Dear John,
In case you missed it...this week the Voices for Human Needs blog looks back on how the last government shutdown -- the longest in U.S. history -- affected small-town America. And we bring you a first-person account of growing up in poverty, and how the recent spike in poverty in our country is no accident. Finally, we release the newest Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship, which this week reports on the twin threats of a government shutdown and deep cuts to critical programs that help Americans most in need. Please share!
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This week on the blog...
Shutdown Central
September 28
Editor's note: Many Americans believe that most federal workers live in or around Washington, D.C. In reality, federal workers live in every state in the country, every congressional district, and every U.S. territory. For example, the "red" states of Alabama, Utah, and West Virginia have a disproportionate number of federal workers, compared to the national average. This CHN blog post, published on January 17, 2019 during the longest shutdown in U.S. history, examines how communities in Huntsville, Alabama, Ogden, Utah, and Clarksville, West Virginia were affected. READ MORE »
Poverty just jumped -- and it was no accident
September 27
After hitting a record low of 7.8 percent in 2021, new data shows the government’s Supplemental Poverty Measure jumped to 12.4 percent last year. That’s a nearly 60 percent increase. And it’s all because politicians allowed proven income support programs to expire. I’m an expert on poverty. I’ve lived it most of my life in Iowa. I studied it as a Bill Emerson National Hunger Fellow in rural West Virginia and in Washington, D.C.. And now I help people experiencing poverty across the country tell their own stories to change policy. READ MORE »
CHN's latest Human Needs Watch: Tracking Hardship
September 26
The shutdown and deep cuts twin-threat edition. A small group of House Republicans want extreme cuts and items from the right-wing wish list in federal spending bills, If Speaker McCarthy would allow a stopgap spending bill that would be acceptable on a bipartisan basis to come to the floor, it would pass. But so far he is trying for a Republican bill, and so he – and the nation – are being held hostage. The twin threats before us are a (1) shutdown that, if it lasts longer than a few days, will slow or stop services, hurt workers, and threaten the economy and (2) ever harsher cuts and restrictions demanded as the price of keeping the government open. READ MORE »
ICYMI: CHN is collecting government shutdown-related commentary and analysis, official government documents, and action steps you can take and posting all of this useful information here. If you or your group has information that should be included in our FY 2024 Shutdown Central and Budget Resource Library, please email David Elliot at [email protected]
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