Personal coaches help Haitian families try to get out of poverty, By David Brown, August 29, 2012, Washington Post: “The people who live in this part of Haiti’s Central Plateau need more of pretty much everything that makes life safe, comfortable and predictable. Three-quarters of families do not have enough food and two-thirds do not have access to clean water. Thirty percent of households are headed by women, and 40 percent of children are not in school. One in four children is unvaccinated, and half are underweight. About 80 percent of houses do not have latrines, and 60 percent of farmers do not own the land they cultivate, according to a survey of 5,200 families in the commune, or county, of Boucan Carre…”
Month: August 2012
States and Voter ID Laws
- Amid lawsuits and controversy, states prepare for voter ID, By Jake Grovum, August 30, 2012, Stateline: “Tennessee has held town halls in each of the state’s 95 counties and instituted special Voter ID-only hours in motor vehicle offices. Wisconsin has revamped its training scheme for 1,800 local elections managers. Pennsylvania just this week unveiled a new, streamlined voter ID card. Those are among the many steps states have taken to prepare for November’s elections under a host of new or stricter voter identification laws enacted around the country since 2010, even as challenges to those same laws continue to wind through the courts. The suits mostly claim that Voter ID discriminates against the poor and minorities who are less likely to carry the needed identification. In some states, lawsuits are casting doubt on what the rules will even be on Election Day…”
- Texas voter-ID law is blocked, By Sari Horwitz, August 30, 2012, Washington Post: “A federal court on Thursday blocked a Texas law that would have required voters to show photo identification, ruling that the legislation would impose ‘strict, unforgiving burdens’ on poor minority voters. Describing the law as the most stringent in the country, the unanimous decision by a three-judge panel marks the first time that a federal court has blocked a voter-ID law. It will reverberate politically through the November elections. Republicans and Democrats have been arguing over whether tough voter-ID laws in a number of states discriminate against African Americans and Hispanics…”
Medicaid Expansion – Georgia, Iowa
- Deal rejects expansion of Medicaid, By Daniel Malloy, August 28, 2012, Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “Gov. Nathan Deal said Tuesday that he will not expand the Medicaid program under the federal Affordable Care Act – which would have provided an estimated 650,000 low-income Georgians with health coverage – because it would be too expensive. Deal had said that he would wait until after the presidential election to decide, but during an interview with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 11 Alive and Politico at the Republican National Convention, Deal was firm that he will not take federal money to expand the state-based health insurance program for the poor in 2014…”
- Hospitals urge state to expand Medicaid, By Tony Leys, August 28, 2012, Des Moines Register: “Iowa hospital executives want the state to accept hundreds of millions of dollars in extra federal Medicaid money under the national health reform program. Gov. Terry Branstad plans to decline the money, which would expand Medicaid to cover about 150,000 poor Iowa adults. Branstad is skeptical that the federal government can afford to keep its promise to pay at least 90 percent of the cost. The Iowa Hospital Association board recently voted unanimously to support expansion of Medicaid, which it termed a ‘historic opportunity to significantly address the plight of uninsured Iowans.’ Association members plan to aggressively lobby legislators on the subject…”