An estimated 6 million people—2 percent of the US population—have no income other than food stamps.

[MindMover]

"Additionally, welfare reform has led to an increase in the number of people living in deep poverty—living on less than about $11,000 for a family of four—as more families are forced to go without any cash assistance at all. The number of people in deep poverty climbed from 12.6 million people in 2000 to an astonishing 20.5 million people, or 6.7 percent of the population, in 2010."

For two years running Houston has added more millionaires to its population than any other city in the United States. Near-millionaires are enjoying some nice upward mobility, especially those involved in the oil and gas industry.

Low-wage workers, on the other hand, aren’t faring too well in the city. In fact, a recent report from Houston Interfaith Worker Justice (HIWJ) estimates that low-wage workers lose $753.2 million annually due to wage theft. Wage theft can occur in many ways, including: workers being denied the minimum wage or overtime pay; stolen tips; illegal deductions from paychecks; people being forced to work off the clock; or workers getting misclassified as independent contractors so they aren’t entitled to overtime or benefits.

“We’re not talking about a worker here or a worker there, it’s something that has a lot of ripple effects,” says José Eduardo Sanchez, campaign organizer with HIWJ. “It impacts families, communities and local economies.”

Although there are laws on the books against wage theft, there are problems with understaffing, enforcement, and jurisdiction disputes in institutions like the Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, the Texas Workforce Commission, and the courts.

http://www.thenation.com/blog/168066/week-poverty-wage-theft-city-millionaires


If the above numbers don't fry your brain, these will.....

Average Monthly Benefit Per Person.....

SUPPLEMENTAL NUTRITION ASSISTANCE PROGRAM: AVERAGE MONTHLY BENEFIT PER PERSON
(Data as of April 30, 2012)
State/Territory FY 2007 FY 2008 FY 2009 FY 2010 FY 2011

Alabama 91.80 96.79 119.14 126.90 135.18
Alaska 127.69 137.87 167.77 173.78 170.83
Arizona 98.95 102.56 125.29 129.95 128.70
Arkansas 90.50 95.17 115.53 122.59 123.72
California 104.56 112.43 136.75 146.52 147.12
Colorado 103.24 107.11 131.26 141.62 140.29
Connecticut 99.21 105.31 134.65 141.26 142.47
Delaware 92.69 96.49 118.31 126.77 126.80
District of Columbia 100.12 104.65 128.66 137.77 141.68
Florida 94.65 101.87 126.70 141.40 139.55
Georgia 98.76 104.19 125.95 134.35 135.37
Guam 174.38 179.76 208.47 218.22 216.25
Hawaii 145.55 159.34 199.02 216.01 215.38
Idaho 91.88 96.95 122.90 128.65 131.95
Illinois 104.65 110.19 132.36 141.00 139.15
Indiana 96.10 103.31 126.32 132.29 131.66
Iowa 92.81 98.66 118.56 128.84 126.33
Kansas 88.10 93.86 114.61 124.40 126.34
Kentucky 93.33 97.66 119.00 127.05 127.60
Louisiana 95.60 108.04 128.86 129.77 130.59
Maine 87.42 94.52 121.20 129.17 128.43
Maryland 93.67 100.01 122.69 130.45 129.19
Massachusetts 86.20 96.65 122.90 129.70 132.29
Michigan 94.63 99.89 121.06 131.77 136.18
Minnesota 89.36 93.44 114.18 121.00 115.04
Mississippi 86.79 92.59 113.83 122.54 123.29
Missouri 92.51 96.31 118.16 125.86 127.05
Montana 93.47 97.65 121.29 129.54 129.66
Nebraska 87.36 97.09 111.67 121.60 122.69
Nevada 91.18 97.88 119.04 124.23 124.36
New Hampshire 88.10 93.58 122.40 121.21 119.54
New Jersey 97.19 101.43 125.06 138.03 133.26
New Mexico 88.65 93.48 117.62 126.54 127.07
New York 107.49 109.78 141.90 150.63 148.63
North Carolina 91.77 97.19 119.11 128.24 124.58
North Dakota 95.83 102.02 124.94 132.21 131.25
Ohio 100.04 108.22 133.04 141.72 139.87
Oklahoma 90.77 97.72 117.44 128.71 128.43
Oregon 90.73 96.27 119.21 126.11 128.25
Pennsylvania 92.40 97.30 118.40 123.43 128.40
Rhode Island 97.57 105.77 138.85 142.49 142.91
South Carolina 94.47 99.87 121.42 131.34 132.21
South Dakota 97.67 103.27 125.34 133.80 132.70
Tennessee 96.70 101.95 124.66 133.86 133.82
Texas 93.52 100.98 122.07 127.82 125.57
Utah 89.90 93.75 118.40 123.58 117.75
Vermont 88.16 92.77 114.66 121.11 122.10
Virginia 89.23 93.26 118.00 128.63 129.55
Virgin Islands 131.93 139.91 172.21 176.22 176.11
Washington 93.33 97.65 114.59 120.87 126.62
West Virginia 85.05 91.56 111.25 118.94 119.81
Wisconsin 79.12 84.76 103.42 116.57 116.28
Wyoming 93.20 97.27 115.45 123.75 122.96
TOTAL 96.18 102.19 125.31 133.79 133.85

The following outlying areas receive Nutrition Assistance Grants which provide benefits analogous to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program: Puerto Rico, American Samoa, and the Northern Marianas. Annual averages are total benefits divided by total annual participation. All data are subject to revision.

[dana_b]

1. holy hell

literally it has to be hell for these people. We all know that it has been getting worse but to see these numbers it just knocks me for a loop.

Now what can we do? Politicians don't seem to care or say their hands are tied. It seems that it is up to us - we are on our own, in many ways, and we need to look out for each other. We are all one job loss away from this and so many of us here are going through it now. I feel so lucky to have the people in my life that I do have.

[MindMover]

3. "Good People in you life", is a key to surviving the onslaught of greed in this world....

[jwirr]

2. I don't understand. A family of 4 with no income should be eligible for whatever they call welfare

today. That is cash assistance plus food stamps and medical assistance. Why are they not eligible?

[dana_b]

5. A small part of the problem

and from the same article:
"In California, people with convictions for non-violent drug-related offenses are banned for life from receiving TANF cash assistance (called “CalWORKs”), as they are in twelve other states."

So if I as a single mother EVER was charged with a misdemeanor drug possession, I cannot receive welfare in California. There are some other reasons outlined in the article but this is some of the b.s. that the poor have to deal with.

[jwirr]

6. Wow. Who is thinking about the kids?

[Harmony Blue]

11. They don't care

once the child is born it is not their problem.

[jwirr]

15. Understood.

[Dragonfli]

7. There is no welfare, Newt and Bill killed that in the nineties, there is now "temporary assistance"

AKA "welfare to work" and it varies from state to state, in NY where I live, no matter what, you can only receive it for two years and they only allow about $375 a month for rent and all utilities, also, if you can do menial labor, they will put you to work in a program for 40 hours a week (with no extra money besides your initial grant), they have turned it into a form of slave labor, Clinton thought this was what was best for the people, so does our current party leadership.

It is what it is, there is no welfare anymore, get used to that idea and all the poverty and slave labor that goes with it.

No Democrats appear to have a problem with that, none at all.
The journey to the darkside is almost complete.

[kentuck]

4. 50% of the workers in this nation make less than $26,000 per year.

...and we have Democrats that want to classify "middle-class" at $1 million dollars for tax purposes?

And we have a President that has stated that he would never raise taxes on anyone making less than $250K per year? Folks, that is the top 2% of wage earners in this country. That is not "middle-class".

[Fumesucker]

12. I already had this link in my clipboard and it fits here quite nicely..

[woo me with science]

14. Thank you.

There is a great illusion fed to Americans every single day, lies about ourselves and how we are doing.

Our corporate TV shows a thriving, upwardly mobile America.

They can get away with this sort of political misdirection, because many still think we have a middle class.

[coalition_unwilling]

8. USA! USA! USA! :sarcasm: - n/t

[woo me with science]

9. Kick nt

[woo me with science]

10. Kick

[woo me with science]

13. Kick