Earlier today, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) appeared at an event hosted by AEI to unveil his new plan to fight poverty, “Expanding Opportunity in America.” Rep. Ryan’s plan categorizes his reforms into six different areas, a few of which we’ll discuss here. So-called “Opportunity Grants”: First, Rep….
Archives: Voices
Head Smacker: Trying to get Chairman Ryan’s poverty plan to match up with everything he has proposed up to now, and what he might be doing tomorrow
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) gave a speech today about Expanding Opportunity in America. He talked about the need to provide individualized services to poor families, to let states try new approaches and test their outcomes, to reduce incarceration and provide services for those returning from prison, and…
Fact of the Week: The Average Worker Who Would Benefit from a Minimum Wage Increase Isn’t Who You Might Think
The average age of workers who benefit from raising the minimum wage to $10.10 is 35 years old. More than a third of workers affected are at least 40. While many people still think of the average minimum wage worker as the teenager earning some extra spending cash, the reality is…
Rep. Ryan’s Plan to Fight Poverty – A Preview
This Thursday, July 24, House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) unveils his plan to fight poverty and expand opportunity at an event at AEI. We encourage you to watch the live stream starting at 9 a.m., and share your thoughts about what you hear in the comments section below….
Head Smacker: Congress Continues to Fund Military Equipment the Pentagon Doesn’t Want
Despite Congress’ continued insistence that critical assistance like benefits for the long-term unemployed be paid for by cutting something else, they continue to push money towards the Pentagon – whether or not the Pentagon wants the money in the first place. The Friends Committee on National Legislation pulled together some…
Celebrating Our 2014 Human Needs Hero
Today, the need for organized advocacy around the rights of low-income and vulnerable populations is more important than ever. There’s so much work to be done, and we all need a hero to motivate us to keep striving for justice. This year, CHN will be honoring Jim Weill as our Human…
Fact of the Week: Since FY 2010, at Least 119 Important Human Needs Programs Have Been Cut, 99 by more than 10%
New data released by CHN shows that, out of a group of 131 programs of special importance to low-income and vulnerable people, 119 saw decreases from FY 2010 through FY 2014 after adjusting for inflation. Ninety-nine programs were cut well over 10 percent. Only 12 programs increased during this same…
A New Tool in the Fight to Raise the Minimum Wage
In coordination with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Oxfam America has released an indispensable tool for minimum wage and anti-poverty advocates’ tool box: an interactive map with accompanying scorecards detailing the impact a federal minimum wage increase would have on the workers in each Congressional district. But it is not…
Head Smacker: House Committee Takes Revenue That Could Have Helped the Jobless to Fund Highway Bill
On Witness Wednesday, advocates for the long-term jobless sweated outside the Capitol and told some of the painful stories out of the 3.3 million so far denied unemployment benefits because Congress let the program expire. The following day, the House Ways and Means Committee approved a bill to replenish the Highway…
Elnora’s Story: A Voice for the Unemployed
“There are a lot of people truly hurting. Many feel they have no voice, or they are ashamed to share their story, and they’re going downhill. This isn’t just affecting individuals, but families, too. It’s taking away your dignity as a grown-up and individual. You go from providing for yourself and…
Fact of the Week: A Quarter of Americans Live in Concentrated Poverty Areas
Over 25% of Americans – more than 77 million people – lived in areas of concentrated poverty in 2010, up from 18.1% in 2000. The percentage of people living in these “poverty areas,” defined in the Census Bureau report released last week as an area where more than 20% of…
Head Smacker: Close to Independence Day, Supreme Court Threatens Independence for People with Disabilities
The Supreme Court ignored some time-honored rules on Monday when it decided against unionized home care workers. Such as: “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” and its corollary, “if it’s working, don’t break it.” In Harris v. Quinn, Justice Alito wrote an opinion for the 5-vote majority that qualifies…