Blacks in Memphis lose decades of economic gains, By Michael Powell, May 30, 2010, New York Times: “For two decades, Tyrone Banks was one of many African-Americans who saw his economic prospects brightening in this Mississippi River city. A single father, he worked for FedEx and also as a custodian, built a handsome brick home, had a retirement account and put his eldest daughter through college. Then the Great Recession rolled in like a fog bank. He refinanced his mortgage at a rate that adjusted sharply upward, and afterward he lost one of his jobs. Now Mr. Banks faces bankruptcy and foreclosure. ‘I’m going to tell you the deal, plain-spoken: I’m a black man from the projects and I clean toilets and mop up for a living,’ said Mr. Banks, a trim man who looks at least a decade younger than his 50 years. ‘I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished. But my whole life is backfiring.’ Not so long ago, Memphis, a city where a majority of the residents are black, was a symbol of a South where racial history no longer tightly constrained the choices of a rising black working and middle class. Now this city epitomizes something more grim: How rising unemployment and growing foreclosures in the recession have combined to destroy black wealth and income and erase two decades of slow progress…”
Day: June 1, 2010
States and Medicaid Costs
- Reports cheer reform for uninsured Texans, By Cindy George, May 31, 2010, Houston Chronicle: “Two new reports herald the federal health system overhaul as a bargain for Texas, but one government agency warns the state could be left with a bigger bill than predicted. As many as 2 million currently uninsured Texans would gain Medicaid coverage largely at the federal government’s expense, according to a Kaiser Family Foundation interpretation. A Families USA analysis released Thursday declared that the overhaul will prevent insurance companies from denying coverage or charging higher premiums to nearly 4.3 million non-elderly Texans with diagnosed pre-existing health conditions…”
- Virginia leaders grapple with mushrooming Medicaid costs, By Julian Walker, June 1, 2010, Virginian-Pilot: “More than 750,000 low-income Virginians depend on it to stay healthy. It costs more than the state’s college system and prisons. And signs are that Virginia’s Medicaid program is only going to grow even more, thanks to the federal health care overhaul and other trends. Republicans, Democrats and health care industry leaders all agree that paying for the growth in Medicaid is a challenge. Over the years, Medicaid spending has markedly increased in Virginia. It was about 5 percent of the state general fund budget in 1985. Soon it will be nearly 20 percent, or about $3 billion, second only to public education spending…”
- R.I. lawmakers gambling budget on getting federal aid restored, By Steve Peoples, May 29, 2010, Providence Journal: “Rhode Island’s General Assembly is poised to approve a $7.8-billion budget package next week that avoids sales or income tax increases and saves arts and social welfare programs. But to do so, the legislature is depending on $100 million in federal aid that currently does not exist. The U.S. House of Representatives, wary of adding to the federal deficit with mid-term elections in sight, approved a jobs bill Friday that excludes a $24-billion Medicaid package for states. Rhode Island’s cut – $100 million – and funding for every other state may be lost. And less than 24 hours after a legislative panel endorsed a spending package that relies on the federal funding, state lawmakers have already begun lobbying the state’s congressional delegation to resurrect the federal aid…”
Legal Aid and Civil Cases – Tennessee
Legal Aid filling void in state’s justice system, By Clay Carey, June 1, 2010, The Tennessean: “Zachary and Lauren Tubb owe their landlord more than $3,000 in back rent and late fees. They’re having trouble paying for food. When they were summoned to Davidson County General Sessions Court, a private lawyer was out of the question. The Tubbs sat alone on the back row in court Thursday morning, unaware of court procedures and worried about their case. ‘Once they evict us, we’re homeless,’ Lauren Tubb whispered after the judge started court. The Tubbs are among a growing number of Tennesseans who need legal representation but can’t afford it, experts say. The problem is so severe that the chief justice of the Tennessee Supreme Court voiced her concerns about it in a recent report on the state of Tennessee’s judiciary system. ‘The current economic climate has created a crisis in the need for civil legal services,’ Justice Janice Holder wrote. The problems will only worsen, she said, as the state’s indigent and working poor face unemployment, predatory loans, uninsured medical bills, domestic violence, evictions and foreclosures. Tennesseans who meet federal poverty guidelines are eligible for free legal aid in civil matters, but there are about 1 million residents who qualify and only 81 federally funded, full-time attorneys in Tennessee to help them, Holder said. That means four out of every five eligible residents still can’t get legal help…”