This blog is a place for journalists to discuss their experiences covering poverty. It works in tandem with onpoverty.org, a site run by Washington and Lee University's American Poverty Journalism Center.
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Health care proposal limits options
President Barack Obama is proposing a new health care program that is federal and the insurance is similar to Medicare, and available to anyone at any age. Obama believes that the program will give the people more choices and keeps the integrity of the private sector in check because of the competition. Opponents believe that the government is intervening and is pushing private insurers out by demanding lower prices from doctors and hospitals than private sectors, eventually leaving the government as the only option. The main debate over the health care proposal is how to provide coverage to nearly 50 million uninsured Americans while taking into account the high cost of health care.
Original story
Labels: health care plan, insurance, Medicare, Obama
Idaho extends benefits to jobless
Idaho Governor Butch Otter agreed to stimulus money that could bring in $33 million to reduce tax increases on Idahoan businesses next year to maintain the $95 million trust fund with the Legislature approval. It may also reduce the amount the state would have to borrow from the federal government. State businesses and labor groups support a bill that increase cash flow and provide new benefits by extending coverage for unemployed Idahoans in state-approved training programs and helping the jobless seek employment.
Original story
Labels: business tax, Governor Butch Otter, Idaho, stimulus package, unemployment
Unemployment affects growing number of free lunch applications
In light of the increasing number of unemployed, more South Georgia students are relying on free lunch programs, which are run by the Department of Agriculture. This year, 65 percent of students are taking advantage of the program, with Tift County serving over six-thousand a day, and over one million meals a year. If unemployment rates continue to rise, the number of applicants for the free lunch program is also expected to increase as well. The school is also makes sure that families who are eligible apply for the program and receive its benefits.
Original story
Labels: free lunch, Georgia Department of Agriculture, Tift County, unemployment
Cost concerns prompt states to cut back on prison terms
For almost 30 years, states have dealt with lawbreakers by locking more of them up for longer periods and building more prisons to hold them. Now, however, many are re-evaluating their prison policies due to limited financial resources and mounting incarceration costs. Some states are replacing jail time with community service; others are simply freeing prisoners early. Tough sentencing has long been a path to re-election for lawmakers. But the recession is forcing them to take a more cost-conscious approach toward imprisonment.
Original story
Labels: financial resources, prison policies, prisons
L.A. homeless assaults classified as hate crimes
As the number of homeless people increases, they seem to have become easier targets for assaults and other crimes. Advocates in Los Angeles say the attacks have become more violent, but until recently no one tracked the crimes countywide. County supervisors unanimously recommended that authorities start tracking and reporting assaults on the homeless as hate crimes. The information will be used to determine whether attacks are increasing, where they occur, and whether they can be prevented.
Original story
Labels: hate crimes, homeless, Los Angeles
D.C. voucher program rejected
The Washington D.C. school voucher program, formally known as the D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program , used tax dollars in order to transfer impoverished students to private schools with higher standards than the public schools of D.C. The program provides up to $7,500 a year for private-school tuition poor children, and costs $12 annually. However, the program opposes the public view of education and has been rejected by voters every time the program appeared on state ballots because of a disagreement over funds though there would still be limited space if unlimited funds were available.
Original story
Labels: D.C. Opportunity Scholarship Program, private school, vouchers, Washingon D.C.
In Utah, 1 in 30 students are homeless
State education authorities say 10,388 of the 551,013 students enrolled in schools in Utah are considered homeless, as compared with one in 50 nationally. The typical Utah homeless family consists of a single mother with two children, who struggles to pay for housing due to low income. For almost every adult who is homeless, there is a child. But the child is more likely to experience hunger, suffer chronic health problems, repeat a grade in school or drop out of school altogether, the state says.
Original story
Labels: homeless, students, Utah
Homeless using cell phones
Advocates estimate that 30 to 40 percent of homeless people have cell phones, and some also have e-mail accounts and blogs that document their lives on the streets. Cell phones have become relatively inexpensive with pay-as-you-go phones and prepaid minutes. Some of the homeless use the phones to set up meetings, organize bills and payments, or keep in touch with family. Some also rely on phones to keep their homelessness a secret from their employers in order to keep their jobs.
Original story
Labels: cell phones, homeless
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