Human Services

Morning Must Reads: DPW Payroll Processing Change Leaves Care Workers Without Paychecks

Posted by Mark Price on September 5, 2012 9:35 am
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The Editorial Board of the Erie Times-News comes down hard on what appears to be a statewide problem with payroll processing for workers who provide care to Pennsylvanians with disabilities.

Third and State Recap: Weak Jobs Report for July, Water Polo and the Economy, and the Ryan Budget in PA

Over the past two weeks, we have been busy blogging about July reports on jobs and state revenues, how much the Ryan budget would cost Pennsylvania, what water polo swimsuit malfunctions have to do with the economy, and much more.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

  • On jobs and the economy, Mark Price analyzed Pennsylvania's jobs report for July, and the news was not good.
  • On the state budget, Michael Wood wrote that July tax collections were solid, starting the commonwealth out on the right foot in the new fiscal year.
  • On the federal budget, Jamar Thrasher blogged about a new Center on Budget and Policy Priorities report estimating that Pennsylvania would lose more than $1 billion in federal funding for education, law enforcement, clean water, and other projects under the federal budget proposed by Congressman Paul Ryan.
  • On the economy and regulations, Steve Herzenberg noted that the need for rules to discourage water polo players from ripping off each other’s swimsuits underscores the need for regulations to promote more constructive competition in our economy. (You can also listen here to Steve discuss this theme while guest hosting The Rick Smith Show August 8.)
  • On education, Jamar Thrasher blogged about a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article detailing how charter schools play by a different set of rules than public schools.
  • In Morning Must Reads over the past two weeks, Mark Price highlighted news reports on the Corbett administration's decision to end programs that help low-income households file their taxes; people impacted by the elimination of General Assistance in Pennsylvania; the need for paid sick leave for more than 40 million American workers; and even more resources on the Ryan budget plan.
  • And in a Friday Funny today, Chris Lilienthal shared a Monty Python clip about some rather enthusiastic Mosquito Hunters that had some of us thinking about the state's new Voter ID Law.

More blog posts next week. Keep us bookmarked and join the conversation!

Morning Must Reads: Helping the Poor Not a Core Mission of the PA Department of Public Welfare?

The Philadelphia Inquirer this morning reports on the move by the Corbett administration to end programs that help low-income households file their taxes.

These programs are especially important because they raise the rate at which low-income households file for the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). The credit provides these households with much-needed income that ends up getting spent in the local community.

Asked about the cuts, a spokesperson for the Department of Public Welfare, an agency that spent thousands on a flagpole recently, noted that helping people to apply for the EITC is not a core service of the Department of Public Welfare.

Morning Must Reads: Austerity Economics for the Disabled In Pennsylvania

The Delaware County Daily Times interviews people impacted by the elimination of General Assistance in Pennsylvania.

Third and State This Week: General Assistance Ends, Check In on Economy & Grads Face Global Competition for Jobs

This week at Third and State, we blogged about the end of General Assistance in Pennsylvania, the state of the economy, American college graduates facing overseas competition for jobs and much more.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

  • On poverty and the state budget, Sharon Ward shared a clip from her appearance on The War Room with Jennifer Granholm on Current TV discussing the impact of ending Pennsylvania's General Assistance Program. Mark Price also highlighted General Assistance's end, as did guest blogger Liz Schott of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.
  • On higher education, Jamar Thrasher wrote about the increased competition faced by American graduates as companies outsource jobs for lower wages and higher revenues.
  • On jobs and the economy, Mark Price shared a New York Times piece discussing the lack of good jobs and its relationship to poverty. Mark weighed in on the Federal Reserve's recent decision to take no steps to boost economic growth, despite high unemployment. And Mark delved deeper into Pennsylvania's jobs report for June.
  • And on fiscal policy, Mark Price blogged about a story on the radio program Marketplace revisiting some of the predictions made a year ago about what would happen as a result of Standard and Poor's downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

Note: We will have more blog posts next week, but we will not have a weekly roundup on Friday, August 10. We will resume the weekly roundup blog post on Friday, August 17. In the meantime, keep us bookmarked and join the conversation!

Ending Pennsylvania's General Assistance Was Penny Wise but Pound Foolish

Posted by Shelley Aragoncillo on August 2, 2012 7:08 pm
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Earlier this week, I was on The War Room with Jennifer Granholm on Current TV to discuss the end of Pennsylvania's General Assistance, a last resort program for very poor Pennsylvanians who cannot work because of an illness or disability and don’t qualify for other assistance. It has provided a ladder up and out of poverty for thousands of Pennsylvanians before that ladder was taken down on Wednesday.

Pennsylvania Shuts Down Its Safety Net of Last Resort

Posted by Guest Blogger on August 1, 2012 1:29 pm
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By Liz Schott, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
Originally published at the Off the Charts Blog

Pennsylvania ended cash assistance today for very poor residents who cannot work and don’t qualify for other assistance, joining many other states that have scaled back or eliminated their General Assistance programs even as the need has grown.

Morning Must Reads: The End Is Nigh for General Assistance

Posted by Mark Price on August 1, 2012 8:36 am
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As the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette notes this morning, Pennsylvania's General Assistance program ends today. 

This Week at Third and State: PA Jobs Advantage Slipping, Outsourcing Hurts Low-wage Workers & Food Stamps Facts

This week at Third and State, we blogged about Pennsylvania’s job advantage over other states slipping in the wake of state budget cuts, how outsourcing jobs hits workers in the paycheck, the facts about food stamps, the state budget, and much more.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

  • On jobs and the economy, Stephen Herzenberg shared a new Keystone Research Center analysis finding that Pennsylvania’s strong economic growth coming out of the recession has slipped away in part because of state budget cuts, especially in education.
  • On wages and income inequality, intern Alan Bowie blogged about how the outsourcing of jobs is helping push down the incomes of the lowest-paid workers.
  • On the budget, Chris Lilienthal shared the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center’s analysis of the recently passed state budget.
  • And in Morning Must Reads this week, Mark Price highlighted a Philadelphia Daily News piece laying out the facts about food stamps and a story on layoffs at a Philadelphia unemployment call center, which comes at a time when the state is already lagging behind most other states in delivering initial jobless benefits in a timely manner.

More blog posts next week. Keep us bookmarked and join the conversation!

Failing to Invest in a Stronger Pa. Economy

Despite ending the 2011-12 fiscal year with a $649 million fund balance, Pennsylvania fails to make the investments essential to building a strong economy or to reverse a recent trend where job growth in the commonwealth has lagged behind other states.

So concludes the Pennsylvania Budget and Policy Center analysis of the enacted 2012-13 state budget, which was released Friday.

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