Friday Musings - August 2, 2013

Karen Shirer and I had the privilege of visiting with retirees in the metro area yesterday. May I say this was the highlight of my week. They were thrilled and encouraged as we shared about our programs for families in transition and our goal of building family resiliency. They wanted to hear about the Farm Bill and its impact on our work. This stimulating conversation helped me see the theme in my blog this week..... that of education through the lifespan. I encourage you to reach out and involve our retirees throughout the state. They have much to share and their reflections are really inspirational. In the blog, share how you have reached out to retirees in your area of the state.

What Government Program Has Greatest Impact On Poverty?

Programs, Policy, Politics, and Poverty

 

As extension educators that work at the intersection of family, resources, and relationships there was plenty of news this week to keep us on our toes and attentive to how programs, policy, politics, and poverty intersect with our work. Representative Paul Ryan held a hearing titled, "The War on Poverty: A Progress Report." There was much discussion as to who was selected or not selected to testify and the absence of anyone on poverty on the panel. The good thing about this hearing it is brought up discussion of how poverty is measured and what impacts being in or out of poverty. Do you know there is a new poverty measurement - The Supplemental Poverty Measure that takes into account the impact of government programs and more realistic living costs in its calculations?  One blogger from the Economic Policy Institute states, "As the figure shows, Social Security is, by far, the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States. Without Social Security, an additional 8.3 percent of Americans, or over 25 million more people, would fall below the SPM poverty threshold. Refundable tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, kept 2.5 percent, or nearly 8 million Americans above the SPM poverty threshold. Other programs such as SNAP (food stamps), unemployment insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing subsidies also have a significant impact on the ability of families to stay afloat."  How do our educational programs acknowledge the importance of these programs on family resiliency?

The Toughest Questions Asked In A Harvard MBA Interview

These questions are designed to narrow down the more than 2,000 interviewees, chosen from 9,315 overall applicants, to about 1,100 who were accepted for one of the 941 seats in Harvard’s Class of 2015. I think these questions have relevance for us if we are in the beginning or middle of our careers, or thinking of retirement.  What do you think?

Explain to me something you're working on as if I were an eight-year-old?

Describe something that you should start doing, do more of, and do less of?

What's the one thing you'll never be as good at as others? 

What are the two best pieces of advice you have been given, and why? 

What do you want to be remembered as?

What is your definition of a leader? How do you fit that definition?

How do you make big decisions?

How would your parents describe you when you were twelve?

What is one thing I’d never have guessed about you, even after reading your application?

What is the one thing you would like me to remember about you?

What Happens on the Internet in One Minute?

A Powerful Use of Twitter: A mother and son say goodbye

"Over the weekend, Scott Simon has been, for lack of a better phrase, live-tweeting his mother's final days. In carefully worded posts Simon, who has spent years artfully telling stories as host of Weekend Edition Saturday on NPR, is sharing these intimate moments with strangers and friends alike." Twitter is accused of not allowing enough text.... this twitter exchange shows the power of few carefully chosen words.

Note from the author of this blog: Hello. I am Trish Olson, a program leader with the University of Minnesota Extension Center for Family Development. I write this blog primarily for the team I work with in Extension, and welcome others who find it a useful weekly reflection. My goals for writing this blog are to stimulate informal discussion, look at local and world events in the context of our work in the Center for Family Development, and perhaps put a smile on your face. I do heavily quote from other sources - but always put quotation marks in " " and cite the reference.  I really encourage the use of the comment function to fully benefit from this blog. If you have received this because someone forwarded it to you and  you would like to be added to the notification list contact me at pdolson@umn.edu. Have a nice day.

As the figure below shows, Social Security is, by far, the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States. Without Social Security, an additional 8.3 percent of Americans, or over 25 million more people, would fall below the SPM poverty threshold. Refundable tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, kept 2.5 percent, or nearly 8 million Americans above the SPM poverty threshold. Other programs such as SNAP (food stamps), unemployment insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing subsidies also have a significant impact on the ability of families to stay afloat. - See more at: http://www.epi.org/blog/social-security-effective-anti-poverty-program/#sthash.ztGFeqyW.dpuf

As the figure below shows, Social Security is, by far, the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States. Without Social Security, an additional 8.3 percent of Americans, or over 25 million more people, would fall below the SPM poverty threshold. Refundable tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, kept 2.5 percent, or nearly 8 million Americans above the SPM poverty threshold. Other programs such as SNAP (food stamps), unemployment insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing subsidies also have a significant impact on the ability of families to stay afloat. - See more at: http://www.epi.org/blog/social-security-effective-anti-poverty-program/#sthash.ztGFeqyW.dpuf

Tomorrow, the U.S. House Committee on the Budget is holding a hearing on the progress of the War on Poverty. While the United States is still slowly recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression, fortunately this time around government safety net programs have been in place to keep more people from falling into poverty. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) shows the strength of the government to mitigate the incidence of poverty.
As the figure below shows, Social Security is, by far, the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States. Without Social Security, an additional 8.3 percent of Americans, or over 25 million more people, would fall below the SPM poverty threshold. Refundable tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, kept 2.5 percent, or nearly 8 million Americans above the SPM poverty threshold. Other programs such as SNAP (food stamps), unemployment insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing subsidies also have a significant impact on the ability of families to stay afloat.
- See more at: http://www.epi.org/blog/social-security-effective-anti-poverty-program/#sthash.oGcGYdIA.dpuf

Tomorrow, the U.S. House Committee on the Budget is holding a hearing on the progress of the War on Poverty. While the United States is still slowly recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression, fortunately this time around government safety net programs have been in place to keep more people from falling into poverty. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) shows the strength of the government to mitigate the incidence of poverty.
As the figure below shows, Social Security is, by far, the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States. Without Social Security, an additional 8.3 percent of Americans, or over 25 million more people, would fall below the SPM poverty threshold. Refundable tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, kept 2.5 percent, or nearly 8 million Americans above the SPM poverty threshold. Other programs such as SNAP (food stamps), unemployment insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing subsidies also have a significant impact on the ability of families to stay afloat.
- See more at: http://www.epi.org/blog/social-security-effective-anti-poverty-program/#sthash.oGcGYdIA.dpuf

Tomorrow, the U.S. House Committee on the Budget is holding a hearing on the progress of the War on Poverty. While the United States is still slowly recovering from the worst recession since the Great Depression, fortunately this time around government safety net programs have been in place to keep more people from falling into poverty. The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) shows the strength of the government to mitigate the incidence of poverty.
As the figure below shows, Social Security is, by far, the most effective anti-poverty program in the United States. Without Social Security, an additional 8.3 percent of Americans, or over 25 million more people, would fall below the SPM poverty threshold. Refundable tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit, kept 2.5 percent, or nearly 8 million Americans above the SPM poverty threshold. Other programs such as SNAP (food stamps), unemployment insurance, Supplemental Security Income, and housing subsidies also have a significant impact on the ability of families to stay afloat.
- See more at: http://www.epi.org/blog/social-security-effective-anti-poverty-program/#sthash.oGcGYdIA.dpuf