Education’s less-than-certain windfall, By David Harrison, September 3, 2010, Stateline.org: “It sounded at first like the best of news for South Carolina. The $26 billion jobs bill passed by Congress earlier this month would send $143.7 million to the state, which has lost between 2,800 and 3,900 teaching jobs over the past two years. Instead, after taking a look at the bill’s fine print, state education officials found a flaw that could deprive them of that money. A set of provisions in the bill requires states to have kept up their level of higher education spending this year, something South Carolina did not do. The bill, which offers money only for K-12 schools, included the higher education funding requirement as a holdover from previous drafts of the legislation. ‘It appears to us that the only fix is going to be possible through Congress,’ says Jim Foster, of the South Carolina Department of Education. U.S. Representative Rep. James Clyburn has promised to help once Congress reconvenes in September. Three weeks after the bill’s passage, several states are – like South Carolina – grappling with its ramifications. Sparking the confusion is language wedged into the U.S. Department of Education’s rules for allocating the money. While the provisions that could harm South Carolina were also present – and stricter – in the 2009 Recovery Act, the stimulus bill made it possible for states to ask Washington to waive those requirements. Thirteen states and Puerto Rico applied for waivers. But this month’s jobs bill does not offer waivers, which means that those states that have made drastic cuts to higher education could miss out on the windfall…”
Day: September 7, 2010
Joblessness and Unemployment
For many unemployed workers, jobs aren’t coming back, By Alana Semuels, September 5, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “The U.S. economy will eventually rebound from the Great Recession. Millions of American workers will not. What some economists now project – and policymakers are loath to admit – is that the U.S. unemployment rate, which stood at 9.6% in August, could remain elevated for years to come. The nation’s job deficit is so deep that even a powerful recovery would leave large numbers of Americans out of work for years, experts say. And with growth now weakening, analysts are doubtful that companies will boost payrolls significantly any time soon. Unemployment, long considered a temporary, transitional condition in the United States, appears to be settling in for a lengthy run…”
Assistance Programs and Children of Illegal Immigrants – Los Angeles, CA
L.A. County welfare to children of illegal immigrants grows, By Teresa Watanabe, September 5, 2010, Los Angeles Times: “Welfare payments to children of illegal immigrants in Los Angeles County increased in July to $52 million, prompting renewed calls from one county supervisor to rein in public benefits to such families. The payments, made to illegal immigrants for their U.S. citizen children, included $30 million in food stamps and $22 million from the CalWorks welfare program, according to county figures released Friday by Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich. The new figure represents an increase of $3.7 million from July 2009 and makes up 23% of all county welfare and food stamp assistance, according to county records…”