Tax liens and the poor

I wrote this for WNPR. This is a really questionable way for cities to raise money.

So I’m off to Street Talk tonight

It’s a public-access television show about poverty and homeless. I’m not sure I’ll add much to the discussion, but I’m looking forward to learning things. Onward.

CT child poverty is at an all-time high

Connecticut Voices for Children said recently that the poverty rate for CT children is 15 percent, and the rate for children of color is five times that of Caucasian children. From the organization, nearly half of Hartford’s children live in poverty, the highest rate for any town in the state. And here’s an interactive map …

Well, THIS is embarrassing….conservative states rely heavily on govt aid.

Check out this Washington Post Wonkblog piece , which includes: …conservative states are among the most reliant on federal funding for revenues. Mississippi and Louisiana are the two neediest states, with federal aid accounting for 43 percent and 42 percent of their respective overall revenues in fiscal 2013, according to an analysis published Wednesday by the …

Journey Home’s doing it again

Given the success of their August Dinner in the Park, where Journey Home partnered with area restaurants to feed roughly 200 hungry people, the non-profit organization is doing it again. And they could use your help. Along with Max Downtown in Hartford, Arugula Bistro in West Hartford, and Starbucks Coffee, Journey Home wants to send some people …

How is fat-shaming different from poor-shaming?

It really isn’t, if you use the same logic that shaming people is a fruitful exercise. Read this by Alan Levinovitz, at Slate. He writes: …poverty is more of a threat to public health than obesity. Fortunately, there’s good news! Nicole Arbour—and the Harvard epidemiologists—emphasize that losing weight boils down to a simple formula: Eat …

Do not criminalize poverty

It’s just bad public policy. Read this from Nonprofit Quarterly, from Fredrik O. Andersson and Avery Edenfield. And thanks, Diane, for sending the link.

Richard Gere made $1.50 while panhandling

He was preparing for a role in a movie about a man who is homeless and dealing with mental health issues. And here’s what he wants you to know about homelessness. And thanks, Sherry, for the link.

How the poor get prison

Two researchers from the Institute for Policy Studies have examined how the criminalization of poverty has spread. The report includes: Poor people, especially people of color, face a far greater risk of being fined, arrested, and even incarcerated for minor offenses than other Americans. A broken taillight, an unpaid parking ticket, a minor drug offense, …

Don’t blame the poor for our crappy economy

From the Economic Policy Institute: Since 1979, increasing inequality has been the largest poverty-boosting factor, outweighing racial identity and family structure and completely eclipsing the effects of overall economic growth and educational attainment in driving down the poverty rate. You can see charts and such here.