Smoking proves hard to shake among the poor, By Sabrina Tavernise and Robert Gebeloff, March 24, 2014, New York Times: “When smoking first swept the United States in the early decades of the 20th century, it took hold among the well-to-do. Cigarettes were high-society symbols of elegance and class, puffed by doctors and movie stars. By the 1960s, smoking had exploded, helped by the distribution of cigarettes to soldiers in World War II. Half of all men and a third of women smoked. But as evidence of smoking’s deadly consequences has accumulated, the broad patterns of use by class have shifted: Smoking, the leading cause of preventable death in the country, is now increasingly a habit of the poor and the working class…”
Month: March 2014
Long-Term Unemployment
- Long-term unemployed watch coming debate over benefits closely, By John Fritze, March 22, 2014, Baltimore Sun: “The first thing Eric Miles lost was his Jeep. Then it was the apartment that he and his 12-year-old son called home. Since the federal government cut off jobless benefits for the long-term unemployed late last year, the 54-year-old East Baltimore man has moved in with his sister, relied on family to pay the phone bill and borrowed bus fare to go out and look for work. ‘You’re talking about $3.50 for an all-day bus pass,’ Miles said. ‘If you don’t have the $3.50 coming in, you don’t have it.’ Nearly three months after Congress allowed the benefits to lapse, tens of thousands of out-of-work Marylanders are hoping that a bipartisan deal to extend the program through May will win approval. But the plan could be doomed by opposition from some conservatives, who say the benefits create a disincentive for seeking a job, as well as a national group representing state unemployment officials…”
- Senate to take yet another crack at passing jobless aid extension, By Karoun Demirjian, March 23, 2014, Las Vegas Sun: “Jeff Frischmann will wait and see if the newest version of legislation to extend emergency unemployment benefits passes the Senate this week. He knows that if it does, and ultimately becomes law, it will mean working out the bugs at his job. Frischmann, chief of unemployment insurance operations at Nevada Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, is confident, though, as he anticipates the flood of people returning to the system to file claims…”
- Senate likely to tackle extended benefits this week, By Jack Katzanek, March 24, 2014, Press-Enterprise: “A measure to extend unemployment benefits for an estimated 2 million people, including probably more than 40,000 in Inland Southern California, is likely to be discussed on the floor of the U.S. Senate at some point this week, sources in Washington, D.C. said. A coalition of Republican and Democrat senators worked out a compromise measure on March 13 that would extend the unemployment benefits, which last for 26 weeks in California, for an additional five months. Congress was not in session last week, but the measure is on this week’s list of priorities…”
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…”