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Day two of David Pecker testimony wraps in NY Trump trial; Supreme Court hears arguments on Idaho's near-total abortion ban; ND sees a flurry of campaigning among Native candidates; and NH lags behind other states in restricting firearms at polling sites.

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The Senate moves forward with a foreign aid package. A North Carolina judge overturns an aged law penalizing released felons. And child protection groups call a Texas immigration policy traumatic for kids.

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Wyoming needs more educators who can teach kids trade skills, a proposal to open 40-thousand acres of an Ohio forest to fracking has environmental advocates alarmed and rural communities lure bicyclists with state-of-the-art bike trail systems.

A Tale of Two Minnesotas: Poverty Rates Spike for Communities of Color

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Thursday, September 30, 2010   

ST. PAUL, Minn. - The number of Minnesotans living in poverty spiked to more than a half-million in 2009 and racial disparities grew wider, according to a report released this week by the U.S. Census Bureau.

While the overall poverty rate in Minnesota rose to 11 percent, poverty among black and American Indian communities rose to 35 percent; in the Latino community, to 26 percent. Christina Wessel, deputy director of the Minnesota Budget Project, says the data depicts a "tale of two Minnesotas."

"There was an increase in poverty among white Minnesotans, but it's still a whole other world, where poverty rates there are eight percent and the median income among white Minnesotans is still above the national average – whereas when you look at Latinos, blacks, and American Indians, it's just a completely different story."

Wessel believes a decade of significant cuts to the state's safety net has contributed to the rise in poverty; as a result, she says, Minnesotans have been unable to receive assistance when they need it the most.

Brian Rusche, executive director of the Joint Religious Legislative Coalition, agrees. He says the state cannot afford to back off from public efforts to address poverty.

"The cost of not acting is that we increase social costs. We don't address the learning gap, we see poorer health outcomes, and more and more people feel like they don't have a stake in their communities. That's just extremely damaging for everybody."

Both Rusche and Wessel acknowledge that state policymakers face tough decisions in the next legislative session, but they also see simple, short-term measures that can go a long way toward stemming the poverty rates.

Emergency assistance was one of the programs cut several years ago, says Wessel. She cites the example of a family with a costly car repair, facing a decision between paying the rent or fixing the car to provide transportation to work.

"Emergency assistance would give them a one-time benefit, just to help them cover those expenses so that they could maintain their car, maintain their employment, maintain their housing, maintain their health insurance. Just simple, one-time help kept these people from falling into crisis."

In its 2009 report, the State Commission to End Poverty by 2020 detailed strategies for addressing the issue. Wage subsidies are one short-term solution that merits consideration, says Rusche.

"Give incentives to businesses and nonprofits who are otherwise agonizing whether they should do one more hire or not. They're just not sure how the economy is going, and so they're very reluctant to make that choice. If we can push them into the positive with a wage subsidy, we will accelerate the recovery."



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