census data show that there are 8.1 million uninsured children in America. This new information only underscores why health reform must guarantee that every child in America can easily access comprehensive, affordable health coverage. We know that investing in preventive services for children and addressing their health needs now is far more cost-effective than ignoring them. Communities incur increased costs when their children are not insured, often because of increased use of emergency rooms and longer hospital stays. For example, an uninsured child can cost the community as much as $2,100 more than a child covered by Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)."
Source:
Children's Defense Fund
The Children's Defense Fund (CDF) is a non-profit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for 35 years to ensure a level playing field for all children. We champion policies and programs that lift children out of poverty; protect them from abuse and neglect; and ensure their access to health care, quality education and a moral and spiritual foundation.

---

Tax and Benefits Outreach (under Preventing Poverty)
"The CDF Benefits Outreach project is a national initiative to ensure that children and poor working families receive tax insurance, income, health insurance, and other benefits for which they are eligible. The goal is to use a range of existing federal and state programs to lift children and their families out of poverty."
-----------------------
- An estimated three million families with children — about 15 percent of the total eligible families — did not receive the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC)
- Nearly 612,000 — about 25 percent of — low-income taxpayers with children did not claim the new refundable Child Tax Credit in 2001
- Almost six million children in America lack health insurance, despite living in families eligible in most states for Medicaid or the state Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP)
- More than 3.4 million children did not receive food stamps in 2000, despite living in families with incomes low enough to qualify
-----------------------
A Sampling of Tax and Benefits Outreach Resources - Recommended reading!
November 2003
Model Outreach Projects: Benefits Access (PDF file - 154K, 4 pages)
April 2003
Top 10 Reasons to do Benefits Outreach (PDF file - 131K, 1 page)
November 2003

State Fact Sheets on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) (12/1/03)
December 1, 2003
"One page state fact sheets on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families, with recent information about caseloads, work participation rates, unemployment rates, and child care cuts at the state level."

Senate Finance Committee Approves TANF Reauthorization
September 12, 2003
- incl. a detailed list of changes from the current law to the Senate Finance Committee Bill --- work requirements, marriage promotion, responsible fatherhood, child support improvements, extension of Transitional Medicaid for five years, improved transportation assistance, grants to capitalize and develop sustainable social services and more.
Source:
Article from the September 12, 2003 edition of the CHN Human Needs Report

Block Grant Proposals That Threaten Services for Families and Communities:
Shifting Responsibility for Programs Without the Resources to Pay for Them (PDF file - 44K, 7 pages)
August 29, 2003
"From housing assistance vouchers to Head Start, block grant proposals would shift federal authority to the states, but current Bush administration block grant proposals would not ensure enough funding for states to sustain current standards and levels of services. States may find themselves in the position of having more accountability but fewer resources -- a troubling prospect especially at a time of rising needs and record-breaking state budget shortfalls. The Coalition on Human Needs has summarized the current proposals, where they stand, and the expected impact if approved on families, states, and communities.

Cover the Uninsured Week (March 10-16)
"Building on the momentum generated by the February 2002 launch of the Covering the Uninsured educational and advertising campaign and Web site, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and some of the most influential organizations in the United States will cosponsor Cover the Uninsured Week. This unprecedented week-long series of national and local activities will take place from Monday, March 10, through Sunday, March 16, 2003, in an effort to sensitize the public and opinion leaders to the plight of the more than 41 million Americans who lack health insurance."

Nearly 1 out of 3 non-elderly Americans were uninsured for all or part of 2001-2002 - PDF file (140K, 3 pages)
Press Release
March 5, 2003
" State-by-state analysis estimates 75 million people were uninsured in the last two years, two-thirds of whom lacked health coverage for at least 6 months. Diverse organizations launch ‘Cover the Uninsured Week’ in campaign to raise awareness."
Complete Report:
Going Without Health Insurance (PDF file - 338K, 57 pages)

Related Links:

Covering Kids - A National Health Access Initiative for Low-Income Children
"A majority of the more than 8 million uninsured children in the United States are eligible for Medicaid and the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) but are not enrolled."

Medicare.gov - The Official U.S. Government Site for People with Medicare
Medicare is a health insurance program for people 65 years of age and older, some disabled people under 65 years of age, and people with End-Stage Renal Disease (permanent kidney failure treated with dialysis or a transplant). Medicare is the nation's largest health insurance program, covering nearly 40 million Americans.

Medicaid (information from the Center for Medicaid and State Operations)
"Medicaid is a jointly-funded, Federal-State health insurance program for certain low-income and needy people. It covers approximately 36 million individuals including children, the aged, blind, and/or disabled, and people who are eligible to receive federally assisted income maintenance payments."

The Medicaid Resource Book
Source : Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

De-mos - A Network for Ideas and Action
- non-partisan, non-profit public policy research and advocacy organization based in New York City
"De-mos -- 'people' in Greek -- is the root word of democracy. Our mission is to create a more vibrant, fair, and inclusive America for the 21st century. We strive to help everyone realize the promise of American life through sharing in the nation's economic prosperity and participating in our democracy."

The Growth of Debt Among Older Americans (PDF file - 347K, 12 pages) - U.S.
by Tamara Draut and Heather C. Mcghee
Borrowing to Make Ends Meet Briefing Paper #1
February 2004
"In September 2003, De-mos released Borrowing to Make Ends Meet, a report on the growth of credit card debt among American families. The report documented a 53 percent average increase in self-reported household credit card debt between 1989 and 2001, based on data from the Survey of Consumer Finances. In examining debt increases by income, race, and age, the authors found that certain populations were hit harder than others. This paper is the first in a series of Borrowing to Make Ends Meet Briefing Papers, offering a closer look at the economic security of different populations as seen by examining their debt, assets, and major costs.

Related Link:

Borrowing to Make Ends Meet:
The Growth of Credit Card Debt in the ’90s
"The mid and late 1990s will always be remembered as an era of unprecedented prosperity. But for most American families, the roaring ’90s had a dark underbelly—it was also the Decade of Debt. Between 1989 and 2001, credit card debt in America almost tripled, from $238 billion to $692 billion. The savings rate steadily declined, and the number of people filing for bankruptcy jumped 125 percent. How did the average family fare?"
Complete report (PDF file - 732K, 64 pages)
Executive Summary (PDF file - 232K, 12 pages)

Democracy Uprising
"Democracy Uprising is a project under development by Mark Engler. Currently, the site contains a collection of articles that bring a progressive and internationalist perspective to critical issues facing society. The site rejects narrow specialization and instead seeks to draw connections between militarism, globalization, labor, immigration, Latin American affairs, electoral politics, religion, and the environment."
- topics include : Globalization | Labor War | Latin America | Protests | Immigration | U.S. Politics/Elections | Environment | Books | Liberation Theology | Essays | Oscar Arias

Who Pays For Poverty?
By Mark Engler
Published on September 8, 2003
"Critics questioned welfare reform during the prosperous '90s, but the real crisis is emerging in the wake of the Bush recession."

Economic Policy Institute
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit Washington D.C. think tank, was created in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. Today, with global competition expanding, wage inequality rising, and the methods and nature of work changing in fundamental ways, it is as crucial as ever that people who work for a living have a voice in the economic discourse.
On this site, you'll find : 
- an online collection of resources that provide data, charts, fact sheets, and links to relevant publications on a variety of topics; 
- A weekly presentation of downloadable charts and short analyses designed to graphically illustrate important economic issues. Updated every Wednesday; 
- Opinion pieces and speeches by EPI staff and associates. Updated as material becomes available; 
- A series of tables on historical labor market, earnings, and income data. Updated periodically; 
- Analyses of key government data. Updated on day of data's release; and 
- A consumer's guide to public opinion data on the web.

EPI issue guides:
- living wage - minimum wage - offshoring - poverty and family budgets - retirement security - social security - unemployment insurance - welfare

Minimum Wage - 40+ links to publications, tables, charts and other online resources
Living Wage - 30+ links
Poverty Measurement and Basic Family Budgets - 30+ links

EPI Issue Guide -- Minimum Wages
[Related Links: Canadian Social Research Links Minimum Wage Links page]

---------------------------------------------------------------

A selection of recent reports:

Declining health care coverage: the worst is yet to come
By Elise Gould
September 8, 2009
On Thursday, September 10, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its annual report on health insurance coverage in 2008. The report includes the latest numbers on the uninsured and various forms of health coverage. EPI’s same-day analysis of this report will highlight trends in employer-sponsored health insurance, including valuable state-by-state coverage rates

New 2008 poverty, income data reveal only tip of the recession iceberg
By Heidi Shierholz
September 10, 2009
(...) While the 3.6% decline in median income in 2008 was the largest one-year decline on record (since 1967) and the increase in poverty was the largest one-year increase in poverty since 1991, an important thing to keep in mind about today's data release is that it captures only a small portion of the deterioration in the economy up to this point in the recession.
Source:
Economic Policy Institute
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit Washington D.C. think tank, was created in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. Today, with global competition expanding, wage inequality rising, and the methods and nature of work changing in fundamental ways, it is as crucial as ever that people who work for a living have a voice in the economic discourse.

Declining health care coverage: the worst is yet to come
By Elise Gould
September 8, 2009
On Thursday, September 10, the U.S. Census Bureau will release its annual report on health insurance coverage in 2008. The report includes the latest numbers on the uninsured and various forms of health coverage. EPI’s same-day analysis of this report will highlight trends in employer-sponsored health insurance, including valuable state-by-state coverage rates
Source:
Economic Policy Institute
The Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit Washington D.C. think tank, was created in 1986 to broaden the discussion about economic policy to include the interests of low- and middle-income workers. Today, with global competition expanding, wage inequality rising, and the methods and nature of work changing in fundamental ways, it is as crucial as ever that people who work for a living have a voice in the economic discourse.

Improving Work Supports
Closing the financial gap for low-wage workers and their families
by Nancy K. Cauthen
October 2, 2007
EPI Briefing Paper #198
HTML version
PDF version (368K, 32 pages)
Low-wage workers and their families face rising levels of economic insecurity. Analysts estimate that anywhere from a quarter to a third of U.S. workers—35 to 46 million—hold low-wage jobs that provide few prospects for advancement and wage growth. Further, such jobs typically offer few of the employer-sponsored benefits—such as health insurance, paid sick leave, retirement plans, and the flexibility to deal with family needs—that higher-income workers often take for granted. (...) Government “work support” benefits—such as earned income tax credits, child care assistance, public health insurance coverage, and housing assistance—can help low-wage workers close the gap between insufficient earnings and basic expenses. And there is now abundant research evidence that work supports positively affect employment outcomes and family incomes, which in turn benefit children.

Source:
Agenda for Shared Prosperity - Economic Policy Institute
The American people need an economic agenda that will spur growth, reduce insecurity, and provide broadly shared prosperity. Drawing upon some of the best informed and most innovative experts, the Agenda for Shared Prosperity will advance an economic program that is comprehensive, understandable, and workable.

Census Bureau Data for 2005 Show Working Families Fell Behind
August 29, 2006
After falling each year since the economic recovery began in 2001, the income of the median household grew 1.1% (or $509) in inflation-adjusted terms in 2005. But the median income of working-age households—those headed by someone less than 65—actually fell 0.5% last year. Also troubling is the fact that poverty rates, which have risen consistently over the recovery, were unchanged, and income inequality also rose in 2005, as households at the top of the income scale saw greater income growth than everyone else.

The Who and Why of the Minimum Wage: Raising the wage floor is an essential part
of a strategy to support working families (PDF file - 28K, 7 pages)
EPI Issue Brief
August 6, 2004
By Jeff Chapman and Michael Ettlinger
Related Links: Go to the Minimum Wage Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/minwage.htm

States move on minimum wage
Federal inaction forces states to raise wage floor to protect low-wage workers
June 11, 2003 - Issue Brief #195
"The president and Congress are poised to beat an embarrassing record currently held by their predecessors of the 1980s—eight years without raising the minimum wage. Each year the federal government fails to act, minimum wage workers pay the price, as the rising cost of living erodes the value of their paycheck."

Real Value of the federal minimum wage in the U.S., 1956-2003
"The real value of today's minimum wage is 30% below its peak in 1968, and 24% below its level in 1979"
Source:
Step up, not out - The case for raising the federal minimum wage for workers in every state
February 7, 2001 - Issue Brief #149

US Social Security
Raising the Retirement Age: The Wrong Direction for Social Security
Weller, Christian E. 
September 2000 
HTML version (8 pages) 
PDF version (8 pages) 

Any way you cut it : Income inequality on the rise regardless of how it’s measured
Briefing Paper (22 printed pages) 
September 2000 
Discusses some interesting aspects of absolute VS relative measures of poverty, for example : 
- Do different income definitions yield different answers? (compares poverty levels using a number of official US sources) 
- Does income mobility counteract the inequality problem? 
- Are low-income families better off than before? 
- Absolute and relative difficulties in meeting basic needs 
- Is rising inequality a serious concern or merely a necessary tradeoff for a growing economy? 

Employment Policies Institute - "...dedicated to studying entry-level employment issues"
EPI online.org

Recent release from the (U.S.) Employment Policies Institute:

Minimum Wages and Poverty:
Will the Obama Proposal Help the Working Poor? (PDF - 3.1MB, 28 pages)
September 2008
Highlights - HTML
As this year’s economic crisis hit everyone’s pocketbooks, some advocates called for another increase in the federal minimum wage (from the current $6.55 to $9.50) . (...) Economists at American University and Cornell University conclude this high minimum wage would fail to improve our nation’s poverty rate because (1) over 60 percent of the benefits would go to families with incomes more than 2 times the federal poverty level, and (2) the job loss suffered by the lowest skilled employees could range from 450,000 to 4 million. The study also shows that the last minimum wage hike also fell short of achieving any poverty reductions, again because of poor target efficiency and resulting job loss.

Source:
Employment Policies Institute (EPI)

<Begin reality check.>

Lies, Damn Lies and The Internet

I enthusiastically encourage open dialogue between supporters of differing viewpoints.
What I object to is the misrepresentation of mission and objectives and the wilful omission of important contextual information, such as the fact that the Big Daddy at EPI is a Washington lobbyist for the restaurant, hotel, alcoholic beverage and tobacco industries, all of which stand to gain from low minimum wage standards.

Here's an excerpt from what SourceWatch*
has to say about the Employment Policies Institute:
The Employment Policies Institute (EPI) is one of several front groups created by Berman & Co., a Washington, DC public affairs firm owned by Rick Berman, who lobbies for the restaurant, hotel, alcoholic beverage and tobacco industries [bolding added]. (...) EPI has has been widely quoted in news stories regarding minimum wage issues, and although a few of those stories have correctly described it as a "think tank financed by business," most stories fail to provide any identification that would enable readers to identify the vested interests behind its pronouncements. Instead, it is usually described exactly the way it describes itself, as a "non-profit research organization dedicated to studying public policy issues surrounding employment growth" that "focuses on issues that affect entry-level employment." In reality, EPI's mission is to keep the minimum wage low so Berman's clients can continue to pay their workers as little as possible [more bolding added]. EPI also owns the internet domain names to MinimumWage.com and LivingWage.com, a website that attempts to portray the idea of a living wage for workers as some kind of insidious conspiracy."
Source:

[ *SourceWatch is a collaborative project of the Center for Media and Democracy to produce a directory of the people, organizations and issues shaping the public agenda. A primary purpose of SourceWatch is documenting the PR and propaganda activities of public relations firms and public relations professionals engaged in managing and manipulating public perception, opinion and policy. SourceWatch also includes profiles on think tanks, industry-funded organizations and industry-friendly experts that work to influence public opinion and public policy on behalf of corporations, governments and special interests. Over time, SourceWatch has broadened to include others involved in public debates including media outlets, journalists and government agencies." ]

CAVEAT:

The "About..." page of any website should *always* include clear statements concerning who is 'behind' the site, whether they're called sponsors, funders partners, supporters or whatever, and what the site hopes to accomplish. In the case of the EPI, there's no mention on their About Us page of the vested interests of the industries that stand most to gain from the information that EPI disseminates. To say that "EPI sponsors nonpartisan research..." is a blatant falsehood.

The Bottom Line:

Beware of websites that misrepresent themselves.
* Ask questions.
* Use SourceWatch.

See also:
Full Frontal Scrutiny
... a joint venture between Consumer Reports WebWatch and the Center for Media and Democracy, two non-profit organizations whose mission includes consumer education using investigative reporting. This Web site seeks to expose front groups, which are organizations that state a particular agenda, while hiding or obscuring their identity, membership or sponsorship, or all three.

</End reality check .>

If you want to read some *credible* U.S. research
on the American minimum wage, see this site:

Minimum Wage Issue Guide
(See esp. Minimum wage — Facts at a glance - incl. "no evidence of job loss from previous minimum wage increases.")

Source:
Economic Policies Institute
The Economic Policy Institute is a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy.

[ "The Employment Policies institute deliberately attempted to create confusion in the eyes of journalists and the general public by adopting a name which closely resembles the Economic Policy Institute, a much older, progressive think tank with ties to organized labor." - SourceWatch ]

------------------------------------------------------------------

Wage Growth Among Minimum Wage Workers (PDF file - 442K, 25 pages)
June 2004
This study shows "that wage growth among minimum wage employees is actually quite robust. Using over two decades of Current Population Survey (CPS) data, these authors dispel the notion that minimum wage employees are dependent on government policies to increase their wages. The authors also examine the factors that lead to wage growth and find that higher education and job training along with a strong labor market are significant contributing factors."

Helping low-wage Americans : Wage-based tax credits.
A new solution to an age-old problem (PDF file - 570K, 30 pages)
May 2004
Washington
Summary (below) by CERC (Bulletin N°52)
"(...) The near-universal conclusion of decades of economic research is that minimum wage increases diminish total employment and destroy opportunities for entry-level employees. Moreover, most of the benefits associated with minimum wage hikes accrue to non-poor families. The EITC, in contrast, increases poor Americans’ income and work-effort, without destroying job opportunities.(...)"

Living Wage and Earned Income Tax Credit: A Comparative Analysis (PDF file, 960K, 38 pages)
January 2003

Minimum Wage

Living Wage and Earned Income Tax Credit: A Comparative Analysis (PDF file - 961K, 38 pages)
Dr. Mark Turner, Georgetown University
Dr. Burt S. Barnow, Johns Hopkins University
December 2002
" The results of this study should vault the concept of a local EITC into debates in every municipal entity now considering a living wage. A local EITC is as yet a new phenomenon."

More on the Minimum Wage from the Employment Policies Institute

Joint Center for Housing Studies
The Joint Center for Housing Studies is Harvard University's center for information and research on housing in the United States. The Joint Center analyzes the dynamic relationships between housing markets and economic, demographic, and social trends, providing leaders in government, business, and the non-profit sector with the knowledge needed to develop effective policies and strategies.

'Unprecedented' rise in number of precariously housed Americans:
2009 State of Nation's Housing report
June 22, 2009
By Michael Shapcott
Lower-income Americans are especially hard-hit by current recession and there has been an "unprecedented" increase in the number of people who are precariously housed. Those are among the grim findings in the 2009 State of the Nation's Housing report that was released today in Washington DC by Harvard University's Joint Center for Housing Studies, the National Low Income Housing Coalition and others. Some key observations: "Low income homeowners and renters are hit especially hard in the current climate... in 2007, the year for which the most recent data exists, 51% of low income renters and 43% of low income owners paid more than half their incomes for housing... altogether, 17.9 million households spent more than half of their incomes on housing, a 30% increase that is 'unprecedented'.”
Found in:
Wellesley Institute Blog
Wellesley Institute

Complete report:

Housing Duress Continues Despite Signs of a Bottom in Housing Sales and Starts:
Harvard Releases the 2009 State of the Nation’s Housing Report
June 22, 2009
Press Release
(New York) The worst housing downturn in generations continues to grind on, finds a study released today by the Joint Center for Housing Studies of Harvard University. Despite some stabilization in homebuilding and home sales in the spring, real home prices continued to fall and foreclosures mount in most areas in the first quarter of the 2009.

Related link:

National Low Income Housing Coalition (U.S.)
The National Low Income Housing Coalition is dedicated solely to achieving socially just public policy that assures people with the lowest incomes in the United States have affordable and decent homes.

- Go to the Homelessness and Housing Links page: http://www.canadiansocialresearch.net/homeless.htm

Joint Center for Poverty Research (JCPR)
The Northwestern University / University of Chicago Joint Center for Poverty Research supports academic research that examines what it means to be poor and live in America. Core funding provided by the US Department of Health and Human Services.
This is a large site with a lot of information and hundreds of links to reports and other research sites. From the home page, you can click on links to information on poverty, JCPR publications, conferences and events, a newsroom with press releases, articles, and interviews on poverty and policy related issues. And don't forget their Links page...