Unemployment Numbers Surprising; Gov Stim Bill To The Rescue

The numbers of welfare applicants is in and it tells a sobering story of what is going on in these United States.

There are 15 states that are recording a 10% increase in welfare cases, such as Illinois, New York, Arizona and others. The 8 states left, all three states on the west coast, Colorado, Ohio, Maryland, South Carolina, Florida all claim to have seen an increase of welfare cases in their state of more than 30% from last year.

Of the 50 States, only six states have a 10% or more decrease in welfare cases for a year ago: New Jersey, Georgia, Indiana, Louisiana, Oklahoma and Texas. While 18 states have seen little or no change in the number of welfare cases, it seems unemployment payments are catching the unemployed and keeping them out of teh welfare lines for now.

Also, it is easier to qualify for…

… food stamps than welfare. The average income qualifying for welfare has to be BELOW $636/month for a household of three (stat from one state.. other states are different – but not by much). The same household earning over $2000 a month can qualify for food stamps without much trouble. (To apply for food stamps, click here.)

Recipients on Welfare

The past 13 years have seen a decrease of the number of people on welfare.

Year Number of Monthly Welfare Recipients
2007: 3,880,321
2006: 4,074,689
2005: 4,386,206
2004: 4,695,211
2003: 4,843,562
2002: 5,013,728
2001: 5,276,319
2000: 5,527,071
1999: 6,175,831
1998: 7,578,222
1997: 9,326,683
1996: 11,533,710

Source: Dept. of Health and Human Services

One might assume there to be a huge surplus due to several years with very low welfare recipient numbers. Not so.

A friend who has a full time researcher assistant on task looking into this asserts daunting new numbers of unemployed in Tennessee and a couple of other states. In Michigan, more than 1.4 million people are receiving food stamps, this number is up by 13% .

It turns out in these states, they are reducing how much they are doling out per welfare recipient due to the required stretch of the dollar to include more families. One woman who was recently unemployed said she is getting only under $300 a month, down from what the had offered in the beginning.

The new numbers: in some areas, they are reporting 72% unemployment, 80% unemployment in another county. At best, these people are getting 6 months unemployment (if they remain unemployed for that duration) and 6 months severance pay.

These people are going to have to be really resourceful with these funds to put them to best use. If no one gets new employ, that means 72% unemployment in certain areas in 12 months. Not an option!

What’s in place to meet this right now?

The lack of increase of applications for welfare during the worst recession in a generation is making people scratch their head.

According to Mark H. Greenberg of Georgetown University’s Center on Poverty, Inequality and Public Policy, the extension of unemployment benefits recently passed by Congress is keeping the unemployed funded for longer. According to Don Winstead, DS of Florida’s Department of Children and Families , the extended unemployment benefits are doing what they were designed to do (be the first safety net) and that without this in place, the number of welfare applicants would have been far. In Florida, they are up by 14% when compared to the rates in June one year ago.

The lengthened term Congress just passed, is as long as 59 weeks in some states. This is how, he believes, the unemployed are not showing up in the welfare lines just yet.

The TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) is the program that replaced the federal welfare program in 1996. The federal funds are handed to each state to hand to its citizens. Look for the TANF post to apply for temporary assistance on this blog. Also at your state’s site, you will finder a number of other programs you can also apply for. Many do not know that they can apply for several programs at once. Each state is different and names their programs differently.
Click this link for the list of links for TANF in your state.

How Has the Government Responded? Stimulus Grants

The federal government’s stimulus $5 billion plan is aimed to help states where the numbers applying and receiving welfare is increasing. It also funds the increases on employment subsidies.

Up until now, the only states to have gotten their share of the $5 billion are Ohio and California. According to Jeffrey Kelley, spokesman for the Department of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children and Families, thirty eight other states said they plan to apply.

Here’s the White House most recent update. To read the White House Stimulus Grant Reports on each state click here..

To look into what you can qualify for from funds disbursed by the Recovery Act, click here.

At this last mentioned site, you will find info on Recovery Jobs, Summer Recovery Jobs, Government Grant Opportunities, ‘Biz Opps’ and more. Also, info on just plain old where the Recovery Act money is going. Pass this info along to those you think could use it.
Again it is this government site.

Take Care.