Foundation Journal

As a followup to a post from last year on ways Missouri legislators and government officials drive low-income workers into poverty, I have collected another set of roadblocks unfairly placed on poor people. The list this time includes corporations that have developed products and services that target low-income or vulnerable populations. 1. Block Medicaid Expansion. FamiliesUSA infographic (click for full size view) Missouri legislators get the prize for going the extra mile on this. Even strongly Republican-led states like Indiana , Tennessee , Utah and Wyoming  are either considering expanding or have decided to expand Medicaid, a state-administered health program supporting very low-income workers and their families. Wyoming's plan to expand Medicaid will provide 17,600 people with access to health care, plus provide 800 jobs. States like Wyoming are realizing that expanding Medicaid relieves hospitals from uncompensated costs. “I will do everything I can to pre...

In 2004 an encounter with a methamphetamine addict enlightened me to the devastating impact the drug holds on those that use it. In reaction to a shaky personal relationship with a boyfriend, we co-signed a car loan for a family member to help her keep her job at an area retailer. She seemed to be inspired by the work for the national retail outlet, rising to a manager position and receiving a wage sufficient to keep her in an apartment. Early signs appeared that made us question the relationship -- more than one physical attack by her boyfriend, frequently moving to different apartments, loss of the good-paying job. One occurrence resulted in his breaking into our home in search for his girlfriend and their newborn baby. His threatening behavior caused my daughters to hide in the corner of the basement, while my wife talked him out of the house and waiting for police to arrive. Another early sign -- during attendance at a concert at Sandstone Ampitheatre in Kansas I remember him wal...

Local, state, and federal agency representatives spoke about efforts to extend broadband connectivity to small businesses and individuals as a crucial stepping stone towards economic development and civic involvement. The speakers were part of a presentation during the "Broadband Technology Summit" held as part of the United Minority Media Association's Midwest/Southeast conference on October 15. Calvin Osborne, an attorney with the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), underscored the urgency in improving broadband -- essentially fast Internet access -- to keep the US from lagging behind other nations. While the US is 24th worldwide in broadband adoption, the real gap is found in low-income urban households and rural areas in the US. He spoke about FCC's expansive efforts to increase "digital literacy" for both individuals and small businesses. (Photo caption -- from left: Bill Grace, WEB Dubois Center; LT Toombs, WEB Dubois Center; Kevin Williams, Will...

A few people I have spoken with are cynical about the use of windmills, asking if I was willing to subsidize the costs for wind energy. I take it to mean that opposition to coal plants and support for wind farms is some conspiracy to disable free market enterprise. One person explained how coal plants have to operate at 80% capacity. He argued wind energy is unreliable because of a lack of storage capacity.  In rural Missouri just 2 miles or so north of my father-in-law's farm near Amity, Missouri, a new wind farm is on-line. It was amazing that it was built in a few months as documented in a recent story in Rural Missouri . With 100 American-made General Electric turbines and transformers made in a Jefferson City plant, the Lost Creek Wind Farm is a $340 million investment in a region still suffering from the farm crisis of the 1980s. Each turbine is capable of supplying 1.5 megawatts of power. Given the intermittent nature of wind power, it is expected to provide the energy ne...