Tag: poverty

States Are Hoarding $5.2 Billion in Welfare Funds Even as the Need for Aid Grows

When Congress passed welfare reform in 1996, states were given more autonomy over how they could use federal funding for aid to the poor. They could demand welfare recipients find work before receiving cash assistance. They could also use their federal “block grants” to fund employment and parenting courses or to subsidize childcare.

Twenty-five years later, however, states are using this freedom to do nothing at all with large sums of the money.

According to recently released federal data, states are sitting on $5.2 billion in unspent funds from the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, or TANF. Nearly $700 million was added to the total during the 2019 and 2020 fiscal years, with Hawaii, Tennessee and Maine hoarding the most cash per person living at or below the federal poverty line.

States have held on to more of this welfare money amid rising poverty. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 16.1% of children under age 18 lived in poverty in 2020, up from 14.4% the year before. The poverty rate also ticked up for people aged 18 to 64, from 9.4% to 10.4%. As unused TANF dollars have accumulated, applications to the cash assistance program have waned, though it’s not for a lack of need, say experts and people who have applied to the program.

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Gov’t Threatens Kodak Black with Cease and Desist Over Donating AC Units to Housing Projects

In July of this year, as residents of the Golden Acres Projects sweltered in their homes during an oppresive Florida heatwave, rapper Kodak Black decided to step in and help them out. On the 4th of July, Black arrived in the neighborhood with a truck full of 100 AC units to hand out. He went door to door himself to hand out the units.

“We out here passing out AC units, helping install them,” Kodak said in a video posted to social media. “We do it for the projects, we do it for the projects. The people relying on just enough cash to survive. We’ll get you all ACs man, we out here.”

Many of the residents were brought to tears by the kind act which may have quite literally saved some of their lives.

“A lot of times people get it twisted. They be like, ‘Man, Kodak sleep, Kodak this, Kodak that.’ Well check this out. Kodak back in his hood, man, giving back. It’s nothing new. You just happen to be a part of it today, that’s it.”

While the community celebrated their new AC units and the fact that they could now cool their homes, the government was working behind the scenes to do what government does.

Fast forward to this month and the Housing Authority of Pompano Beach made sure that no good deed goes unpunished. TMZ reports the Housing Authority of Pompano Beach issued a cease and desist letter to Kodak, claiming that he caused “disturbances” when delivering air-conditioning units to a housing project in July.

“Your actions have adversely impacted the Property’s residents’ right to peacefully enjoy the property,” the letter reads, according to TMZ.

The authority also claimed that the rapper’s subsequent music video, which was shot in the same location, also caused a “disturbance.”

Others disagree, however, and Black’s attorney, Bradford Cohen, responded with a letter of his own reprimanding the housing authority for their “wish to stop the assistance to the elderly and underprivileged during a heat wave and 2 year pandemic.”

The Libertarian Party VP candidate for 2020, Spike Cohen, also shared some harsh words about the government’s response to a rapper donating AC units to those in need.

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Pelosi Raises Salary Cap For House Staffers to $199,300 as Biden Inflation Hurts American Families

Speaker Pelosi on Thursday announced House staffers can earn up to $199,300 salary.

Pelosi raised the salary cap for top staffers from $173,900 to $199,300 to help recruit top talent.

“As Speaker, I have been proud to take steps to ensure a diversity of experience and talent among staff, so that the halls of Congress, at every level, truly reflect those who we are honored to serve,” Pelosi announced.

“To that end, today, it is my privilege to announce an important new reform for our institution: raising the maximum annual rate of pay for staff to $199,300. This order will help the Congress recruit and retain the outstanding and diverse talent that we need, as it also helps ensure parity between employees of the House of Representatives and other employees of the Federal Government,” she added.

Meanwhile inflation and rising gas prices are hurting American families.

Gas prices have spiked 41% since Joe Biden was installed in January.

The national average for a gallon of gas is $3.186 – over a $1 per gallon increase in the last year.

U.S. producer price inflation soars 7.8% annually in July, the highest increase on record.
The “experts” said it was going to come down from 7.2% this month. Boy were they wrong.

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Bill Gates Smiles When Suggesting the Nonvaccinated Should Be Withheld Their Social Security Benefits

Wow was this weird.  Bill Gates acts like he is some sort of COVID king and smiles when it’s suggested that the elderly should be withheld their social security checks if they refuse to get vaccinated.  

In a recent tweet of an interview, Bill Gates, the founder of Microsoft, acts like he is President and king of COVID.  He smiles when it’s suggested that the elderly should be withheld their social security checks until they get vaccinated with the COVID vaccine.

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Influential neo-Nazi eats at soup kitchens, lives in government housing

A fan of Charles Manson and follower of Hitler, James Mason published essays in the 1980s that now act as the inspiration for a militant neo-Nazi group linked to multiple murders in the U.S.

“Revolutionary discipline must mean that WE will be the single survivor in a war against the System,” Mason wrote in 1985. “A TOTAL WAR against the System.”

But nowadays, Mason isn’t waging war with the system. He is, in fact, dependent on it.

The 67-year-old white supremacist lives in a government subsidized apartment in Denver and eats at soup kitchens.

In a brief interview last week, a few days after he was spotted picking up a meal at a city-run center for “homeless and hungry seniors,” Mason said he sees no contradiction between his writings and his lifestyle.

“Guerilla warfare, man. Guerilla warfare,” Mason told NBC’s Denver affiliate KUSA. “You’ve gotta take what you have to get what you need.”

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Phase 2 of Austin’s homeless camping ban enforcement begins Sunday

 Phase 2 of the City of Austin’s plan to begin the recently reenacted ban on homeless camping across the city begins on Sunday. Austin officials will start issuing written warnings and citations to those in violation.

This comes after the approval of Proposition B in the May election, which makes it a criminal offense (a Class C misdemeanor punishable by a fine) for anyone to camp in public areas, sit or lie down in the downtown or University of Texas campus areas, or solicit at specific hours and locations.

Over the past 30 days, in Phase 1 of the approach, police and other City departments have been visiting dozens of encampments across the area to provide information to those experiencing homelessness about how the new ordinance affects them. They have been worked to help people comply with the rules while also prioritizing heal and safety, as well as connecting people to the right resources and services.

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