INDIANAPOLIS - Indiana is in the middle of the pack when it comes to the overall financial well-being of its residents, according to a recent state-by-state analysis. But while the 2014 Assets and Opportunity Scorecard ranked Indiana 31st among the states for financial security, it also found more than 44 percent of Hoosiers are liquid-asset-poor, meaning they have little or no savings to cover emergencies.

According to a professor of economics at Indiana University Southeast, Eric Schansberg, Indiana is one of several states that impose income taxes on the working poor, and that's hurting those who have trouble making ends meet.

"If you're struggling to make it and your income is at the poverty line, I think one could reasonably argue that you shouldn't be paying taxes to the state; you need all the money you can just to get by," he declared.

The scorecard ranked Indiana 17th for policies that help struggling families.

One notable policy measure the report finds in Indiana is a state Earned Income Tax Credit. While the report recommends the state credit should be at least 15 percent of the federal credit and Indiana's is 9 percent, Schansberg said it still helps.

"The Earned Income Tax Credit can offset some of the amazing damage that FICA taxes do to the working poor," he said. "If you're at the poverty line you lose about $3000 per year to FICA taxes and no one seems to talk about that."

FICA refers to the taxes that fund Social Security and Medicare.

Schansberg said the scorecard does a good job of tallying the complex factors influencing poverty, and adds that those factors should be taken into consideration as state leaders make policy decisions.

"You start with education and health care and the Earned Income Tax Credit, and so anything that makes a substantive difference, from skills and education to the way we treat people once they get in the labor market, all of those would be big steps forward for Indiana," he said.

Across the country in general, the report found a continuing decline in economic mobility and widening wealth and income inequality.

The scorecard is at AssetsandOpportunity.org.




get more stories like this via email

LINCOLN, Neb. - A coalition of Nebraska community organizations and supporters are collecting signatures for a ballot initiative that would raise the state's minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2026.

Nancy Williams, president and CEO of the group No More Empty Pots, said the measure can directly address poverty, which she believes is at the root of a host of challenges facing Nebraska families - from food and housing insecurity to educational opportunities for youths.

"When we have a higher wage for more workers," said Williams, "that will give them more income to be able to take care of basic needs."

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Nebraska consistently ranks among states with the highest number of people working multiple jobs to make ends meet.

Forty two percent of Nebraska's lowest-earning families spend more than a third of their income on housing alone.

Critics of raising the minimum wage have argued that it could hurt small businesses and claim most jobs paying basement wages are held by teenagers.

In 2014, Nebraska voters raised the minimum wage through ballot initiative from $8 to $9 an hour, which took effect in 2016. Tipped workers earn just $2.13 an hour.

Williams said raising the minimum wage will impact one in five Nebraska workers across the state, and most are not high school students making extra cash.

"Eighty one percent, from the data that we have, are aged 20 and older," said Williams. "About a third of those have a high school diploma. So it is not just for teenagers, it's for everyone who does the work."

Williams added that many teenagers contribute to their family's income, and all workers deserve to be paid a fair wage.

She said gradually increasing the minimum wage will increase opportunity for Nebraska families to thrive, and will also be an important step toward achieving racial and gender pay equity across the state.

The deadline to turn in at least 87,000 verified signatures to make the 2022 November 8 ballot is the first week of July next year.

HARTFORD, Conn. -- Caregivers at group homes in Connecticut have sent strike notices to two agencies after failure to reach contract agreements to increase wages and reduce health-insurance costs.

Roughly 500 union workers with the agencies Whole Life and Network Human Services are prepared to walk out Oct. 5.

After working through the pandemic understaffed and with low pay, group-home workers received $184 million from the state through the Service Employees International Union's (SEIU) Long-term Care Workers Bill of Rights. It would increase wages to $16.50 an hour this year, and $17.25 the following year.

Kevin Mackie, a direct support staff worker for 32 years at Network Human Services, said the agency will not discuss raises despite having the state funds.

"We're not talking a huge amount of money here," Mackie contended. "We've waited a very long time for raises. And it's been a very long time coming, because we are always forgotten. We're the forgotten employees working with the forgotten people."

Representatives from Whole Life and Network Human Services did not respond to requests for comment. Contract negotiations for Network employees are set to resume today. They have been without a contract since March. Whole Life workers have been without a new contract since 2019.

Kindra Fontes-May, organizer for SEIU 1199 New England, said it is also important to look at the workers' grievances through a racial-justice lens.

"Part of why the workforce is so forgotten is that the majority of the workforce is Black and brown, and primarily women; white, working-class people," Fontes-May outlined. "And when you deal with populations like that, who are also giving care to folks that are disabled, it is very easy to overlook it."

Fontes-May added many Connecticut group-home workers have requested racial-justice language be included in their new contracts. So far, facility administrators have not agreed.

MADISON, Wis. - New polling data from a dozen states, including Wisconsin, show public support for a key part of the Biden administration's economic agenda. Groups that advocate for caregivers hope it translates into action.

According to the left-leaning Data for Progress, 67% of likely Wisconsin voters back the administration's Build Back Better initiative being hammered out in Congress. Supporters say the budget-reconciliation package would address investment shortfalls in many areas, including for people who work as caregivers.

Robert Kraig, executive director of Citizen Action of Wisconsin, said boosting caregivers' wages would help throughout the state.

"All of Wisconsin," he said, "and especially areas that lack a lot of good, living-wage jobs, like our rural areas."

The administration is asking Congress to invest $400 billion to expand access to home- and community-based care, for the nation's aging population and people living with disabilities. Aside from Republican opposition, the $3.5 trillion package faces pushback from business groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

However, Mary Kay Henry, international president of the Service Employees International Union, said opponents shouldn't overlook the new polling data. She said it points to demand for policymakers to carve out better futures for Americans struggling to achieve economic stability.

"And in red states, blue states, purple states, investing in care jobs is an urgent priority," she said, "and it's broadly popular among Republicans, Independents and Democrats alike."

For Wisconsin, the poll found 83% of likely voters backing investments in long-term care under the Biden plan. A majority also backs how the plan is paid for, including 76% of respondents who say they support increasing the capital gains tax on wealthy Americans.