Last Week in Poverty: Food Policy, EITC Expansion and Financial Security for All

Continued from previous page

“On Strange Bedfellows: Coathangers, Gridlock and Redistricting,” Lisalyn Jacobs

“In Climbing Income Ladder, Location Matters,” David Leonhardt

“The Minimum Wage Doesn’t Apply to Everyone,” John Light

“EITC Could Be a Pathway to Opportunity for Young Men,” Chuck Marr

“The president’s speech shows he’s better at the ‘whereas’ than the ‘therefore’ part of the resolution,” Lawrence Mishel

“Mr. President, Have Pity on the Working Man,” Bill Moyers and Michael Winship

“60 Percent of Women’s Job Gains in the Recovery Are in 10 Largest Low-Wage Jobs,” National Women’s Law Center

“Impact of Sequestration Cuts on Head Start, Child Care and Early Education,” National Women’s Law Center

“227,000 Names on List Vie for Rare Vacancies in City’s Public Housing,” Mireya Navarro

“Abandoned in Indian Country,” The New York Times

“When the Right to Shelter Isn’t Quite Right,” Ralph da Costa Nunez

“Senate Approves College Student Loan Plan Tying Rates to Markets,” Jeremy Peters

“Pro-Baby, but Stingy With Money to Support Them,” Eduardo Porter

“Senate HUD Funding Bill Reverses Harmful Sequestration Cuts in Housing Assistance,” Douglas Rice

“Is Dying by Hunger Better Than Years of Humiliation?” Michael Seifert

“Get Ready for Unfounded Attacks on the War on Poverty,” Arloc Sherman

“Uncensored: The Historical Perspective,” Ethan Sribnick and Sara Johnsen

“Early education: money well spent,” StarTribune editorial

“House legislation would slash education funding,” Valerie Strauss

“Indy janitors want living wage jobs,” Fran Quigley

“America’s One-Child Policy,” Brandy Zadrozny

“New moms in Britain get royal treatment,” Jeanne Zaino

Studies/Briefs (by Aviva Stahl and Samantha Lachman): 

“Wanting More but Working Less: Involuntary Part-Time Employment and Economic Vulnerability,” Rebecca Glauber, Carsey Institute. Although the overall unemployment rate has fallen from its 2010 peak, involuntary part-time employment has not similarly improved. This report examines the “economic hardship and vulnerability” correlated with involuntary part-time work. About 25 percent of involuntary part-time workers live in poverty, as compared to about 5 percent of those employed full-time. Individuals in part-time employment tend to receive lower wages, fewer benefits and be less job-secure; for example in 2012, involuntary part-time workers were five times more likely than full-time workers to have faced significant periods of unemployment (three-plus months) in the past year. The study concludes by recommending “policies that improve the quality of part-time positions and lower the number of Americans in involuntary part-time employment.” (Summary by Aviva Stahl)

“Diverse Children: Race, Ethnicity, and Immigration in America’s New Non-Majority Generation,” Donald J. Hernandez & Jeffrey S. Napierala, Foundation for Child Development. By 2018, more than half of American children will be of color, and already 25 percent of children come from immigrant families. This report draws from nineteen indicators of child wellbeing to compare outcomes across white, Hispanic, black and Asian race-ethnic groups, and examines disparities within groups between children whose parents are and are not immigrants. It also makes policy recommendations to remedy these inequalities. All children with US-born parents—regardless of race—were more likely than those with immigrant parents to be born at a low birthweight or die as an infant. Revealing the depth of structural discrimination in this country, Black children with US-born parents fared the worst across the board, followed by Hispanic children with immigrant parents. (Summary by Aviva Stahl)

“Serving Maryland’s Children: The Afterschool Meal Program,” Valerie Zeender and Clarissa Hayes, Maryland Hunger Solutions. This report explores the impact of Maryland’s federally funded Afterschool Meal Program, launched three years ago. Maryland is one of only thirteen states (and the District of Columbia) to receive federal funding to provide after-school meals. The report shows that the program’s reach has expanded—during the 2011–12 school year, an average of 11,433 children received meals throughout the state. Though participation has increased, there remains much room for growth. The program plays an important role in combating hunger and keeping children safe and supervised, and the meals can help combat both obesity and poor nutrition. The report details the various strategies a coalition of organizations are engaged in to increase participation and help end childhood hunger, and found that the most effective expansion strategy was targeting sites already serving snacks and encouraging them to also serve supper. (Summary by Samantha Lachman)