Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : Formerly About Advanced Micro Devices -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Brumar89 who wrote (629741)	9/28/2011 9:50:49 AM
From: longnshort	3 Recommendations Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1578198

he'll make Government Motors charge you more for your next car than people of color. ted only buys foreign cars made in South Carolina

To: Brumar89 who wrote (629741)	9/28/2011 10:32:46 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1578198

Poverty grows in Rick Perry's Texas By Tami Luhby @ CNNMoney September 20, 2011 NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- Texas Governor Rick Perry likes to brag that his state is an economic powerhouse. But don't tell that to the nearly one in five Texans who are living below the poverty line. While it's true that Texas is responsible for 40% of the jobs added in the U.S. over the past two years, its poverty rate also grew faster than the national average in 2010. Texas ranks 6th in terms of people living in poverty. Some 18.4% of Texans were impoverished in 2010, up from 17.3% a year earlier, according to Census Bureau data released this week. The national average is 15.1%. And being poor in Texas isn't easy. The state has one of the lowest rates of spending on its citizens per capita and the highest share of those lacking health insurance. It doesn't provide a lot of support services to those in need: Relatively few collect food stamps and qualifying for cash assistance is particularly tough. "There are two tiers in Texas," said Miguel Ferguson, associate professor of social work at University of Texas at Austin. "There are parts of Texas that are doing well. And there is a tremendous number of Texans, more than Perry has ever wanted to acknowledge, that are doing very, very poorly." Perry, for his part, believes that creating jobs is the best way to help every Texan. The state is doing "everything we can to ensure that every Texan who wants a job has one," a spokeswoman for the governor said. Poor in the Lone Star State A combination of demographic and economic factors contribute to the high poverty rate in Texas, where many families, particularly in the southern swath, live in ramshackle housing with no utilities or indoor plumbing. More than half the state are minorities, many of them Hispanic. This population often has lower levels of education, making it harder for them to escape poverty, said Steve Murdock, sociology professor at Rice University. And the state's population is younger and the families there larger, on average, which also puts them at greater risk of being poor. Meanwhile, the Great Recession has driven a new crop of Texans into poverty's grip: the formerly middle class. Texas Neighborhood Services started seeing a crush of new people seeking help last year, said Bradley Manning, executive director of the Weatherford-based agency. Many of them were unemployed and couldn't find new positions, even after going through job training. "The middle class are losing their jobs and are not able to replace them fast enough," Manning said. "That's driving them straight into poverty." Even those lucky enough to get one of the new jobs created in Texas may still find themselves struggling to make ends meet. Many of the positions that have been created are on the lower end of the pay scale. Some 550,000 workers last year were paid at or below the federal minimum wage of $7.25, more than double the number making those wages in 2008, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. For someone working full-time, that's just over $15,000 a year before taxes, which is under the poverty line for a single parent with two children. Some 9.5% of Texas' hourly workforce are minimum-wage workers, the highest percentage in the nation -- a dubious title it shares with Mississippi. Little help for Texans in need For residents living in poverty, the state doesn't offer many services or even make federally-funded benefits easily accessible. For instance, it has one of the tightest income limits -- less than 12% of the poverty level -- to qualify for federal cash assistance payments and one of the most meager benefits, a maximum of about $260 a month for a family of three, said Celia Cole, senior research analyst at the Center for Public Policy Priorities, which advocates for low-income residents. The program serves less than 6% of poor children in the state. Texas' Medicaid program covers few non-disabled adults, instead providing health insurance mainly for children and senior citizens. And only an estimated 55% of those eligible for food stamps had signed up for the program in 2008, among the lowest participation rates in the country. Enrollment has since improved after the state legislature allocated more money for administering the system after coming under pressure from the federal government and being hit with a class action lawsuit. However, Cole says, need has greatly increased as well. Experts chalk up the minimal services and take-up rates to Texas' anti-welfare attitude. In the Lone Star State, you are expected to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. "The Texas mentality is you don't ask for help," Ferguson said. read more.............. money.cnn.com

To: Brumar89 who wrote (629741)	9/28/2011 10:44:07 AM
From: tejek	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 1578198

Latest Texas jobs figures shows net jobs loss, unemployment highest in 24 years By NBC's Michael Isikoff Texas Gov. Rick Perry's efforts to tout his record on jobs and the economy as a centerpiece of his presidential campagn took a hit today with new figures from one of his own state agencies: They show the Texas unemployment rate increased to 8.5% in August -- the highest level in more than 24 years and more than twice the rate when Perry took office in December 2000. The new unemployment rate for Texas is still below the national average of 9.1%. But the new figures from the Texas Workforce Commission included some disturbing trends: There was a net jobs loss of 1,300 in Texas during the month of August, even worse than than the latest national figures showing zero job growth. While the private sector did add 8,100 jobs in Texas during August, this was more than offset by a shrinking public sector resulting in the loss of 9,400 government jobs, state figures show. State officials blamed national economic trends. "Texas continues to feel the pressures of a stagnant national economy," said Texas Workforce Commmission chairman Tom Pauken. But the figures also show some key sectors of the Texas economy losing strength during the month: Trade and transportation, mining, information, and leisure all experienced job losses. Mark Lavergne, a spokesman for the commission, confirmed that the new unemployment rate of 8.5% -- up slightly from 8.4% the previous month -- is the highest unemployment rate for Texas since July, 1987. When Perry took office in December 2000 after George W. Bush resigned, the unemployment rate in Texas was 4.2% At this week's GOP presidential rate, Perry touted his record of "creating more than one million jobs" in Texas, but made no mention of the recent downward trends in the state's economy. A spokesman for his campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the latest figures. * UPDATE * Perry's campaign this afternoon responded: "Texas is not immune to the effects of the national recession," said Ray Sullivan, Perry's chief spokesman. "Yet Texas continues to outperform the rest of the country and is still home to roughly 40% of the net new jobs created nationwide since June 2009." He continued: "And even during this national economic downturn, which the president's misguided policies have only worsened, Texas remains the nation's top economy, attracting jobs and growing by more than 1,000 people a day. As president, Gov. Perry will get our nation's fiscal house in order, free employers from the onerous tax and regulatory burdens undermining our economy, and restore confidence in private sector job creators across this nation so we can get America working again." firstread.msnbc.msn.com