Grover Norquist does it. The NRA does it. Now, the Shriver Center tracks how each member of Congress votes on poverty issues. Check out your representative by clicking the link below.
President Barack Obama will be releasing his budget tomorrow. Already, organized labor and others who side with the President more often than not are upset with cuts he's willing to make (likely to be around $200 billion worth).
The Republican leadership in congress isn't happy with the budget either. Most Republicans don't want to raise taxes in order to help raise revenue and decrease the deficit.
Accusations the budget is getting balanced on the back of seniors, children and people in poverty can seem like tired political rhetoric. But, those are the people that disproportionately rely on government services.
So as the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities points out in a handy chart, for the last few years it's true these groups have borne the brunt of the budget battle.
Your participation and insightful guests made for a spirited discussion about themes ranging from power to policy, but really the question was if all kids have an equal shot at an American dream. (Spoiler alert: none of the guests think all kids have an equal shot.)
Listen to parts of the show below. If you want to listen to the whole thing, here you go.
Today at at 3 p.m State of Opportunity is having a call in show on Michigan Radio. Tune in or stream it live.
Our focus will be on structures and policies that make it hard for Michigan's children to get ahead. What's keeping us from understanding the lives of low-income families? And what policies are keeping the cycle of poverty going.
You can join the conversation about poverty, privilege and political power with local and national experts. Here's the crew that we'll be talking with:
Doak Bloss, Health Equity and Social Justice Coordinator at the Ingham County Health Department.
Erin Currier, Director of the Economic Mobility Project at the Pew Charitable Trusts.
Linwood Cousins, Director and Professor at the School of Social Work at Western Michigan University
We think of scholarships as a way to help more students go to college. But there’s a new scholarship program in Michigan that has nothing to do with college. It offers scholarships to babies.
If you have a baby and you want to have a job, or you need to have a job, you have to find childcare. And childcare costs money—thousands of dollars a year.
If your income is below the federal government’s poverty line—about $24,000 a year for a family of four—the federal government will help you pay for childcare. But if you’re at, say, $28,000 a year, you’re ineligible.
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