war on poverty

Working Class Whites Are Giving Up Hope.

"Working class whites are giving up economic hope, according to a recent poll. They did not vote for Obama. The article did talk about single-mother households. They are in poverty, of course. What did the social planners expect? If the government subsidizes a particular behavior, we get more of it. That was the conservative argument a generation ago. It was dismissed as heartless by liberals. This is what 80 years of welfare state politics have produced. But of course, no one in the mainstream mentions this. Pessimism now reigns." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWorking Class Whites Are Giving Up Hope.

Which State Has the Most Self-Reliant People?

"Back in 2010, I put together a 'Moocher Index' as a rough measure of which states had the highest levels of welfare dependency after adjusting for poverty rates. It turned out that there were huge differences among states. Nearly 18 percent of non-poor Vermont residents were utilizing one or more welfare programs, putting them at the top of the Moocher Index. In Nevada, by contrast, less than 4 percent of non-poor residents had their snouts in the public trough. So I was very interested when I came across some state-by-state numbers from the Department of Agriculture showing food stamp participation compared to food stamp eligibility." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWhich State Has the Most Self-Reliant People?

“You’re Fired. Want to Work Part-Time?”

"The U.S. Chamber of Commerce summarizes what the situation is. 'Small businesses expect the requirement to negatively impact their employees. Twenty-seven percent say they will cut hours to reduce full time employees, 24 percent will reduce hiring, and 23 percent plan to replace full time employees with part-time workers to avoid triggering the mandate.' Thanks, Nancy. Thanks Barack. You have just created the new normal for low-paid workers: lower pay! This is why the government decided to delay implementation of small business rules until 2015. You see, there are Congressional elections in November of 2014." Continue reading →

Continue Reading“You’re Fired. Want to Work Part-Time?”

101 Million Americans Received Food Aid Last Year

"Nearly one-third of Americans received government-funded food aid in 2012, according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are roughly a dozen federal food assistance programs operating today. The USDA reports that 59 percent of households that participated in one of the four largest food assistance programs—food stamps, school breakfasts, school lunches, and WIC—end up receiving benefits from 'two or more programs.' This indicates significant duplication, 'providing participants total benefits in excess of 100 percent of daily nutritional needs.'" Continue reading →

Continue Reading101 Million Americans Received Food Aid Last Year

Fearful Indian schoolchildren refuse free school meals after 22 die, dozens sickened

"India’s state governments run the world’s largest school feeding programme involving 120 million children. Bihar is one of India’s most populated and poorest states. Educators see the scheme as a way to increase school attendance, in a country where almost half of all young children are undernourished. But children often suffer from food poisoning due to poor hygiene in kitchens and occasionally sub-standard food. Authorities have instructed all teachers and cooks in the state to first taste the free lunch before serving to the children. 'We will have to make parents believe that mid-day meals provide nutrition and are not meant to kill students,' said Lakshmanan." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFearful Indian schoolchildren refuse free school meals after 22 die, dozens sickened

Colbert: If poor people want food stamps, they should become massive corporations

"'The Farm Bill is a routine piece of legislation that provides subsidies for farmers while setting aside money for food stamps. It’s a win-win, help for the folks who grow the corn and help for folks who live on nothing but corn syrup.' 'But, last week, House Republicans agreed to an historic compromise on food stamps,' said Colbert, 'by eliminating the food stamps.' 'It is a principled conservative message based on the old adage, ‘Give a man a fish and he’ll eat for a day. Take away his food stamps, and he’ll found FishCo, a multinational food conglomerate that gets a massive subsidy in the next Farm Bill.’'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingColbert: If poor people want food stamps, they should become massive corporations

Utah Spent $26K to Ferret Out Welfare Drug Users, Found Nine

"Of 4,425 people screened for drug use after seeking aid, only 813 were deemed to be at high risk of drug use, only 394 were actually subjected to drug testing, and of those, only nine were denied benefits because they tested positive and five are undergoing treatment. The state spent more than $26,000 to achieve these results. It spent more than $5,000 to administer the Substance Abuse Subtle Screening Inventory (SASSI) test to applicants and more than $20,000 to pay for drug testing. Those figures do not include staff costs to administer the SASSI test or the costs of drug treatment." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUtah Spent $26K to Ferret Out Welfare Drug Users, Found Nine

School board members among 109 New Jerseyans faking income for free school meal program

"New Jersey state Comptroller Matthew Boxer announced on Wednesday that 109 public employees, spouses and family members will be prosecuted on fraud charges after a state investigation found they lied about their incomes to qualify for a free school lunch program. Boxer did not identify the employees, but mentioned that 40 of them worked for school districts, including six board members. The 109 cheaters hid a combined $13 million in underreported income to claim their children qualified for participation in the National School Lunch Program, which offers free or discounted breakfasts and lunches for children from lower-income families." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSchool board members among 109 New Jerseyans faking income for free school meal program

Most Expensive Colleges In America

"It's common knowledge that college costs are on the rise. But you may be surprised to know that some schools currently charge over $60,000 to educate a student for just one year. A list recently released by the Department of Education charts the highest tuition in the country. Unfortunately, the tuition numbers used in the rankings are two years old, and fail to show the contemporary college landscape." Continue reading →

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Most Expensive Colleges In America

"It's common knowledge that college costs are on the rise. But you may be surprised to know that some schools currently charge over $60,000 to educate a student for just one year. A list recently released by the Department of Education charts the highest tuition in the country. Unfortunately, the tuition numbers used in the rankings are two years old, and fail to show the contemporary college landscape." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMost Expensive Colleges In America