- With no new jobs in August, calls for urgent action, By Shaila Dewan, September 2, 2011, New York Times: “The nation’s employers failed to add new jobs in August, a strong signal that the economy has stalled and that policy makers can no longer afford inaction. The dismal showing, the first time in 11 months that total payrolls did not rise, was the latest indication that the jobs recovery that began in 2010 lacked momentum. The unemployment rate for August did not budge, remaining at 9.1 percent…”
- Black unemployment: Highest in 27 years, By Annalyn Censky, September 2, 2011, CNNMoney.com: “The August jobs report was dismal for plenty of reasons, but perhaps most striking was the picture it painted of racial inequality in the job market. Black unemployment surged to 16.7% in August, its highest level since 1984, while the unemployment rate for whites fell slightly to 8%, the Labor Department reported…”
- In jobless data, devil may be in details, By Yuki Noguchi, September 2, 2011, National Public Radio: “The Labor Department releases its reports on August unemployment on Friday. What economists are expecting is by now a familiar story: That August did not generate enough job growth to move the needle on the jobless rate. But the most intractable part of the jobless problem might be the one that doesn’t show up in the numbers. The unemployment rate is expected to tick up slightly to 9.2 percent. Two years ago, the unemployment rate was 9.5 percent. Although that sounds like an improvement, you have to look at the reason for that decline to know the whole story, says Howard Rosen, an economist at the Peterson Institute…”
Day: September 2, 2011
Children’s Health Insurance Program – Arizona
Number of AZ children enrolled in KidsCare drops, By Max Levy, August 31, 2011, Houston Chronicle: “The number of children enrolled in a state-federal health insurance program for youth on the brink of poverty has plummeted from a peak of 66,317 in May 2008 to 16,662 this month, the lowest level since 1999. The drop comes as demand for the program is going strong: In July, more than 100,000 children were on the waiting list for KidsCare, the state’s version of the federally sponsored Children’s Health Insurance Program. More than half of the decline has come since Jan. 1, 2010, when the Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System froze enrollment in KidsCare in response to a lack of funding, according to its website…”
Identity Database – India
Scanning 2.4 billion eyes, India tries to connect poor to growth, By Lydia Polgreen, September 1, 2011, New York Times: “Ankaji Bhai Gangar, a 49-year-old subsistence farmer, stood in line in this remote village until, for the first time in his life, he squinted into the soft glow of a computer screen. His name, year of birth and address were recorded. A worker guided Mr. Gangar’s rough fingers to the glowing green surface of a scanner to record his fingerprints. He peered into an iris scanner shaped like binoculars that captured the unique patterns of his eyes. With that, Mr. Gangar would be assigned a 12-digit number, the first official proof that he exists. He can use the number, along with a thumbprint, to identify himself anywhere in the country. It will allow him to gain access to welfare benefits, open a bank account or get a cellphone far from his home village, something that is still impossible for many people in India…”