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University of Wisconsin–Madison
Poverty-related issues in the news, from the Institute for Research on Poverty

Day: March 25, 2014

Welfare Reform – Louisiana, Maine

  • Louisiana bans welfare benefits usage at lingerie shops, jewelry stores, tattoo parlors, By Renita D. Young, March 21, 2014, New Orleans Times-Picayune: “State welfare officials are tightening the reins on how residents can use cash benefits they receive from assistance programs. Louisiana’s Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) issued an emergency rule Thursday (March 20) that would eventually ban the use of welfare benefits at jewelry stores, lingerie shops and other establishments that don’t allow customers under 18 years of age…”
  • LePage pushes new legislation to control, curb welfare cash, By Chris Williams, March 23, 2014, Bangor Daily News: “As promised earlier this year, Gov. Paul LePage filed four bills Friday aimed at tightening restrictions on the use of electronic benefit cards used by welfare recipients. Democrats said certain elements of the governor’s proposals raise red flags; they urged him to instead focus his administration’s efforts on enforcement of current welfare fraud crimes…”

Minimum Wage – Tennessee

Tennessee leads nation for minimum wage workers, By Lance Williams, March 25, 2014, The Tennessean: “About 7.4 percent of Tennessee’s workforce earns at or below the minimum wage, the highest proportion of minimum wage workers in the country, according to a new report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Nationally, about 4.3 percent of the workforce – or 3.3 million workers – earn at or below the minimum wage. In Tennessee, about 117,000 workers earn about at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour…”