March 3, 2010 archive

  This may be the only time in my life I will ever utter these words: “We could learn a lot from Indonesia.”

 Indonesian police have used tear gas and water canon to disperse about 2,000 anti-government protesters who tried to enter the parliament building in the capital, Jakarta.

  The scuffles broke out on Tuesday as members of parliament began a debate over the possible impeachment of the country’s vice-president and finance minister.

…

  His vice president, Boediono, and finance minister, Sri Mulyani Indrawati, approved the bailout and opposition leaders have demanded their resignation saying they must be held accountable for losses to the state.

 What an amazing concept!

 Imagine holding politicians accountable for the loss of public funds from controversial bank bailouts in 2008. Imagine the citizens of the nation taking the time off from watching TV to protest the funneling of taxpayer money to wealthy, politically-connected investors.

  I wonder if such wacky ideas could catch on in America?

I’ve been poor, and I’ve been not so poor — and not being Poor is better.

Finally after 50 years of treating those in Poverty, as a bothersome statistic, the Federal Govt has begun to acknowledge, that there ARE individual stories, in that invisible demographic group:

Federal Gov’t Expands How It Measures Poverty

The Census Bureau will expand how it measures poverty beyond just cash income to get a more accurate picture of what people actually have to spend.

Frank James, NPR — March 2, 2010

NPR’s Pam Fessler summed up the changes for network’s newscast:

Things such as taxes, child care, housing and out-of-pocket medical expenses, along with the value of government benefits such as food stamps, will be included in the calculation. The official poverty measure, which is based on an individual’s cash income, will still be used to determine eligibility for government programs. The supplemental measure will be used to study poverty trends and the impact of anti-poverty programs. The change is something that’s been long sought by poverty experts. The new measure will be available next year.

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetw…