Small business in Illinois, four other states, divided over minimum wage votes, By Joyce M. Rosenberg (AP), October 29, 2014, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: “Workers in five states, including Illinois, could get a raise after Election Day. Some small business owners say raising the minimum wage will pressure their companies, forcing them to cut employees’ hours or jobs. Others say it’s the right thing to do for workers and the economy. In addition to Illinois, minimum wage referendums are on Tuesday’s ballots in Alaska, Arkansas, Nebraska and South Dakota, where minimums range from $6.25 to $8.25 an hour. Some small business owners say raising the minimum wage will force them to cut employees’ hours or jobs. Higher minimums were already approved this year in 10 states, the District of Columbia and Seattle…”
Month: October 2014
Child Poverty in Developed Nations
- Child poverty up in more than half of developed world since 2008, By Harriet Sherwood, October 28, 2014, The Guardian: “Child poverty has increased in 23 countries in the developed world since the start of the global recession in 2008, potentially trapping a generation in a life of material deprivation and reduced prospects. A report by Unicef says the number of children entering poverty during the recession is 2.6 million greater than the number who have been lifted out of it. ‘The longer these children remain trapped in the cycle of poverty, the harder it will be for them to escape,’ it says in Children of Recession: the Impact of the Economic Crisis on Child Wellbeing in Rich Countries. Greece and Iceland have seen the biggest percentage increases in child poverty since 2008, followed by Latvia, Croatia and Ireland. The proportion of children living in poverty in the UK has increased from 24% to 25.6%…”
- Child poverty rate falls in Canada during recession: UNICEF, By Aly Thomas, October 28, 2014, Toronto Star: “UNICEF is commending the Canadian government and its provincial counterparts after it found the country’s overall child poverty rate decreased during the recession five years ago. The child poverty rate decreased from 23 to 21 per cent during the recession from 2008 to 2011, pulling roughly 180,000 children out of poverty, UNICEF Canada said Tuesday in a new report. David Morley, president and CEO of UNICEF Canada, said in other affluent countries, child poverty actually increased during the same period of time…”
US Poverty and Near-Poverty
Research: Poverty more common than most Americans realize, By Alfred Lubrano, October 27, 2014, Philadelphia Inquirer: “Many Americans view the poor as a permanent underclass of slackers who dodge work and skate through life on the taxpayer’s dime. But recent research shows the poor are anything but monolithic. And poverty is a lot more common experience than people think. More than 40 percent of Americans between ages 25 and 60 will be poor for at least a year, said Mark Rank, a professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis…”