Tag Archives: Poverty

Expanding Medicaid Will Greatly Benefit Veterans In NH

  By New Hampshire Labor News | May 13, 2013 - 10:20 am | ,
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Will Thomas

NHLN Note: This another letter to the editor from a concerned NH veteran on why we need Medicaid  expansion. 

Will Thomas

Will Thomas

Dear Editor,

According to a recent analysis by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Urban Institute, it is estimated that 1500 uninsured New Hampshire veterans and 800 uninsured veterans’ spouses would be among the hard-working, low-income Granite Staters who would be newly eligible for Medicaid if New Hampshire’s government decides to expand it. The governor and the NH House both support expansion of Medicaid while the NH Senate has yet to vote on this issue.

The study cited above reports that out of America’s 1.3 million uninsured veterans (this is disgraceful), 40 percent could qualify for expanded Medicaid benefits under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) otherwise known as “Obama Care.”  Yet, of the half-million uninsured veterans who would be potentially medicaid eligible under the ACA, 3/4 — 414,000 people — have incomes below 100 percent of the federal poverty level and would NOT qualify for exchange subsidies if their state does not expand medicaid. Thus, the vote by NH’s State Senate is crucial.

The Urban Institute study I mentioned does not even take into account the thousands of veterans who have yet to return home from the waning Afghanistan War. Those veterans are mostly young people who will be forced to confront the widespread economic inequality, record homelessness, and unprecedented levels of PTSD and suicide that are plaguing veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Everyone says they “support the troops.”  But, is this only when they are sent off to war, but not when they return?  My organization, Veterans for Peace, has a cadence when we march:  ”They wave the flag when you attack, but when you come home, they turn their back.”  Please, NH State Senators, do not turn your backs on those low-income veterans and their spouses who deserve and need health care.

Will Thomas, Coordinator

NH Veterans for Peace

PS: A letter to the Manchester Union Leader said that the expansion of Medicaid will cost the taxpayers of NH $126 million over 10 years. She neglected to add that NH taxpayers will be sending Israel $116 million over 10 years as part of the $30 billion aid package George W. Bush signed and now, Barak Obama wants to increase to $40 billion! Surely, our NH tax dollars should go to support our veterans and low income folks rather than sending over $116 million to the world’s fourth largest military and to an economically viable country.

 

Voucher vs. Poor Kids — It Should Be An Easy Choice

  By Advancing New Hampshire Public Education | April 29, 2013 - 9:49 am | ,
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The opportunity gap in schools

The voucher debate is a waste of everyone’s time.  We should work on improving how New Hampshire public education works for poor kids (it already works pretty well for better-off kids) rather than engaging in a debate about privatizing our local public schools.

You don’t need a study to tell you that using public money to send a few kids to the unaccredited religious schools is not going to improve education for New Hampshire kids. The religious, often creationist, schools that dominate the voucher tax credit program are fine for the families that want them.  Many families, even those without much money, do find a way to send their kids. But private religious schools are not the basis of a strategy for helping thousands of New Hampshire kids escape poverty.  Regardless out the outcome of thecourt case challenging the constitutionality of tax credit funded vouchers, we should shut down this pathetic program and get back to the real question of how to help the kids.

Sean Reardon’s piece, “No Rich Child Left Behind’” in today’s New York Times, stands aside from the political debate and looks at what the numbers tell us about the performance of our schools over the last decades.  Here are some snippets:

Students growing up in richer families have better grades and higher standardized test scores, on average, than poorer students…

One way to see this is to look at the scores of rich and poor students on standardized math and reading tests over the last 50 years….I found that the rich-poor gap in test scores is about 40 percent larger now than it was 30 years ago….

…the proportion of students from upper-income families who earn a bachelor’s degree has increased by 18 percentage points over a 20-year period, while the completion rate of poor students has grown by only 4 points…

Can schools provide children a way out of poverty?….

The income gap in academic achievement is not growing because the test scores of poor students are dropping or because our schools are in decline. In fact,…[t]he average 9-year-old today has math skills equal to those her parents had at age 11, a two-year improvement in a single generation….The academic gap is widening because rich students are increasingly entering kindergarten much better prepared to succeed in school than middle-class students. This difference in preparation persists through elementary and high school….

It’s not clear what we should do about all this. Partly that’s because much of our public conversation about education is focused on the wrong culprits: we blame failing schools….

So how can we move toward a society in which educational success is not so strongly linked to family background?…[By] investing in developing high-quality child care and preschool that is available to poor and middle-class children. It also means recruiting and training a cadre of skilled preschool teachers and child care providers. These are not new ideas, but we have to stop talking about how expensive and difficult they are to implement and just get on with it.

The opportunity gap in schools Read it. You’ll be inspired.  Then call the hub of New Hampshire’s early childhood development movement, SparkNH, and ask director Laura Milliken to send a speaker to tell your group what’s happening in New Hampshire.

 

Reposted with permission from ANHPE, original link.

May 11th Support The 21st Annual “Stamp Out Hunger” Food Drive

  By Bill Brickley | April 22, 2013 - 7:00 am | , , , ,
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NALC Stamp Out Hunger --STAMP Date

NALC Stamp Out Hunger --STAMP DateThe National Association of Letter Carriers (AFL-CIO) will be holding their 21st annual food drive on Saturday, May 11th. On that day letter carriers will pick up non-perishable food as they deliver mail on their postal routes. The food donations collected will stay in the towns and cities where they are collected.

When we decided to take our food drive nationwide more than two decades ago, food banks and community service organizations told us that the best time for us to do it would be when people aren’t really thinking about it”, NALC President Fred Rolando noted, “to remind people that, sadly, the need for food is year-round.”  In November and December— around the holidays—many folks get caught up in a spirit of giving, so food pantries and other such organization see a major upswing in food donations,” he said. “But by May, their shelves begin to empty out.”

As the men and women who touch every neighborhood in America six days a week, letter carriers far too often see first-hand how poverty and hunger affect the customers we serve.

“Each year, the second Saturday in May is a day when all citizens have an opportunity, with the help of their letter carrier, to easily donate food to needy families in their community,” Rolando said.

The drive, the largest one-day food-collection event in the nation, has been a success every year. This year’s drive is co sponsored by National Rural Letter Carriers, AARP, AFL CIO and the United Way.

“We are pleased to announce that the United Way will continue to partner with the NALC Food Drive in 2013” United Way President Stacy Stewart said “This effort is a tremendous example of the importance of working with organized labor to advance the common good in communities throughout the United States”

Residents are asked to leave non-perishable food donations in a bag by their mailbox on Saturday May 11th before their letter carrier arrives. It will be picked up and then delivered to a local food bank.

Thank You in advance for your support, Bill Brickley.
(NH Letter Carrier for more than 27 years.)

Below is a great video from the National Association of Letter Carriers about this great event.  Click Here to share to your facebook wall.  For twitter users you can click here to tweet a pre-written message.  Or you can share this YouTube link (http://youtu.be/Uwkr-LJmWwI)

The NH Tax System Unfairly Takes More From Middle and Low Income Families

  By Matt Murray | February 21, 2013 - 10:04 am |
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We have all heard the debate, income tax or no income tax. This debate dominated the headlines durning the NH Governor race.  Maggie Hassan vowed to oppose an income or sales tax, while Jackie Cilley would not take the ‘pledge’ to oppose the taxes.

While I fully supported Maggie Hassan in her eventual win as New Hampshire’s Governor, I was a fan of Jackie Cilley’s tax plan.  ( I am sure the NH GOP are going to have a field day with that.)

The evidence is clear, that NH needs to increase revenue if we want to restore some of the massive cuts to our schools, our Health & Human Services projects, UNH funding and  more.

The problem is that right now, New Hampshire’s tax system favors the wealthy by taking more from the lower income families.  This is called a regressive tax structure.  The NH Fiscal Policy Institute talked about this recently.  In fact the overall tax rate of the top 20% is just over half of the bottom 20%.  The top 5% are just under half of the bottom 20%. rates, and the top 1% pay less than a quarter of the bottom 20%. rates.

NH Taxes

NH Taxes

Think about it this way. You own (or rent) a home and the property taxes are $4,000 per year.  I know, unrealistic for New Hampshire, but play along.  Your taxes are $4,000 dollars, and you make $40,000 per year.  Your property taxes would be 10% of your yearly wages.  Now if you made $80,000, it would be 5%.  The higher your income bracket the less the percentage of your income it effects.

So what do we do? First is should be known that NH is not alone, and we are far from the worst when it comes to taxing the poor.  With all that said, we are not really that far off from the national average either.

New Hampshire is about 3% lower than the average.  This would is also one of the reasons New Hampshire has the highest number of millionaires per capita.  This regressive tax structure does not help our state when it comes to creating budgets.   So when the town raises taxes, like many in New Hampshire did, the lowest incomes bear the brunt of the pain.

How can we fix this problem?  New Hampshire politicos talk a lot about helping the middle class, and protecting the lower income families.  If they truly wanted to help the low income families they would be pushing for a completely new tax structure.  Without an income tax you cannot balance the regressive tax structure with a progressive income tax. This way when all is said and done the share of tax relative to  income would be equal and nobody can complain they are being treated unfairly.  It would end the debate that the 1% of New Hampshire is benefiting while the 99% are being punished.

SONH 2013 Revenue Plan Property and Business taxes

A revised tax system would have a significant impact on our small business community.  The GOP in the House are always complaining that taxes on businesses are too high.  Look at this chart of the New Hampshire revenue stream.  An income based tax would allow New Hampshire to drastically reduce the business profits tax and enterprise tax.  This would be encouraging for businesses to expand and would strengthen the ‘New Hampshire Advantage’ for businesses.

 

Yet this is not happening in New Hampshire because legislators took pledges, and secret vows, to oppose an income tax because it make New Hampshire a better place.  WRONG! It makes New Hampshire a better place for wealthy people to live.  This is why New Hampshire is loosing young people by the thousands every year.  They cannot afford to live here and pay the taxes on the pay they are making.  At least in Massachusetts they will get better pay before they are hit with an income tax.  Even with the Massachusetts income tax added in they only pay about 1.4% higher for the bottom 20% but significantly more for the top 1%.

I would also like to point out that Massachusetts or ‘Tax-a-chusetts’ as many Granite Staters like to call it is still less than the national average.  Even Massachusetts taxes are regressive, better than NH, but regressive.

If New Hampshire is serious about helping the low to moderate income families in New Hampshire then talking about a progressive income tax should be on the table.  We want to build a tax structure that effects everyone equally and does not punish people for making too much, or those struggling to get by.

Like I said the radical right and even some of the moderate middle are going to hate me for saying this.  We need to institute some type of income tax to balance the pain of taxes.  This will also help to lower our property taxes, making rent and home ownership costs go down, encouraging more younger people to buy homes here.  It will grow our state budget so we can finish the projects we have been talking about for decades.  We can make New Hampshire a better place to live than it already is.

Raising The Minimum Wage Is The Way To Help Our Economy Grow

  By Matt Murray | January 27, 2013 - 11:00 am | , ,
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Minimum Wage Vs Rent

There is an intense debate in State Houses and in the US Congress over the minimum wage.

The pro-corporate GOP are saying that we do not need to raise the minimum wage because it will hinder the ‘job creators’ and the economic recovery.  The truth is that raising the minimum wage will help the economy recover.

I am happy to hear that here in my home state of NH there are two bills to push the minimum wage up.  The first, HB 127 (Rep Sullivan) would raise the wage to $8.00 per hour.  The second, HB 241 (from Rep. Tim Robertson) would raise the wage to $9.25 per hour.

There has been a lot of research on raising the minimum wage to $9.50 per hour for the Federal minimum.  ”The Economic Policy Institute estimates that President Obama’s campaign proposal of restoring the minimum wage to $9.50 by 2011 would generate $60 billion in new consumer spending in communities across the country (RaiseTheWage.org).”

Sixty billion in new revenue would do wonders to our economy.  This is what economists have been trying to explain since the recession began.  We need to put money in the hand of workers at the lower and middle class levels so they can spend it.  When workers have money to spend, they will, and this is exactly what drives our small business economy.

I am not sure if either of these bills will make it through the Republican controlled Senate, however I would be happy if either was enacted.

“Economists at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago have found that every $1 increase in the minimum wage boosts consumer spending by a low-wage worker’s household by $2,800 over the following year (RaiseTheWage.org).”

Multiply the $2,800 dollars spent by the over 50,000 New Hampshire workers who are paid minimum wage.  This is over $140,000,000 to the New Hampshire economy. If we enact HB 241 ($9.25 per hour) that would mean $280 million dollars more pushed into the NH economy.

I am sure that someone is thinking; ‘If we raise the minimum wage it will mean that business will have to cut jobs’.  This is another myth pushed by the corporate lobbyists like the Chamber of Commerce.  Many studies have proven that this is simply not true.  ”A study published in April 2011 found that these results (no significant job losses) hold true even during periods of recession and high unemployment.”

The truth is that the minimum wage was create as another safety net to help keep people out of poverty and off of government assistance programs.  This is not the case at the moment.  For example the national poverty level for a family of four (two adults, two children) is $23,021.  At the current minimum wage ($15,000 per year) both parents would have to work 40 hours a week, just to exceed that poverty level.   However the cost of living in New Hampshire is very different than the national average.  According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) researchers a family of four would need to make $55,609 ($4,600 a month) to not live in poverty. At minimum wage both parents would have to work 80 hours a week to exceed the $55,000 mark (after taxes).

So when we talk about the minimum wage, we should be talking about the minimum living wage.  I hope that our state legislators truly understand what it takes to survive in our state.  They also must understand that raising the minimum wage in our state only helps our economy.

American Friends Service Committee Show Support For Labor In 2013 Legislative Agenda

  By Matt Murray | December 8, 2012 - 8:39 am | , ,
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american friends service committee logo (AFSC)

Over the last two years New Hampshire endured one of the worst legislative sessions in history.  At the hands of (former) Speaker O’Brien every progressive organization came under attack. He and his legislative cohorts attacked, women, labor, the elderly, and the impoverished.

Throughout the two year session the American Friends Service Committee was there fighting back in every way they could.  They teamed up with labor and other community activism groups to protest O’Brien’s actions.

While this session will undoubtedly be a complete 180 from the previous session this does not mean there is not work to be done.

AFSC Logo via http://bit.ly/SUVtKY

Today the AFSC released their Legislative Agenda. Some of the items on the agenda include: Repealing the Death Penalty, Strengthening Tenants’ Rights, Promoting Affordable Housing, Supporting Prison/Sentencing Reform, and Preserving Marriage Equality.  Many of these are expected from the traditional Quaker organization.

Once again AFCE and Organized Labor will be walking hand in hand on some very important issues.   The local unions have yet to say what their most important state legislative issues will be, however with the Democrats in control of the house Right To Work for less will not be one of them.

Some of the common legislative goals.

  • Raising the Minimum Wage
  • A Fairer Tax System
  • Stopping Prison Privatization
  • Protecting the Most Vulnerable (e.g. Medicaid expansion, human service budgets, predatory lending)
  • Protecting Human and Civil Rights (including Collective Bargaining, Voting Rights)

All of these issues have been pushed by labor for many years.   You may remember that the NH AFL-CIO was one of the loudest voices when it came to passing a minimum wage law for New Hampshire.

The NH Labor News also publishes important updated from Arnie Alpert of the AFSC.  I look forward to working with Arnie and the entire coalition at AFSC.

Right To Work In Michigan: Democracy At Its Worst

  By Matt Murray | December 7, 2012 - 3:44 am | ,
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Right To Work Michigan

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Have you been reading about what has been happening in Michigan? 

Well just in case you have been unplugged from any social media for the last day let me explain.  A few days ago reports started to surface that the Republican led Legislature in Michigan were going to use their own ‘lame duck’ session to push a Right To Work for less bill.   Turns out the reports were all true.

The legislature and Governor Snyder knew there would be huge protests if they pushed Right To Work in Michigan.  Amid huge protests RTW was unveiled in the MI House.  The Detroit Free Press reported

“The goal isn’t to divide Michigan. It is to bring Michigan together,” the governor said, as hundreds of union protesters stormed the Capitol and the governor’s office, vociferously voicing their opposition to the plan.”

We all know this is a crock.  The goal of right to work is to lower wages and make it easier for companies to break labor unions down.

The day was moved on like a live action horror movie, directed by Americans for Prosperity and ALEC.  Even the Koch Brothers could not keep their hands out of this. The Koch funded group American For Prosperity, had members lined up in front of the State House in Lansing.

“Michigan passage of right-to-work legislation will be the shot heard around the world for workplace freedom,” AFP said in a press release Thursday.

Even though Right To Work has nothing to do with ‘freedom’.

“In the wake of this legislation, the only ‘freedom’ gained for Michigan workers will be the freedom to make less, the freedom to be disrespected at work, the freedom to struggle to pay their bills and the freedom to be left out of the American dream.
–Working Michigan statement 12-6-12

Democratic lawmakers walk out in protest
via UAW http://on.fb.me/TIQvmR

Protesters filled the capitol in Lansing and began chanting. Watch the video from the UAW.  At one point they were told to leave the capitol building and the police began using pepper spray on protesters.  The protests outside became even louder as people began chanting ‘Let us in’ (VIDEO).  However in a strong move by Democrats in the Michigan Legislature, they walked out.  They would not return until the people of Michigan would be allowed to return.

It would not take long for the MI House to pass the RTW bill.

As all of this was happening, President Obama issued a statement on the proposed RTW bill in Michigan.

“President Obama has long opposed so-called ‘right to work’ laws and he continues to oppose them now,” said White House spokesperson Matt Lehrich. “The President believes our economy is stronger when workers get good wages and good benefits, and he opposes attempts to roll back their rights. Michigan – and its workers’ role in the revival of the US automobile industry – is a prime example of how unions have helped build a strong middle class and a strong American economy.”

Even the Presidents strong words would have no effect on the GOP assault on Michigan working families.  The Michigan Senate began pushing their version of the MI Right To Work for less bill.  Of course it passed 22-16.  The only catch is that due to legislative laws in Michigan a bill has sit for five days before it can be moved from the Senate to the House.  Then all legislators would have to do is combine the two different bills and send it to the Governor.

This is a sad day for Michigan and the hard working people who live there.  Working Michigan, a broad coalition of faith, labor and community organizations released a statement (full below).

“The legislation passed tonight is nothing short of an attack on the middle class in Michigan by Republican leadership and their corporate CEO funders.  This is a divisive law that will hurt our state by driving wages down and pitting workers against each other.”

After the ‘auto bailout’ and the revival of the big three in Michigan lawmakers chose to repay these workers with a giant slap in the face.  Their unity and dedication help revive Michigan and helped preserve over one million jobs.   The only hope Michigan has now is that over the next five days the Governor comes to his senses and veto’s this bill.  Though it is not very likely.

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Michigan Republicans vote to unravel the state’s middle class, flatten wages and crush workers’ rights

12/07/12

LANSING, Mich. – In  devastating blow to the middle class in Michigan, Republicans, bankrolled by wealthy, corporate CEOs, passed anti-worker legislation tonight which promises to flatten wages and crush workers’ rights. Following the Republicans’ destructive vote, Working Michigan, a broad coalition of faith, labor and community organizations issued the following statement:

“The legislation passed tonight is nothing short of an attack on the middle class in Michigan by Republican leadership and their corporate CEO funders.  This is a divisive law that will hurt our state by driving wages down and pitting workers against each other.

“Study after study has demonstrated the devastating effects of this sort of legislation: Workers in ‘right-to-work’ states make $1,500 less per year, meanwhile the growth rate for ‘right-to-work’ states actually drops after legislation of this sort is enacted. Dressing the legislation up with benign sounding phrases like ‘workplace freedom,’ Michiganders understand what’s at stake here and will hold them accountable.

“In the wake of this legislation, the only ‘freedom’ gained for Michigan workers will be the freedom to make less, the freedom to be disrespected at work, the freedom to struggle to pay their bills and the freedom to be left out of the American dream. This bill is a blatant attempt by the richest in Michigan to silence the voices of working families in our democracy, build their own power, and make the growing gap between the rich and everyone else even bigger.

“Should Snyder sign this legislation, he will join a list of other governors – John Kasich, Scott Walker, and others – who have signed over the future of their respective states to big corporations and CEOs, making a decision to leave working families behind. Regardless of what might happen, working people have made it clear they will continue to fight for our vision of a better, stronger Michigan and work to hold elected leaders accountable.”