Living on nothing but food stamps, By Jason DeParle and Robert M. Gebeloff, January 2, 2010, New York Times: “After an improbable rise from the Bronx projects to a job selling Gulf Coast homes, Isabel Bermudez lost it all to an epic housing bust – the six-figure income, the house with the pool and the investment property. Now, as she papers the county with resumes and girds herself for rejection, she is supporting two daughters on an income that inspires a double take: zero dollars in monthly cash and a few hundred dollars in food stamps. With food-stamp use at a record high and surging by the day, Ms. Bermudez belongs to an overlooked subgroup that is growing especially fast: recipients with no cash income. About six million Americans receiving food stamps report they have no other income, according to an analysis of state data collected by The New York Times. In declarations that states verify and the federal government audits, they described themselves as unemployed and receiving no cash aid – no welfare, no unemployment insurance, and no pensions, child support or disability pay…”
Day: January 4, 2010
Eligibility and Enrollment in Wisconsin Works Program
Many potential recipients aren’t getting W-2 benefits, By Patrick Marley, January 2, 2010, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: “Thousands of families with no income are not applying for cash benefits from Wisconsin Works, often because they don’t know about the program, a new state report shows. State Department of Children and Families investigators found 14,114 families with dependent children in October 2009 that had no income and received food stamps but did not get cash payments through W-2. Many of those families, considered to be living in ‘deep poverty,’ would likely qualify for cash payments, though the department did not estimate how many of them would. The 14,114 poor families that were not receiving cash benefits is nearly twice the size of the 8,627 families that received payments that month. Advocates for the poor have long complained that the state has discouraged people from getting cash benefits through W-2, the state’s welfare-to-work program. They won a lawsuit in 2007 to allow people to receive money even if they are considered ‘job ready…'”
Alternatives to Payday Loans
A better way for payday loans, By Anne Stuhldreher, December 21, 2009, Los Angeles Times: “It’s a cycle that seems to repeat itself every legislative session in California. Advocates put forward a bill to curb the predatory practices of payday lenders. Then industry lobbyists squelch the effort, convincing state lawmakers that they’re the lenders of last resort, the only ones who haven’t abandoned low-income neighborhoods. Never mind that the lenders’ generosity comes with quick and costly paybacks — a blizzard of fees that can add up to an annualized interest rate of more than 400%. Indeed, the average borrower ends up borrowing again — and again — trying to pay back that first $300 payday loan, shelling out a shocking $800 for the privilege, according to the Center for Responsible Lending. But there’s finally been a break in the pattern. Last week, San Francisco unveiled a program that communities throughout the state would be wise to follow. It will be the first city in the nation to partner with local financial institutions to market an alternative to the pricey payday loans that are sending too many borrowers into economic spirals…”