Have you filed your taxes yet? I certainly hope so – as we were reminded in countless news stories and in tv commercials that April 15 (or this year, the 17th since the 15th fell on a Sunday) was the due date for taxes. As I worked through my forms, and submitted them online, I kept reflecting on the fact that I was doing my part. My taxes fund infrastructure, programs, and services that almost [...]
I don’t make a habit of reading Esquire. It’s a magazine for men and I don’t fit their demographic. Still, this fascinating article in the April issue, “The War Against Youth,” by Stephen Marche, came through my work email by way of a couple different sources (both men), and caught my attention. As a relatively young person (under 30) in the child advocacy world, this article had implications both for my work and for my [...]
When Governor Beshear authorized a Commission to tackle tax reform early last month, he outlined clear goals for the 22 Commissioners. In the words from the Governor’s Office: Fairness: The tax system should treat people equitably. The Commission will review the tax burden that different taxpayers shoulder, from Kentucky families to Kentucky businesses, from small businesses to big businesses, and within different industry sectors in the state. Competitiveness: Any changes to the tax system should [...]
In Frankfort this week, the House Appropriations and Revenue Committee and leadership will be putting together a budget proposal to be voted on by the full House next week. According to reports, the House is planning to pass a budget similar to the budget Governor Beshear presented, which includes the following components critical to children: Expands funding for front line social workers. Protects the Department for Community Based Services budget from cuts. Adds $15 million [...]
President Obama released his proposed federal budget earlier this month. Last week, Voices for America’s Children presented its analysis of the president’s budget, an in-depth look at how children fare under Obama’s spending blueprint. While our state legislators are busy working out a state budget during these difficult economic times, President Obama was under tremendous pressure to cut spending and curb the national debt. Overall, the president’s budget protects services for children, especially those in [...]
few months ago in Washington, Congress passed a temporary reauthorization of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block-grant program in order to prevent it from completely running out. TANF provides cash assistance to families with children that are unable to meet basic needs, while requiring work activities of parents to move families toward self-sufficiency. We were relieved by that temporary reauthorization, but hoped TANF would be improved to better meet the needs of children [...]
It should not be a surprise to regular readers of KY Kids in Focus that the recession continues to take a heavy toll on Kentucky children and their families. As previous posts have illustrated, participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program remains high, as does unemployment. A new report from First Focus, The Recession’s Ongoing Impact on America’s Children: Indicators of Children’s Economic Well-Being Through 2011, takes a comprehensive look at this and compares three [...]
Last week, the Census Bureau released findings from the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM). Unlike the official federal poverty measure, covered in KYA’s earlier releases, the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) is designed to act as a more comprehensive gauge of poverty. The official federal poverty measure has been based on an old assumption about a family’s basic needs which no longer holds true in today’s society – that the average family spends one-third of its income [...]
Recent poverty numbers have been at the forefront of our minds since the Census released two new sets of data this month. We’ve been talking about how child poverty and overall poverty have been increasing while median household income has decreased. The monthly economic indicators that we track from August echo the Census data, painting a pretty bleak picture about Kentucky’s economy and the welfare of children and families. Kentucky is not going to make [...]
It came as little surprise last week when we learned that more Kentuckians, and more kids, are living in poverty now than in recent years. In 2010, 26.3 percent of Kentucky’s children were living in poverty – that’s more than one in four. And 19 percent of the total Kentucky population, almost one in five, was living in poverty. For a family of four – poverty means a yearly income of $22,050 or less. However, [...]