The U.S. Census Bureau announced that it will be developing an alternative way to measure poverty. This new method will better reflect the realities facing struggling families and ways in which current government programs can help them to get back on their feet. Unlike the traditional poverty measure, which is based in a 1960s reality, this supplemental measure will provide a more accurate accounting of household budgets and better determination of whether a family has enough resources to meet its most basic needs.

Testimony to the Congressional Black Caucus

Half in Ten Campaign Manager Melissa Boteach testifies and shares why the extension of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Emergency Contingency Fund, summer jobs, and investments in National Service deserve serious consideration as a part of a national strategy to tackle youth unemployment and growing poverty. Read her testimony to the Congressional Black Caucus here.

A majority of Americans polled in 2008 by the Half in Ten Campaign knew of a family member who was experiencing poverty. The situation has since worsened, with unemployment near double digits and data revealing one in six Americans living in a household struggling against hunger. These circumstances demand congressional action.

As we develop policies to promote economic recovery and create jobs, it is essential that we recognize the hard truth about poverty in so many of our nation’s communities.  That is why I hope you can attend the first in the Half in Ten campaign’s briefing series, “Restoring Economic Opportunity: The Need for a Recovery that Cuts Poverty in Half in Ten Years”

The first briefing in the series is entitled “The Starting Line: Poverty and Economic Opportunity Before, During, and After the Recession.” At the briefing, Center for American Progress Action Fund economist Heather Boushey will discuss how the recession has brought economic hardship to many American families, the labor market problems underscoring this hardship, and policy solutions to help jumpstart job creation. She will be joined by Dr. Deborah A. Frank of Boston Medical Center’s Grow Clinic for Children, who will describe the long-term health effects on children of growing up with hunger and poverty and federal programs that can help in mitigating some of these effects. Finally, Kelly Dolberry, a resident of DC’s Park Road Family Shelter, will discuss how the recession has affected her family.

Date: March 12, 2010

Time: 11:00 AM -12:30 PM

Room: Capitol Visitors Center, Room HVC-200, Washington DC

Heather Boushey, Senior Economist, Center for American Progress Action Fund

Kelly Dolberry, Resident, Park Road Family Shelter

Dr. Deborah A. Frank, Director, Boston Medical Center’s Grow Clinic for Children

Moderated by Wade Henderson, President and CEO of The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights and Half in Ten partner.

Please RSVP to lpereyra@americanprogress.org.

And save the date for the next briefing in our series, which will be held on April 9!

Why an alternative federal poverty measure will drive smarter policies to bring more families into the middle class

By Melissa Boteach and Jitinder Kohli

“If you can’t measure it, you can’t manage it,” said New York City Mayor and business magnate Michael Bloomberg in 2007 describing the need for an updated poverty measure.

Now it seems he is getting his wish. The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that it will be developing an alternative way to measure poverty. This new method will better reflect the realities facing struggling families and ways in which current government programs can help them to get back on their feet. Unlike the traditional poverty measure, which is based in a 1960s reality, this supplemental measure will provide a more accurate accounting of household budgets and better determination of whether a family has enough resources to meet its most basic needs.

The Census Bureau has published a number of different alternative poverty data for many years and will continue to do so. But this new measure will accommodate updated research and modeling, and will be released alongside the traditional poverty data in 2011, ushering in a new public understanding of how well we are doing in ensuring that more families are able to meet basic needs and ultimately to join the middle class.

The new measure is not designed to replace the traditional measure. Eligibility for more than 80 public benefits is tied in some form to the current federal poverty measure, which will continue to be a useful tool in administering programs. Issuing a supplemental measure will not change eligibility for any government benefits or in and of itself cost the government one penny in additional poverty program expenditures.

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More than a million and a half Americans could lose their jobs if the Senate does not act soon. Millions of Americans will immediately lose their unemployment insurance benefits if the Senate doesn’t act to extend unemployment insurance and COBRA subsidies by the end of next week. And state and local governments are slashing budgets, getting ready to lay off firefighters, police officers, and teachers.

Our country cannot afford the job loss that will come from inaction. Every dollar of unemployment insurance benefits creates $1.90 of stimulus in the community. Our country will lose another 800,000 jobs if the Senate’s inaction cuts off benefits.

And if the Senate acts now, federal aid could also save jobs in essential public safety, education, and health services provided by state and local governments.

Your senators need to hear that now is not the time to procrastinate.

Demand that the Senate vote immediately to save jobs by extending UI benefits and COBRA subsidies through the end of 2010 and by providing aid to state and local governments.

9to5 Colorado has been sharing information about Half in Ten to our lists of members and supporters and is in the process of planning our first Coalition meeting. On February 17th, 9to5 shared information about Half in Ten at the Colorado Women’s Legislative Breakfast which brought 240 women and allies to hear about issues affecting women. Legislators spoke about policies they are pushing to better the economic self sufficiency of women including health care, child care assistance, early childhood education, family friendly workplace policies and the impacts of the current budget crisis Colorado is facing.

9to5 recently led a lobby day bringing 12 community leaders to the Capitol to speak to their legislators about policies that impact people living in poverty. We will be conducting more lobby days to provide an opportunity for constituents ask their legislators to sign on to the Half in Ten campaign.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is excited to be part of the Half in Ten family. With the New Year well on its way, new opportunities to cut poverty in half by 2020 have taken flight in Arkansas. AACF will launch a plan to educate policy makers, service providers and the public on the importance of knowing the facts about poverty and how we can work together to reduce poverty. This three- prong plan will include:

• Hosting regional meetings that will educate participants on the facts of poverty and the policies that help and hinder our most vulnerable populations.
• Holding advocacy academies to equip local advocates with the knowledge on the methods of effective advocacy.
• Empowering locally trained advocates to host round table discussions with candidates and elected officials to share what they have learned and how they can work together to abolish poverty in our state and country.

Arkansas Advocates for Children and Families is also creating a candidate’s guide that will be used in this training. This guide will outline our different issue areas and encourage local advocates to become active in the electoral process by questioning potential candidates on the issues that affect so many working families in Arkansas. Finally, we are working with local partners to bring the Community Action Poverty Simulation (CAPS) to Arkansas. This tool was created by the Missouri Association for Community Action to educate policymakers and community leaders about the day to day realities of life with a shortage of money and an abundance of stress. Several local partners and staff members of AACF have been trained to facilitate the poverty simulation. We hope to offer this unique opportunity by mid-March. For more information and description of the poverty simulation

The future is filled with opportunities, as are looking forward to working together with dedicated advocates, concerned lawmakers and the faith community to cut poverty in half by 2020 in Arkansas and the United States overall.

Email Pat Bodenhamer at pbodenhamer@aradvocates.org to get involved

The Minnesota Half in Ten Coalition – composed of Affirmative Options Coalition, the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, and a Minnesota Without Poverty – is already planning several events to build out the movement to cut poverty in half in ten years.

• Last weekend, A Minnesota Without Poverty Executive Director, Nancy Maeker, served as the keynote speaker at three Bread for the World workshops on “Bridging the Gap—Making Work Pay: Addressing the Struggle of Low-Income Workers to Make Ends Meet.” Nancy educated dozens of activists on the Earned Income Tax Credit, strategies to end poverty in Minnesota, and the Half in Ten Campaign’s goals and priorities.
• On February 27th, A Minnesota Without Poverty will hold a statewide Gathering on Five Sites entitled, “If Not We, Then Who? If Not Now, Then When?” This web-linked program will focus on the first recommendation of the Legislative Commission to End Poverty recommendation: Restore work as a means out of poverty. All five sites will share the experience of a keynote speaker, music, conversation, report on the progress toward ending poverty, and a community-wide call to action throughout Minnesota.
• On March 25th, the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition (JRLC) will hold a day at the state capitol where over a thousand activists will gather to celebrate JRLC’s Day on the Hill (March 25). Half in Ten issues and goals will be incorporated into this day’s agenda.

Email Nancy Maeker at nancymaeker@mnwithoutpoverty.org to get involved.

There are 6.4 jobseekers for every unfilled job – and that gap is growing. Two-thirds of Americans are close to someone who is out of work. And joblessness is worst for communities of color, youth, and women who head households. While the investments made through the federal economic recovery legislation have created or saved over 1 million jobs so far, the recession is so deep that more federal action is urgently needed.

Congress and the Obama Administration are working on job creation plans. What should they do? How can we build support for job creation that does not leave the poorest people behind?

Listen in to hear the answers from a January 28, 2010 webinar featuring Deborah Weinstein from the Coalition of Human Needs, Lawrence Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute, Deepak Bhargava of the Center for Community Change, and Alan Charney of Jobs for America Now!

Click here to listen

The Half in Ten Campaign believes that any strategy to cut the U.S. poverty rate in half over the next 10 years must be based on four fundamental principles: promoting decent work, ensuring economic security, providing opportunity for all, and helping people build wealth. The president’s budget released earlier this week reflects those same principles by laying out an agenda for job creation, investing in income and work supports even in the context of a discretionary spending freeze, offering an education and workforce agenda that promotes opportunity, and championing policies that will allow Americans to save and build for the future. Half in Ten urges Congress to pass a budget resolution that adopts and builds on these investments with special emphasis on job creation for low-income and minority communities.

Here’s a closer look at how the president’s budget request matches up with Half in Ten’s principles. Read more »