ast spring, as the rancorous debates in Minnesota and Washington heated up to an almost deafening cacophony, A Minnesota Without Poverty’s Board and Public Policy Workgroup discussed the question: What public action could A Minnesota Without Poverty offer that would be a voice of advocacy, but would do so in a unique manner, lower the level of anxiety and fear, and might have a chance to be heard?
Keep reading for the top 10 members of Congress who vote against the needs of their constituents. Facing record numbers of people living in poverty, you’d think Congress would have taken steps this year to create jobs and strengthen the safety net. Think again.
In September 2011, the Census Bureau release the latest data on poverty in America. View this map to see poverty rates, including racial and gender breakdowns, for your state.
On September 22, the Census Bureau released 2010 state- and district-level poverty data from the American Community Survey. The Half in Ten campaign created this map which displays the data by congressional district.
Yesterday the Census Bureau released the latest data on poverty, income, and health insurance in America. The data confirm that millions of Americans continue to cope with the Great Recession’s enduring effects, and they show the strength of our safety net and our need for good jobs now.
On September 12, President Obama gave a speech in the Rose Garden on his plan to create jobs in America, the American Jobs Act. The President was surrounded with future beneficiaries of the Act’s provisions—including two of Half in Ten’s very own Road to Shared Prosperity storymap contributors: Tara, a former food stamps/SNAP recipient turned hunger advocate and Almeta, a former Head Start parent turned executive director of a child advocacy organization.
Half in Ten Manager Melissa Boteach discusses the latest Census data on poverty.
In anticipation of the president’s jobs speech, Half in Ten encourages the administration to propose job-creation policies that match the scope of the jobs crisis and strategies that include those traditionally left behind during economic recoveries.
Robert Rector’s recent article (“A poor definition of poverty,” July 24) misleads the reader into believing that being poor in America — living below $22,000 a year for a family of four — isn’t so bad. Rector’s argument is flawed on two main fronts.
Washington, D.C.—The Half in Ten campaign today denounced the House passage of the Budget Control Act (S.627), legislation that would raise the debt ceiling for only six months in exchange for $3 trillion in spending cuts over the next 10 years — $1.2 trillion up front and another $1.8 trillion — before the debt ceiling could be raised again.