November 15, 2013
TARA SIEGEL BERNARD
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/16/your-money/the-payoff-in-waiting-to-collect-social-security.html?ref=socialsecurityus
Opinion:
I think that it would be smart to wait to collect social security until a later age because the potential returns that you could get would be much higher. I also know that when people have the opportunity to get money, they usually won't pass up the chance, so a lot of them will collect as soon as possible. If you can hold off claiming benefits for a few years, your potential income could raise 6.7 percent. Its going to be better if you are able to hold off on getting your social security benefits and you most likely wont regret the decision.
Friday, December 13, 2013
Food Stamp Cut Wipes Out Some Americans' Social Security Increases - Huffingtonpost
11/11/2013
Arthur Delaney
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/food-stamp-cut_n_4242565.html?utm_hp_ref=social-security
Opinion:
A food stamp cut that took effect in November and will negate the cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security benefits for some people who are retired and/or disabled. First off, I believe that the food stamp cuts in general had a strong negative impact on some families in America. Anyway, the Social Security Administration said that starting next year, all 57 million Social Security beneficiaries will get a 1.5 percent boost in their benefits to protect them from inflation. For some households that receive both Social Security and food stamp benefits, the Social Security boost will be smaller than a food stamp cut that took effect last week. Cheryl Kathman of Norwood, Ohio, for instance, gets almost $1,000 per month in Social Security benefits and had been receiving $228 in food stamps for herself and her son. The Social Security check will soon increase by about $15, but the food stamps have already gone down by $20. In this case, regardless of the fact she is getting more Social Security money, she is still losing out because she is losing more money to the food stamp cuts. And although it is only a monthly loss of 5 dollars, when that is the only money that they have to be spending on food, every dollar is needed.
Arthur Delaney
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/11/food-stamp-cut_n_4242565.html?utm_hp_ref=social-security
Opinion:
A food stamp cut that took effect in November and will negate the cost-of-living adjustments to Social Security benefits for some people who are retired and/or disabled. First off, I believe that the food stamp cuts in general had a strong negative impact on some families in America. Anyway, the Social Security Administration said that starting next year, all 57 million Social Security beneficiaries will get a 1.5 percent boost in their benefits to protect them from inflation. For some households that receive both Social Security and food stamp benefits, the Social Security boost will be smaller than a food stamp cut that took effect last week. Cheryl Kathman of Norwood, Ohio, for instance, gets almost $1,000 per month in Social Security benefits and had been receiving $228 in food stamps for herself and her son. The Social Security check will soon increase by about $15, but the food stamps have already gone down by $20. In this case, regardless of the fact she is getting more Social Security money, she is still losing out because she is losing more money to the food stamp cuts. And although it is only a monthly loss of 5 dollars, when that is the only money that they have to be spending on food, every dollar is needed.
Thursday, November 21, 2013
As many as 8 of every 10 welfare applicants in 2013 denied by Pa., Inquirer has found - Philly.com
September 17, 2013
Alfred Lubrano, Inquirer Staff Writer
Philly.com
http://articles.philly.com/2013-09-17/news/42117456_1_tanf-cash-welfare-public-welfare
Opinion:
The state of Pennsylvania has denied as many as eight of every 10 applications for cash welfare in 2013. Compared to other years, this is a major increase in people that were turned down.
The increased rate of denials is because before Pennsylvanians apply for welfare, they now have to looks for at least three jobs and record their effort for seeking work. Rochelle Jackson, a public policy advocate said, "It's about punishing the poor for needing assistance by adding another hurdle for welfare." I think that it is good that Pennsylvania as well as other states are requiring people to go job searching 3 times before they apply for welfare. It could help because it will limit the amount of people who go on welfare because some people are too lazy to go job searching and other people may get a job while searching and wont have to apply anyway. I think that this change in the system was a good idea and I think that it will help benefit people who really cant get jobs.
Alfred Lubrano, Inquirer Staff Writer
Philly.com
http://articles.philly.com/2013-09-17/news/42117456_1_tanf-cash-welfare-public-welfare
Opinion:
The state of Pennsylvania has denied as many as eight of every 10 applications for cash welfare in 2013. Compared to other years, this is a major increase in people that were turned down.
The increased rate of denials is because before Pennsylvanians apply for welfare, they now have to looks for at least three jobs and record their effort for seeking work. Rochelle Jackson, a public policy advocate said, "It's about punishing the poor for needing assistance by adding another hurdle for welfare." I think that it is good that Pennsylvania as well as other states are requiring people to go job searching 3 times before they apply for welfare. It could help because it will limit the amount of people who go on welfare because some people are too lazy to go job searching and other people may get a job while searching and wont have to apply anyway. I think that this change in the system was a good idea and I think that it will help benefit people who really cant get jobs.
Rural poverty: when the food bank is only 20 miles away - The Guardian
November 20, 2013
Patrick Butler
TheGuardian.com
http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2013/nov/20/rural-food-poverty-nearest-foodbank-20-miles-away
Opinion:
The demand for food aid in the Northern UK is increasing because the number of low income families in getting higher. The article states that the citizens in rural areas do not have access to the fresh foods that people in the southern regions have, therefore resort to unhealthy, fatty foods that cause health concerns. Individuals who cant even afford cheap fatty food skip meals because they cant buy enough food to feed there family. Even if the families may have enough to buy a meal, they may not be able to afford the trip which may be as much as 20 miles away for a shop. Living out in the rural regions of Northern York can be tough during this time of year because a lot of family money is going to heating the home due to the exceedingly cold climate.
Patrick Butler
TheGuardian.com
http://www.theguardian.com/society/patrick-butler-cuts-blog/2013/nov/20/rural-food-poverty-nearest-foodbank-20-miles-away
Opinion:
The demand for food aid in the Northern UK is increasing because the number of low income families in getting higher. The article states that the citizens in rural areas do not have access to the fresh foods that people in the southern regions have, therefore resort to unhealthy, fatty foods that cause health concerns. Individuals who cant even afford cheap fatty food skip meals because they cant buy enough food to feed there family. Even if the families may have enough to buy a meal, they may not be able to afford the trip which may be as much as 20 miles away for a shop. Living out in the rural regions of Northern York can be tough during this time of year because a lot of family money is going to heating the home due to the exceedingly cold climate.
Friday, November 1, 2013
47M Americans hit by food stamp cuts starting today - USA Today
November 1, 2013
USA Today
Doug Stanglin
Article:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/01/food-stamps-snap-cuts-farm-bill/3346341/
Opinion:
Today, November 1, 2013, the government will cut food stamp benefits to more than 47 million Americans as a temporary boost to the federal program comes to an end without a new budget.
A family of four that gets $668 per month in benefits will find that amount cut by $36. It may not seem like a big change in money to us, but to them, that is 18.6 percent of their total benefits that they just lost. The Department of Agriculture says in California specifically, the cuts will affect more than 4 million people and will amount to the equivalent of each family losing an estimated 21 meals per month.
USA Today
Doug Stanglin
Article:
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/11/01/food-stamps-snap-cuts-farm-bill/3346341/
Opinion:
Today, November 1, 2013, the government will cut food stamp benefits to more than 47 million Americans as a temporary boost to the federal program comes to an end without a new budget.
A family of four that gets $668 per month in benefits will find that amount cut by $36. It may not seem like a big change in money to us, but to them, that is 18.6 percent of their total benefits that they just lost. The Department of Agriculture says in California specifically, the cuts will affect more than 4 million people and will amount to the equivalent of each family losing an estimated 21 meals per month.
Experts: Arizona only state to halt welfare checks during shutdown - azcentral.com
October 4, 2013
azcentral.com
Mary K. Reinhart
Article:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20131004arizona-welfare-checks-shutdown.html?nclick_check=1
Opinion:
Basically, the state is taking these 5,200 families that are already low income families, and not giving them their welfare checks for the month. Each family only receives roughly $207 per month and now taking that away could make getting food a lot harder. DES Director Clarence Carter told the Senate Minority Leader Leah Landrum Taylor he had no funds available to make the welfare payments possible. The state holds a $450 million emergency fund. A meeting was held regarding whether or not the cash reserve should be tapped into in order to provide for all of the families missing out. I believe that giving each of the 5,200 families $207 from the state's emergency reserve would be a good way to go. The amount of money that would be given away would only total around an estimated $1.07 million.
azcentral.com
Mary K. Reinhart
Article:
http://www.azcentral.com/news/politics/articles/20131004arizona-welfare-checks-shutdown.html?nclick_check=1
Opinion:
Basically, the state is taking these 5,200 families that are already low income families, and not giving them their welfare checks for the month. Each family only receives roughly $207 per month and now taking that away could make getting food a lot harder. DES Director Clarence Carter told the Senate Minority Leader Leah Landrum Taylor he had no funds available to make the welfare payments possible. The state holds a $450 million emergency fund. A meeting was held regarding whether or not the cash reserve should be tapped into in order to provide for all of the families missing out. I believe that giving each of the 5,200 families $207 from the state's emergency reserve would be a good way to go. The amount of money that would be given away would only total around an estimated $1.07 million.
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
UK unemployment rate drops to 7.7% -BBC News
September 11, 2013
BBC Business News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24045546
Summary: In the past months from May to July, the rate of unemployment in the UK has dropped to 7.8% between from 7.7%. The number of people unemployed fell to 2.487 million, which is an increase of 24,000 jobs compared to last month. The official figures also show that the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell 32,600 to 1.402 million, its lowest level since February 2009. However, the number of people working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job rose to 1.45 million, the highest since records began in 1992 and double the number of five years ago.
Almost 33% of the men working part-time were part-time because they could obviously not find full-time employment. The part time employment figure for women was 13.5%. Mr. Carney, who is the governor of the Bank of England, said he expected the unemployment rate to fall to 7% within the next three years. The rates are at a steady decline similar to that of the United States' rates.
Opinion: (Jobseeker Allowance was mentioned above and if you are unsure what that is, it is basically a payment of 56.80 Pounds that is given to someone over 18 that is looking for a job.) The unemployment rates in the United Kingdom are not that much different from that of the United States. If you were to travel to the northeast part of England, you would notice that they have high rates of unemployment about 10.4% just like certain cities in America, while the southeast have the lowest rates at 5.8%. While the United States has a slightly lower rate of about 7.3%, it is easy to say that compared to England, the US isn't all that different as far as job unemployment goes.
BBC Business News
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-24045546
Summary: In the past months from May to July, the rate of unemployment in the UK has dropped to 7.8% between from 7.7%. The number of people unemployed fell to 2.487 million, which is an increase of 24,000 jobs compared to last month. The official figures also show that the number of people claiming Jobseeker's Allowance fell 32,600 to 1.402 million, its lowest level since February 2009. However, the number of people working part-time because they cannot find a full-time job rose to 1.45 million, the highest since records began in 1992 and double the number of five years ago.
Almost 33% of the men working part-time were part-time because they could obviously not find full-time employment. The part time employment figure for women was 13.5%. Mr. Carney, who is the governor of the Bank of England, said he expected the unemployment rate to fall to 7% within the next three years. The rates are at a steady decline similar to that of the United States' rates.
Opinion: (Jobseeker Allowance was mentioned above and if you are unsure what that is, it is basically a payment of 56.80 Pounds that is given to someone over 18 that is looking for a job.) The unemployment rates in the United Kingdom are not that much different from that of the United States. If you were to travel to the northeast part of England, you would notice that they have high rates of unemployment about 10.4% just like certain cities in America, while the southeast have the lowest rates at 5.8%. While the United States has a slightly lower rate of about 7.3%, it is easy to say that compared to England, the US isn't all that different as far as job unemployment goes.
Tuesday, October 1, 2013
Labor Force Statistics from the Current Population Survey - BLS
October 1, 2013
BLS
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
Summary:
These graphs were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and contain all of the unemployment rates of the United States for every month since the beginning of 2003.
Opinion:
Just by looking at the information that accompanies the graph, you can notice that for the past couple years, the nation has been hovering around 9.0 consistently. In 2012, the data shows that the national unemployment rates dropped from around 9.0 to about 8.2, and then continue to drop toward 7.9. Eventually the rates dropped to the 7.5 average. The rate has continually been going down and if it keeps it up, we could hopefully be back to at least the 6 percent range.
BLS
http://data.bls.gov/timeseries/LNS14000000
| Year | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
| 2003 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 6.1 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.0 | 5.8 | 5.7 |
| 2004 | 5.7 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.4 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.4 |
| 2005 | 5.3 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 5.0 | 4.9 |
| 2006 | 4.7 | 4.8 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 |
| 2007 | 4.6 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 4.7 | 5.0 |
| 2008 | 5.0 | 4.9 | 5.1 | 5.0 | 5.4 | 5.6 | 5.8 | 6.1 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 6.8 | 7.3 |
| 2009 | 7.8 | 8.3 | 8.7 | 9.0 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 9.8 | 10.0 | 9.9 | 9.9 |
| 2010 | 9.8 | 9.8 | 9.9 | 9.9 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.8 | 9.3 |
| 2011 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.1 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 9.0 | 8.9 | 8.6 | 8.5 |
| 2012 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| 2013 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.3 |
Summary:
These graphs were obtained from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and contain all of the unemployment rates of the United States for every month since the beginning of 2003.
Opinion:
Just by looking at the information that accompanies the graph, you can notice that for the past couple years, the nation has been hovering around 9.0 consistently. In 2012, the data shows that the national unemployment rates dropped from around 9.0 to about 8.2, and then continue to drop toward 7.9. Eventually the rates dropped to the 7.5 average. The rate has continually been going down and if it keeps it up, we could hopefully be back to at least the 6 percent range.
Chicago unemployment climbs to 10.3% - Chicago Tribune
July 26, 2013
Samantha Bomkamp
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-26/business/chi-chicago-unemployment-20130726_1_unemployment-rate-ides-director-jay-rowell-chicago-joliet-Naperville
Summary:
Three quarters of the metro areas in Illinois had a huge decline in unemployment in the past month, with the best decreases in Metro East, Lake County, Rockford and Champaign-Urbana. However, the state also had a few major areas experience large increases in unemployment too. These areas include Decatur, Danville, Peoria and Chicago-Joliet-Naperville. One area that has been in the spotlight for a while has been the city of Chicago. Recently Chicago's unemployment rates rose 0.7 percentage points to 10.3 percent. Practically one in ten people are jobless. Illinois has a consistently higher unemployment rate than the nationwide rate. Here is a chart to show the rates of Illinois compared to the city of Chicago itself, and the national rate.
Opinion:
Taking a look at the data on the chart, it is easily noticed that the unemployment rate of Chicago (red) is significantly greater than that of the national rate (blue). Chicago is one of the many cities that may fall onto a path similar to Detroit, a city which has declared bankruptcy. These high unemployment rates make Illinois (orange) one of the worst unemployment rated states in the country (Nevada is first with 9.5 percent).
Samantha Bomkamp
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/2013-07-26/business/chi-chicago-unemployment-20130726_1_unemployment-rate-ides-director-jay-rowell-chicago-joliet-Naperville
Summary:
Three quarters of the metro areas in Illinois had a huge decline in unemployment in the past month, with the best decreases in Metro East, Lake County, Rockford and Champaign-Urbana. However, the state also had a few major areas experience large increases in unemployment too. These areas include Decatur, Danville, Peoria and Chicago-Joliet-Naperville. One area that has been in the spotlight for a while has been the city of Chicago. Recently Chicago's unemployment rates rose 0.7 percentage points to 10.3 percent. Practically one in ten people are jobless. Illinois has a consistently higher unemployment rate than the nationwide rate. Here is a chart to show the rates of Illinois compared to the city of Chicago itself, and the national rate.
Taking a look at the data on the chart, it is easily noticed that the unemployment rate of Chicago (red) is significantly greater than that of the national rate (blue). Chicago is one of the many cities that may fall onto a path similar to Detroit, a city which has declared bankruptcy. These high unemployment rates make Illinois (orange) one of the worst unemployment rated states in the country (Nevada is first with 9.5 percent).
Thursday, September 19, 2013
When Jobs Are Not Plentiful - The New York Times
The Editorial Board
September 6, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/opinion/when-jobs-are-not-plentiful.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=unemployment&adxnnlx=1379642522-uU7SuGxDhBMqBM2ILwx44g
Summary:
According to the August unemployment report, last month the economy was able to produce roughly 169,000 jobs throughout the country. However, this was less than the previous months of June and July. The August unemployment rate dropped from 7.4 percent in July to 7.3 percent. Information shows that this was due to a shrinking labor force rather than folks being laid off. In the August report, results showed that out of all the people who are of working age, only 63.2 percent were working or looking for work. This stunning result was the lowest percentage since the year 1978. In August, many of the private-sector jobs created were low-paying retail and food service jobs, in addition to some government jobs here and there. The sign of a bad labor market is horrible wage growth. In the past year, the average wages have been horrible. For the economy to grow, consumers need to spend, but spending won’t pick up without wage growth, and wages won’t rise without stronger job growth.
Opinion:
I believe that regardless of the .1 percent decline in the unemployment rate, the big picture remains the same. There are more people out of work than ever before since the late 1970's. The statistic seems crazy if you think about it. If you take a look at some poorer cities (Chicago for example), where 1 in 10 people don't have jobs, it is easy to understand where this statistic comes from. We are all fortunate to live in an area where there are no signs of massive unemployment and suffering compared to other largely populated cities.
September 6, 2013
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/07/opinion/when-jobs-are-not-plentiful.html?_r=0&adxnnl=1&ref=unemployment&adxnnlx=1379642522-uU7SuGxDhBMqBM2ILwx44g
Summary:
According to the August unemployment report, last month the economy was able to produce roughly 169,000 jobs throughout the country. However, this was less than the previous months of June and July. The August unemployment rate dropped from 7.4 percent in July to 7.3 percent. Information shows that this was due to a shrinking labor force rather than folks being laid off. In the August report, results showed that out of all the people who are of working age, only 63.2 percent were working or looking for work. This stunning result was the lowest percentage since the year 1978. In August, many of the private-sector jobs created were low-paying retail and food service jobs, in addition to some government jobs here and there. The sign of a bad labor market is horrible wage growth. In the past year, the average wages have been horrible. For the economy to grow, consumers need to spend, but spending won’t pick up without wage growth, and wages won’t rise without stronger job growth.
Opinion:
I believe that regardless of the .1 percent decline in the unemployment rate, the big picture remains the same. There are more people out of work than ever before since the late 1970's. The statistic seems crazy if you think about it. If you take a look at some poorer cities (Chicago for example), where 1 in 10 people don't have jobs, it is easy to understand where this statistic comes from. We are all fortunate to live in an area where there are no signs of massive unemployment and suffering compared to other largely populated cities.
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