Posts Tagged Texas
Hunger and Texas
Posted by Rob Paterson in Context, Engagement, Local, Reinvention, The Collective Story on November 18th, 2009
KERA on point for what is really going on – has this on the state of hunger in the State:
Texas Ranks 2nd Worst In Hunger
A report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture released this week shows that Texas is the second worst in the nation when it comes to hunger, with some 16.3 percent of the households surveyed reporting low or very low food security for the period between 2006 and 2008.
Families facing very low food security in Texas reached 5.7 percent.
Overall, the percentage of families facing hunger reached 12.2 percent.
Mississippi reported the highest percentage of families facing hunger at 17.4 percent.
Officials from the North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank have reported sharp increases in demand from struggling families and individuals during the last two years.
This year, agencies working with the North Texas Food Bank reported demand from families seeking help for the first time rose 36 percent, and distribution has grown by 46 percent.
Sharply rising unemployment and lengthy administrative delays processing food stamps have exacerbated the situation for many families.
Read the entire report from the Department of Agriculture and learn more about how community organizations are helping struggling families in North Texas on the Community Voices page of KERA’s Economy Web site.
Representatives from several organizations, including 2-1-1 Texas and the North Texas Food Bank and Tarrant Area Food Bank, can help families locate food pantries in their area and help them apply for food stamps.
Unemployment and State Budgets
Posted by Rob Paterson in Journalism, Local on July 30th, 2009
KERA is running an ongoing story on the budget problems in the State of Texas caused by the inexorable rise in unemployment.
The Governor’s choice not to take all the Federal aid he could have might come back to haunt him. What’s going on in your state?
Texas Gov. Rick Perry told KERA’s Shelley Kofler that he stands by his decision to reject some $555 million in federal stimulus money earmarked for unemployment costs, even in the face of recent projections that Texas may have to borrow up to $2 billion to cover jobless claims.
Perry said it was too early to determine whether the estimate made by Texas Workforce Commission Chairman Tom Pauken earlier this week and reported by KERA was on target.
Rising unemployment has put pressure on state unemployment systems across the nation, many of which have already had to borrow from the federal government, according to an investigative collaboration between American Public Media’s Marketplace and ProPublica.
Growing jobless claims in Texas — where the unemployment rate now stands at 7.5 percent — have created what officials believe will be a $643 million shortfall in the unemployment fund between now and the end of September.
To learn more about unemployment in Texas and how to apply for benefits, go to the Jobs page of KERA’s Economy Web site. To learn about upcoming job fairs in North Texas, go to the Events page.
How big is the Safety Net? Tiny!
Posted by Rob Paterson in Context, Journalism, The Collective Story on July 16th, 2009
KERA’s Shelley Kofler broke a story last week that Texas would have to borrow money from the federal government to help pay for rising unemployment benefits this month.
Today, Dallas Morning News reporter Robert T. Garrett writes that the Texas Workforce Commission confirmed that the unemployment trust fund would run out of money early next week and the state will have to borrow $643 million to cover claims through Oct. 1.
In addition, Robert writes that some 82,000 unemployed Texans scheduled to exhaust their benefits this week would not receive immediate 13-week extensions as expected.
A TWC spokeswoman blamed the delay – which could be at least a couple months – on stringent federal rules for accessing the benefits and state computer problems.
The news comes at a time when unemployment levels are rising. The DMN story notes that about 285,000 Texans were on unemployment compensation in the six weeks ending June 27 – nearly triple the number from a year earlier.
As of early June, 14 states had run out of money to pay for unemployment benefits and were forced to borrow from the federal government. Source KERA
So the jobless numbers contain more pain and stress than we might imagine. If you lose your job, you will lose your home. If you cannot get a job again quickly, you may have nothing.
We have not talked much about this yet – there is a lot at stake – there is a lot that we can do.
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Facing the Mortgage Crisis is part of CPB's Public Service Media Economic Response Initiative.
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