MONDAY | MAY 20, 2013
E. Kentucky Group: Diverse Economy can Replace Coal
A more broad-based economy in Eastern Kentucky and Central Appalachia is needed following news that coal production in the eastern portion of the state has dropped to its lowest level since 1965 and 4,000 regional jobs in the industry disappeared last year, a group said last month. Citing state of Kentucky and federal statistics, [...] 
Weeks after a political stalemate set in motion $85 billion in federal spending cuts for fiscal year 2013, sequestration has shifted from a political debate in the halls of Congress to a looming reality in neighborhood streets – especially in some of the poorest areas of the country. In Georgia, the drop in federal dollars [...]
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Squabbling away the hours, the Senate swatted aside last-ditch plans to block $85 billion in broad-based federal spending reductions Thursday as Republicans and Democrats blamed each other for the latest outbreak of gridlock and the Obama administration readied plans to put the cuts into effect. So entrenched were the two parties that [...]
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Unless sequestration is stopped by an act of Congress, the budget cutting will take effect on Friday, reducing funding to thousands of programs that took years to build, and provide a safety net for millions of poor working families. Under the plan, every dollar approved each year by Congress would be slashed by a uniform [...]
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Atlanta City Council Passes Jobs Legislation to Help Low-Income Residents
February 6, 2013
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The Atlanta City Council strengthened its commitment to jobs for low-income residents on Monday by approving a hiring and training ordinance. Residents and community groups had called on the City Council to pass it. Known as “First Source Hiring,” the ordinance seeks to lower poverty and unemployment through apprenticeship, recruitment, hiring and training programs, city officials said. The [...]
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Investments in Education, Health Care Can Bridge Gap Between Rich and Poor
January 16, 2013
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Alabama has one of the nation’s biggest shares of working families who make below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, according to a report released this week by the Working Poor Families Project a national initiative focused on state workforce development policies. Ten other states rank higher than Alabama in working family poverty: Arizona, [...]
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WASHINGTON (AP) — While the tax package that Congress passed New Year’s Day will protect 99 percent of Americans from an income tax increase, most of them will still end up paying more federal taxes in 2013. That’s because the legislation did nothing to prevent a temporary reduction in the Social Security payroll tax from [...]
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Highlights of a tentative agreement Monday between the White House and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., aimed at averting wide tax increases and budget cuts scheduled to take effect in the new year. The measure would raise taxes by about $600 billion over 10 years. Still unresolved is how to avert across-the-board spending cuts [...]
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WASHINGTON (AP) — Amid partisan bluster, top members of Congress and President Barack Obama were holding out slim hopes for a limited fiscal deal before the new year. But even as congressional leaders prepared to convene at the White House, there were no signs that legislation palatable to both sides was taking shape. The Friday [...]
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