ACPP

Archive for the ‘Low-Income Families’ Category

The Movement to End Wage Theft

In Low-Income Families, Tax Policy on October 25, 2011 at 4:17 pm

Over the last decade, grassroots opposition to wage theft has grown dramatically across the country.  Wage theft, the illegal underpayment of wages primarily affects the working poor.  It is widespread and occurs in various forms and industries.  It is estimated that millions of low wage workers annually are not paid at legally required overtime rates, at minimum wages or for total hours worked. In response workers’ rights organizations have engaged in increasingly sophisticated and successful campaigns to strengthen enforcement and make sure that monies due employees are repaid.

In a new report: “A Fair Day’s Pay: The Movement to End Wage Theft”, Nik Theodore, an Associate Professor at the University of Illinois at Chicago, examines over a dozen organizations that utilize innovative tactics to combat this illegal practice.  Commissioned by the Discount Foundation, the report reviews a variety of local, state and federal strategies driven by grantee organizations to address violations of employment laws. Read the report (PDF) now!

Source: Excerpted From: discountfoundation.org

New Analysis of the 2010 Census Labor Statistics

In health reform, Low-Income Families, Tax Policy on September 28, 2011 at 4:38 pm

The National Women’s Law Center’s analysis of 2010 Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics state data is now available, and we wanted to share [their] findings. The series of state-specific fact sheets covers:

  • Poverty rates among women by race and ethnicity,
  • Poverty rates among children,
  • The wage gap,
  • Health insurance coverage for women and children, and
  • Women’s unemployment.

The series is available online at: http://www.nwlc.org/statepovertydata.

Source: Excerpted from The National Women’s Law Center 9/28/2011

Statement: Robert Greenstein, President, on Census’ 2010 Poverty, Income, and Health Insurance Data

In General, Low-Income Families on September 19, 2011 at 1:29 pm

From the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities:

By Robert Greenstein

“Today’s Census report shows that in 2010, the share of all Americans and the share of children living in poverty, the number and share of people living in “deep poverty,” and the number without health insurance all reached their highest level in many years — in some cases, in several decades — while median household income fell significantly after adjusting for inflation. The data also show that many of these grim figures and the level of hardship would have been much worse if not for key federal programs such as unemployment insurance, the Earned Income Tax Credit, food stamps, and Medicaid. Without unemployment insurance, for instance, 3.2 million more Americans would have fallen into poverty, Census said. All of that raises the stakes for the decisions that President Obama and Congress will make in coming months about whether to extend initiatives that were designed to address hardship during the recession, as well as whether to abide by a principle that the Bowles-Simpson commission report established that deficit-reduction plans should not increase poverty and thus should shield basic low-income assistance programs.

<Full article under the cut.>

Read the rest of this entry »

The Good Jobs Deficit: Low-Paying Jobs and Falling Wages Dominate Growth since 2010

In General, Low-Income Families on August 1, 2011 at 4:10 pm

From the National Employment Law Project for immediate release:

Depletion of Mid-Wage Occupations Puts Burden on Recovery to Rebuild with Good Jobs

NEW YORK – A new study finds that low-paying jobs have dominated employment growth in the first year of the recovery, while occupations offering better pay have been far slower to return.  The report, by the National Employment Law Project, is the first to examine the recovery’s growth trends specifically by occupation, and it offers the latest sign that jobseekers are encountering a severe deficit of good jobs as they navigate the labor market.

“While it is too early to predict whether these trends will continue, the dominant growth in lower-wage occupations suggests that there is a good jobs deficit that has hollowed out many of the decent work opportunities people are looking for,” said report author Annette Bernhardt, policy co-director at the National Employment Law Project.

[Read the full report under the cut.]

Read the rest of this entry »

A Hand Up: How State Earned Income Tax Credits Help Working Families Escape Poverty in 2011

In Low-Income Families on April 25, 2011 at 5:11 pm

The federal Earned Income Tax Credit, which began in 1975 and has been expanded several times since then, is often heralded as the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States, particularly for children in working families. In 2009 alone, it lifted 6.5 million working families, including 3.3 million children, out of poverty.

The credit effectively boosts the income of working families earning low wages by offsetting their income and payroll taxes and increasing their workforce participation. In other words, it makes work pay by allowing low- and moderate-income families to keep more of what they earn.

State EITCs build on the success of the federal credit. They reduce state income taxes and help families pay for state and local sales and property taxes, which hit lower-income households hardest.  They enhance the federal EITC’s positive effects on workforce participation and boost the after-tax incomes of working families, further reducing poverty.  

The first state EITC was offered in 1987 in Maryland. Since that time, 22 additional states plus the District of Columbia have followed suit, creating their own EITCs. They are effective and straightforward to design and administer. And over the years, they have received support from Republican and Democratic leadership and have been championed by business, labor, faith-based, and social service advocacy groups.

Today, with working families battered by economic problems as never before, state EITCs play a particularly important role.  Families use EITCs to fill in for the loss of wages that can result from reductions in hours or layoffs.  As long as they are still working at least some hours a year, families can benefit from the EITC. 

Read A Hand Up: How State Earned Income Tax Credits Help Working Families Escape Poverty in 2011, a report published by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

Unions Make the Middle Class

In health reform, Low-Income Families, Public Health Policy, Retirement Security on April 17, 2011 at 10:28 pm

Without Unions, the Middle Class Withers

A study released by the Center for American Progress American Worker Project reveals the importance of unions in creating and keeping a strong middle class.

Why should anyone—especially those who are not union members—care that union membership is at record lows and likely to fall even further? Because if you care about the middle class, you need to care about unions.

Critics of unions claim they are unimportant today or even harmful to the economy, but unions are essential for building a strong middle class. And rebuilding the middle class after decades of decline and stagnation is essential for restoring our economy.

Unions make the middle class strong by ensuring workers have a strong voice in both the market and in our democracy. When unions are strong they are able to ensure that workers are paid fair wages, receive the training they need to advance to the middle class, and are considered in corporate decision-making processes. Unions also promote political participation among all Americans, and help workers secure government policies that support the middle class, such as Social Security, family leave, and the minimum wage.

[Directly excerpted from the Center for American Progress American Worker Project on April 17, 2011. Download the complete study Unions Make the Middle Class.]

Top Ten Tax Charts of the U.S. Tax System

In General, Low-Income Families on April 17, 2011 at 10:03 pm

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) is one of the nation’s premier policy organizations working at the federal and state levels on fiscal policy and public programs that affect low- and moderate-income families and individuals.

With the April 18 tax filing deadline fast approaching, the CBPP assembled the Top Ten Tax Charts to provide a big-picture look at the U.S. tax system.

[View the CBPP's Top Ten Tax Charts].

National Employment Law Project 2010 Annual Report

In General, Low-Income Families on April 16, 2011 at 4:28 pm

For more than 40 years, the National Employment Law Project (NELP) has worked to restore the promise of economic opportunity for working families across America. In partnership with grassroots and national allies, NELP promotes policies to create good jobs, enforce hard-won workplace rights, and help unemployed workers regain their economic footing. NELP’s 2010 Annual Report, “Building the Foundation of Economic Security and Opportunity for All,” contains highlights and links to all of NELP’s 2010 major research studies including:

  • securing a lifeline for our nation’s unemployed workers
  • helping those hit hardest by wrenching economic change
  • ensuring core labor protections for low-wage and immigrant workers
  • building good jobs with living wages for America’s workers
  • giving workers with criminal records a second chance

[NELP's 2010 Annual Report can be accessed and downloaded here].

Speaking Out! We reject cuts to our children’s future!

In health reform, Low-Income Families, Public Health Policy on March 3, 2011 at 12:20 am

Congress is now debating deep cuts to discretionary spending, where most child services draw their funding. While Congress may think of this spending as “discretionary,” we think that child care, early education, nutrition, and other nurturing is mandatory for every child in America.

Among the proposed cuts is a $1 billion slash to Head Start, which could take away quality care for more than 218,000 children. Other federal cuts could mean as many as 150,000 families losing child care assistance. In all, there is more than $60 billion in cuts being discussed, many of them targeting families.

This is not how to help families still struggling from the recession. These families need new investments badly right now: one in five children lives in poverty; nearly one in four lives at risk of hunger; and one in three is overweight or obese. Read the rest of this entry »

Blueprint: Creating Jobs and Strengthening the Middle Class

In Low-Income Families, Retirement Security on February 23, 2011 at 8:07 pm

While Americans continue to look for jobs, the economy itself has been growing for six quarters. Instead of creating jobs to put millions of Americans back to work, big banks and corporations continue to amass wealth at the taxpayers’ expense. As industries that once employed vast swaths of our population continue to disappear, and as other nations continue to move full speed ahead in the race to a new green economy, advancing policies that promote and invest in green jobs here at home is more critical than ever.  The demand is clear.  In fact, a recent Pew Research Center poll shows that 84 percent of respondents cite the job crisis as their top priority, significantly outpacing worries about the budget deficit and health care costs. Americans desperately want to see real investments in job creation, and they want to see it now.

As part of Progressive States Network’s Blueprint for Economic Security 2011, we have identified three common-sense, progressive solutions to create jobs and strengthen the middle class: Green Jobs Workforce Development programs, Energy Efficient Schools and Buildings, and innovative Financing Mechanisms that leverage public and private investment in clean energy and energy efficiency. These policy solutions are part of legislation that has been proven to create and sustain jobs, made our work and living environments healthier, and spurred economic growth for our communities, including options to provide financing without delving into state budgets.

[Directly excerpted from Progressive States Network on February 23, 2011. Click to read the full report.]

Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.