welfare Archives - The Minnesota Sun

Biden Admin Makes It Easier for Illegal Migrants on Welfare to Stay in America

September 9, 2022September 8, 2022 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will make it easier for certain illegal migrants benefiting from certain welfare programs to stay in the country beginning Dec. 23.

The “Public Charge” rule, which applies to noncitizens “likely at any time to become a public charge,” will no longer consider certain nutrition, health and housing benefits for inadmissibility, according to DHS. Noncitizens who are considered a “public charge” face potential inadmissibility and denial of Green Card status.

Commentary: America’s New Theory of Work Isn’t Working

June 22, 2022June 21, 2022 RealClearWire

“I wandered the streets aimlessly, never knowing where my next meal would come from.”

That’s how a man named Riley summarized being homeless, addicted, and unemployed before he came to Watered Gardens, a mission in southwest Missouri.

Missouri Considers Pension Changes to Solve Teacher Shortage

January 29, 2022January 28, 2022 The Center Square

Man standing in front of a room, giving a lecture with a presentation

Legislators are considering changes to Missouri’s teacher and non-certified school employee pension plans to alleviate pandemic-related teacher and staff shortages.

HB2114, sponsored by Rep. Rusty Black, R-Chillicothe, will reduce restrictions on pensions if a retired public school teacher returns to the classroom or to a non-teaching position in a public school. The legislation also increases from two to four years the length of time a retired teacher or retired non-certified public school employee can work while still receiving their pension.

During testimony before the House pensions committee, Rep. Black, the committee vice chairman, said similar legislation was passed by the House and died in the Senate last year as the legislative session ended in May. He said the legislation simplifies and improves the amount retirees can earn before their pensions are restricted.

Report: Democrats’ Stalled Budget Bill Includes $8 Billion a Year for Illegal Immigrant Parents

October 6, 2021October 5, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Democrats’ stalled budget bill includes $8 billion a year for 10 years for illegal immigrant parents, the Center for Immigration Studies announced on Tuesday.

The bill would replace a program that requires parents to work to receive welfare and increase the funds available to illegal immigrant parents because some who work “off the books” can’t verify their employment, according to the Center for Immigration Studies (CIS). Any illegal immigrant with a child born in the U.S. would be able to apply for aid through the program.

Commentary: New Study Vindicates States that Canceled Expanded Unemployment Welfare Early

September 13, 2021September 12, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Debate over the welfare state is once again making headlines. On Monday, the expanded unemployment welfare system was finally allowed to expire after more than a year. Originally created as a “short-term” measure authorized for a few months in March 2020 then repeatedly extended, these benefits paid many of the unemployed more than their former jobs, with benefits reaching up to $25/hour in dozens of states.

Dozens of Republican-led states chose to end the benefits early. This week’s termination of enhanced benefits was in the Democrat-run states that maintained the expanded payouts, and with their lapse, the debate over whether these benefits were disincentivizing work was reignited.

While Pennsylvania Democrats Want to Increase Welfare Payments, Some Experts Urge Focus on Bigger Picture

August 25, 2021August 24, 2021 Bradley Vasoli

Democrats in the Pennsylvania General Assembly hope to increase monthly welfare benefits in Pennsylvania, reasoning that payments under the federally funded Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (TANF) program have stayed flat since the 1990s, falling well behind inflation.

Legislation being drafted by state Sen. Katie Muth (D-PA-Royersford) and state Rep. Malcolm Kenyatta (D-PA-Philadelphia) would increase Pennsylvania’s TANF benefits, which average $403 per month for a family of three in most counties.

Some Minnesota Businesses Report Hiring Problems, Citing Enhanced Unemployment Benefits

April 20, 2021April 19, 2021 The Center Square

With more relaxed restrictions and the promise of warmer months ahead, businesses are struggling to find employees to come back to work, even after raising wages and offering flexible hours.

Some blame generous unemployment benefits.

Atlas Staffing Inc has 241 open jobs on their site for locations across Minnesota, but Minneapolis office manager Alison Barge says it’s “next to impossible” to fill positions right now.

It’s not a skills gap, Barge said. Most of the jobs are entry-level positions, and some employers are even offering a $3/hour incentive, boosting pay to $17 an hour, flexible scheduling, part-time availability, but people just “don’t want to work.”

Biden Signs Executive Order to Increase Welfare Dependency for Illegal Aliens

February 4, 2021February 3, 2021 Minnesota Sun Staff

Joe Biden signed an executive order on Tuesday that aims to increase illegal aliens’ dependency on welfare programs funded by taxpayer dollars, according to Breitbart.

The order revokes a Trump Administration policy that would ultimately put financial responsibility for such welfare benefits directly on the illegals themselves, or otherwise on the family member or business sponsor seeking green cards for any incoming illegals who had previously used a welfare system. Biden’s revoking of that order ultimately puts the cost for such use of the welfare system back on American citizens who fund such programs with their tax dollars.

Commentary: The Indispensable American Family

May 17, 2020May 16, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

In August 1884, Washington Gladden, possibly the most famous Christian preacher in the America of his day, wrote an article in The Century Magazine on “Three Dangers” besetting the welfare of the nation he loved. Of the first and third dangers he named, intemperance and gambling, I have little to say here. I will note that Dr. Gladden concedes that alcohol may be used well, even for conviviality, though he himself did not drink.

The Trump Administration’s Public Charge Rule for Immigrants Officially Goes Into Effect Following Supreme Court Victories

February 25, 2020February 24, 2020 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Trump administration officially implemented its public charge rule for foreign nationals seeking permanent status, following two key victories in the nation’s highest court.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) on Monday put into effect the administration’s new public charge rule, which takes into account a foreign national’s past use of taxpayer-funded benefits when determining whether that individual qualifies for a green card. The rule, which the White House first introduced in 2019, survived a lawsuit that reached all the way to the Supreme Court.

Supreme Court Allows Trump to Enforce Rule Barring Green Cards for Migrants Using Social Services

January 28, 2020January 27, 2020 Admin

The Supreme Court Monday allowed the Trump administration to enforce a new rule that will deny green cards to foreign nationals who use taxpayer-funded social services, lifting lower court injunctions that blocked the change.

Commentary: Spare the Angst Over the ‘Public Charge’ Rule

August 20, 2019August 20, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

The Trump Administration is continuing to take steps to enforce existing immigration laws. And the response from the Left and the mainstream media (at this point, one and the same) has been what you’d expect.

‘Self-Sufficiency, Not a Sinkhole’: JOBS Act Updates Work Requirements for Welfare Recipients

March 16, 2019March 15, 2019 Minnesota Sun Staff

by Fred Lucas Republicans in the House and Senate are making another legislative push to enforce work requirements for able-bodied adults on welfare. Sen. Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Republicans on the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday announced the Jobs and Opportunity with Benefits and Services Act. The…

Jobless Welfare Claims Near a Five-Decade Low

October 6, 2018October 5, 2018 Admin

by Tim Pearce The number of Americans claiming unemployment insurance fell unexpectedly in late September after economists anticipated destruction from Hurricane Florence to hold claim numbers steady. The number of unemployment filings edged back toward the lowest rate in nearly five decades. The four-week moving average fell to the lowest rate since…