Working Poor Lose Ground Under the Tax Compromise

When President Obama defended his tax cut compromise with the Republican Party, he insisted that he was helping working people avoid taking a pay cut. "I'm focused on making sure that tens of millions of hardworking Americans are not seeing their paychecks shrink on Jan. 1, just because the folks here in Washington are busy trying to score political points," Obama said.

But as tax experts look at the proposal more closely, it has become clear that the working poor will actually end up losing money under the new arrangement.

"Single working people with earnings below $20,000 and married couples with earnings below $40,000 are worse off under the payroll tax cut proposals in the compromise between the president and the Republicans," explains Bob Williams, a senior fellow at the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Policy Center.

www.dailyfinance.com/story/taxes/working-poor-pay-more-obama-gop-tax-compromise/19752400/?icid=fbuzz|working-poor-pay-more-obama-gop-tax-compromise/19752400/

Photography exhibit puts a face on clients served by Ministry with Community

An exhibit at the WMU College of Health and Human Services displays photographs and stories of a few clients who receive services at Ministry with Community. On exhibition in the second floor gallery of the WMU College Health and Human Services Building on Oakland Drive, the display was to end after Dec. 20 but now will be up through Jan. 10.

The portraits and stories are getting attention at the college, said Gay Walker, coordinator for the college’s Holistic Health Care Program and coordinator for the exhibits that appear in the gallery.

“It’s very different than a typical exhibit. There’s a purpose here,” Walker said. “My intention has been to bring in not just exhibits for their beauty but ones that say something, they say something important.”

Wojtyniak’s project features photo portraits that are overlain with the written stories of those captured in the picture.

Visitors to the display will see two layers over the picture that they can open to read the person’s narrative, captured in interviews by a Ministry with Community staff member.

Originally, these portraits were taken and provided to the Ministry clients as a gift, funded by a ChangeMaker grant from the Kalamazoo Community Foundation.

But Wojtyniak said they needed a wider audience.

“This exhibit is offered as a gift. Not from me, but from the members in the portraits,” Wojtyniak said in a news release.

“The members shared their stories and themselves with me, resulting in many engaging portraits. However, the powerful stories and portraits begged for a wider audience.”

The exhibit can be viewed from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Friday. For more information contact Walker at 269-387-3839 or gay.walker@wmich.edu.

Read the full article: http://www.mlive.com/news/kalamazoo/index.ssf/2010/12/photography_exhibit_enduring_s.html

Panhandling by the Side of the Road: "It's Too Embarrassing"

Teresa Connors sits in a single-wide trailer at a (Northern Indiana) mobile home park, worrying. Sparsely furnished with a secondhand sofa, a coffee table from her mother and a decade-old television, she calls it home.

She has no work income, and two daughters, ages 2 and 4.

Steven Connors, her husband, is in the county jail, still waiting placement in a state prison where he'll remain, even with good behavior, until at least 2017.

A year ago, Teresa could be found standing at the corner of Brick and Gumwood roads, holding a sign that begged passing drivers for money. Sometimes her daughter, then 3, would join her. Steven, with his own sign, would beg nearby.

But now, she said, no level of desperation will move her to hold that sign again and feel the stares of passing drivers.

"It's too embarrassing," Teresa said.

www.southbendtribune.com/article/20101205/News01/12050310/-1/XML

The Poor Frequently Spend Time in Jail When They Cannot Post Minor Bail $$

Thousands of people arrested on low-level crimes in New York City spend days languishing in jail, not because they have been found guilty but because they are too poor to post bail, according to a report to be released on Friday.

The report, which examines the bail conditions for people charged with nonfelonies like smoking marijuana in public, jumping a subway turnstile or shoplifting, found that the overwhelming majority of defendants in cases in which bail was set at $1,000 or less were unable to pay and were sent to jail, where they remained, on average, for more than two weeks.

The report comes as the number of arrests for low-level misdemeanors, often referred to as quality-of-life crimes, is rising.

www.nytimes.com/2010/12/03/nyregion/03bail.html?_r=2&ref=nyregion

What does a living wage look like in America?

Moving towards a living wage

What would a living wage in American look like? The Alternatives Federal Credit Union put together this analysis on what it costs to live an affordable lifestyle in the United States. On average, to live sustainable life requires roughly $23,000 a year for an individual. Divided by 40 hours, that amount becomes about $11/hour.

Comparatively, the poverty line for an individual in the United States is roughly $10,000 a year. Under that, and you are eligible for a variety of benefits to supplement your income. The disparity between the two comparisons should provoke some interesting thoughts.

What exactly happens to those who live between the gap of $10k and $23k per year?

Category	Month (2006)	Month (2008)	Percent Change	Year (2008)	Comments	Source
Rent	$628	$763	21.50%	$9,156	Fair market rent, single BR incl. utilities	HUD
Food	$180.95	$203.25	12.32%	$2,439	Average of low-cost food plan for males/females 19-50	USDA
Transportation	$164.22	$167.52	2.01%	$2,010.24	Weighted average of amount spent on cars and public transportation	ACS, BLS, EIA, TCAT
Communication	$56.48	$61.49	8.87%	$737.88	Local calling plan, 30 minutes long-distance and Internet	BLS, Verizon
Health Care	$122.62	$143.53	17.05%	$1,722.36	Employee's share of premium and out-of-pocket medical expenses	BLS, Alternatives
Recreation	$100	$100	0.00%	$1,200.00	Arbitrary	Claritas
Savings	$56	$59.81	6.80%	$717.72	Adjusted for inflation	BLS
Miscellaneous	$105.08	$111.13	5.76%	$1,333.56	housekeeping supplies	Claritas
Net (Subtotal)	$1,413.35	$1,609.73	13.89%	$19,316.76
Payroll Tax	$130.42	$147.29	12.93%	$1,767.45
Federal Tax	$118.58	$117.95	-0.53%	$1,415.39
State Tax	$41.83	$50.35	20.36%	$604.15
TOTAL	$1,704.18	$1,925.31	12.98%	$23,103.75
hourly@40 hrs/week	$9.83	$11.11*

* The Tompkins County Workers Center/Living Wage Coalition figures that the hourly living wage without health insurance is $12.11 an hour.

See the full report at: http://www.alternatives.org/livingwage2009notes.html.

Compare this to the current guidelines for the Federal Poverty Line:

Persons In Family Or Household	48 Contiguous States and D.C.	Alaska	Hawaii
1	$10,210	$12,770	$11,750
2	13,690	17,120	15,750
3	17,170	21,470	19,750
4	20,650	25,820	23,750
5	24,130	30,170	27,750
6	27,610	34,520	31,750
7	31,090	38,870	35,750
8	34,570	43,220	39,750
For each additional person, add	3,480	4,350	4,000

SOURCE: Federal Register, Vol. 72, No. 15, January 24, 2007, pp. 3147-3148

A Young Pastor Speaks to the Importance of the 2010 Hunger Report

At church on Sunday, a homeless fellow came in midway during our service. I had snuck off to use the men's room just after the sermon. As I was returning from the church basement, this fellow opened the church doors. He had been sleeping outside all night, "sleeping" in sub-freezing temperatures. His coat was more of a jacket and certainly was not adequate for a walk on a cold evening, let alone sleeping outside all night.

I welcomed him inside. Helped him to a bench in the back of the church. Covered him with a few of the used coats that we had in a box and which the church is collecting for the needy. I stood with him as he prayed. Eventually, he warmed enough to join the rest of the congregation. After services, one of our church members took the fellow to a truck stop to get a hot shower. Someone else bought him some clean clothes at Goodwill.

As I am typing this tonight, I sit in a warm house. My wife is in the other room watching TV. My cat and dog are lounging lazily. I can hear the freezing rain outside and am wondering:

where our homeless friend is bedded down for the night.

And he is just one. According to a Kalamazoo Gazette report from July 18, 2009, "Kalamazoo County's homeless population jumped more than 40 percent from 2007 to 2008 at the same time that Michigan's homeless count remained virtually unchanged, according to a federal report." And that is just Kalamazoo. SW Michigan encompasses Benton Harbor, Battle Creek, Niles, Allegan, Sturgis, and many other communities.

It is all rather overwhelming.

So, I needed some encouragement. And I think I found it in the message of this young African American pastor in a Twitter message that I got this evening from Bread for the World:




Amen.

CNN: Hungry Mothers Cook for Hundreds

Berrien Springs High School Gives Thanks by Celebrating Racial and Ethnic Diversity

Berrien Springs may be unique in SW Michigan. A small town home to Andrews University, a school which attracts students and faculty from many countries of the world. Diversity of racial and ethnic background is the norm in the community because of this unique relationship.

Carrying on with tradition at Berrien Springs High School, students started their Thanksgiving observance a day early by celebrating the school's rich cultural diversity.

Wednesday morning's program featured students performing everything from African and Nicaraguan dances to a traditional Russian folk song and the theme from the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The assembly in the high school gym opened as it does every year with the procession of flags representing nearly 40 countries students hail from followed by the U.S. national anthem. The students' families are drawn here by Andrews University.

Students then performed dances and songs from a variety of countries and cultures ranging from Mexico to Korea, northern and southern Africa to Russia and China. The assembly ended as it always does with the singing of "God Bless the USA."

During the 90-minute assembly, students were also treated to a fashion show developed by senior Jedidiah Ayivor, who is of Ghanian heritage. He has carried the Ghanian flag in previous years and sang a song from "The Lion King" with a group last year.

www.heraldpalladium.com/articles/2010/11/25/local_news/2567145.txt

A Brief Introduction to Poverty - An Opportunity to Learn

Hi, One Southwest Michigan community. My name is Paula Adams. I am a new AmeriCorps VISTA with the Poverty Reduction Initiative based in Kalamazoo County. This means I am volunteering to live with a poverty level income allowance for 12 months while I work for PRI. (With the exception of the executive director, Jeff Brown, PRI is staffed by VISTA volunteers.)

During my VISTA year I will be doing PRI's communications and public relations. Our organizational mission is to reduce poverty by collaboration, education and economic activity. My goal is to build and strengthen relationships between PRI and our local, state and national partners. Please visit haltpoverty.org for more information about the Kalamazoo PRI.

I am grateful to have this opportunity, both personally and professionally. If any of you have seen the movie "Inception" written and directed by Christopher Nolan, one way to know you're not dreaming is by asking "How did I get here?" It's probably something many of the 43+ million Americans who live in poverty ask themselves every day. Unfortunately, they are not dreaming.

Here's the short version of my own answer:

Three months ago I had no idea that AmeriCorps existed. (AmeriCorps is the "stay-at-home" domestic sister of the global more "popular" Peace Corps.) In September the contract for my temporary workforce development position was ending and my own future was uncertain. I wanted to go back to marketing and communications work, but jobs are scarce and competition is tight. One lucky email from a colleague with this job posting changed my future, opening the AmeriCorps door, so to speak. Here I am today, my first week in the office, sworn into national service and just beginning to learn about poverty related issues.

Choosing AmeriCorps service was an easy decision and a difficult one. Is the work needed? Yes. Poverty rates have been increasing, not decreasing, up to 14.3% in 2009, according to the Census Bureau. We want to change that. But after all, who chooses to live in poverty? This is a big question on many levels. Do people actually choose poverty? Is our society choosing poverty? If so, why? What exactly is poverty, anyway? Is poverty merely living on a small income or is it something else?

These are some of the questions I have starting out. Maybe you share some of these questions. I'd like to hear from you. I see this blog as a forum to discuss the questions, answers, and explore potential solutions to the very real problems that result from poverty - hunger, homelessness, difficulty getting and/or keeping a job, the inability to provide opportunities for our children.

I believe we can only solve these problems together, as a community - local, national, global. I'd love to hear what solutions work in your area, in your household, in your state, in your nation. How can we help and empower each other to be prosperous and successful, whatever that means to us as individuals? I invite you to share your successes and your lessons learned. If you'd like to contribute a post, let me know.

Thank you for allowing me my voice as a "temporary" resident here. I am honored to do this work, and have a lot to learn. I will be challenged into new ways of thinking, of relating, and of strategizing in this job. As I learn, I will share with you whatever insights I gain, whether they be wise or foolish. I hope that you, my reader, will comment, contribute, and teach me in return. I am grateful to have you as a reader and a teacher.

Happy Thanksgiving. May you experience bounty and abundance for the day and the upcoming year.

A Detroit News Editorial: Food Banks Help Michigan's Needy

"Recently, my family and I were trying to decide what we wanted to have for dinner. We debated back and forth on where to go and what type of food we wanted. We considered all the various restaurants down the street on our side of town but nothing "sounded good."

After spending what seemed like an eternity trying to decide, given all the options available, we decided to stay home and eat leftovers. After dinner, I started thinking about the people who aren't debating where or what to eat, but how to put food on the table for their families. It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day bustle of life and forget that there are many people who are struggling to make ends meet"

From The Detroit News:

detnews.com/article/20101123/OPINION01/11230340/Food-banks-help-Michigan’s-needy#ixzz168EFURYf