FORUM
Just in time for the holidays:
N.C.'s hunger problem is set to get worse
Tarza
Mitchell
Guest
Columnist
As many of us plan and
prepare for family gather
ings and celebratory meals
in the upcoming holiday
season, here's a startling
and disturbing fact to con
sider: Only a handful of
U.S. states have higher
hunger rates than North
Carolina. The weak and
uneven economic recovery
hasn't reduced hunger in
our communities. The
share of North Carolinians
who don't have a consis
tent supply of food has
actually not budged since
2009, evidence of the
state's large job shortage
and boom in low-wage jobs
that make it difficult to buy
food.
Next year, this harsh
reality will get even worse
for many North Carolinians
who are very poor and
struggle to find work in
communities where job
opportunities are scarce.
TTiat's when, thanks to the
recent action of the General
Assembly and Governor
McCrory, a three-month
time limit for food assis
tance returns for childless,
non-disabled adults.
As a point of reference,
the average income of the
people who will lose their
food assistance is just
$2,236 ... per year.
In the federally funded
Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program
(SNAP), there is a general
three-month limit on bene
fits for childless adults
aged 18-50 who don't have
a disability or aren't raising
children. And while those
who work, volunteer, or
participate in a qualified
job-training program for 20
hours a week or more are
also exempt from the three
month limit, meeting such
a requirement is extremely
difficult right now?espe
cially in areas that have
faced persistently high
unemployment levels.
Given the poor eco
nomic climate, states can
waive the work require
ment for areas in which
jobs are scarce.
Unfortunately, with the
recent passage into law of
House Bill 318, North
Carolina will unnecessarily
restrict food aid for up to
105,000 childless adults
who live in jobs-deprived
areas?regardless of how
hard these individuals are
looking for work.
For 23 of the state's 100
counties lucky enough to
have improving labor mar
kets, the time-limit will go
into place next January.
The remaining 77 counties
qualified for a year-long
waiver but the governor
and legislature permanent
ly banned state waivers
after next summer. Now,
the three-month time limit
will return by July 2016 for
those 77 counties.
Proponents of the waiv
er ban claim that the return
of the three-month time
limit will encourage people
to work. But, of course, the
SNAP time limit is not a
i test of one's willingness to
work. It applies regardless
i of whether th^se individu
als are actually able to find
I employment or training
opportunities. No matter
how hard they're looking
for a job, if they don't find
one in three months, their
food assistance is gone.
Even if they are working
for 19 hours a week, they
would lose the help in put
ting food on the table as
well.
Let's put perspective on
how difficult it truly is to
find work in North
Carolina. Right now, 80 of
the state's 100 counties
have more jobless workers
than job openings.
Proponents of the SNAP
waiver ban ignore this eco
nomic reality and the fact
that job opportunities are
especially limited for these
individuals who tend to
need retraining, industry
credentials, or develop
ment of basic job skills like
reading and writing.
The folks who lawmak
Illustration by Ron Rogers for the Chronicle
ers cut off from benefits in
high unemployment areas
include veterans, people
who are homeless, and
under-employed workers
who simply can't find a full
20 hours of work each
week. Very few qualify for
any other help besides food
assistance.
What makes this policy
change even harsher is that
the state leaders who
approved the waiver ban
failed to develop a plan to
provide skills training
opportunities or alternative
work options to all individ
uals subject to the time
limit. Some states commit
to providing every child
less adult receiving food
assistance with either a
work slot or skills training.
Sadly, however, North
Carolina is not one of those
states. There are less than
1,000 SNAP employment
and training slots in our
state but the policy change
could make it harder to put
food on the table for up to
105,000 low-income North
Carolinians.
In addition to spreading
hunger, the cutoff will
harm local economies as
well - both now and in the
future. Food assistance
provides jobless workers
with the modest, but criti
cal support to purchase
food that in turn allows
them to spend at local gro
cery stores and retail out
lets. The stabilizing effect
of food assistance has been
well documented and sup
ports economic stabiliza
tion in downturns and
struggling communities.
The bottom line: At a
time when jobless workers
far outnumber available
jobs in North Carolina,
imposing further cuts to
basic food assistance is the
wrong approach to fighting
hunger and will make life
harder for North
Carolinians who already
face difficult tradeoffs
between food and other
essential needs.
The holiday season is
not only a good time to
reflect on our own personal
journey but also the policy
decisions that state leaders
have made over the last
year - especially the deci
sions that make vulnerable
people worse off. Let's
hope the cutoff in food
assistance is one that gets
reconsidered very soon.
Tazra Mitchell is a pol
icy analyst at the North
Carolina Budget and Tax
Center.
College students, take advantage of opportunities
w
James B.
Ewers Jr.
Guest
Columnist
Recently
a colleague
and I had a
conversation
about today's
college stu
dents. We
both agreed
that there are
many more opportunities available to
them.
It is always rewarding to see how stu
dents have taken these opportunities and
parlayed them into successful careers.
Even in these less than favorable economic
times, companies are still finding their
way onto college campuses to recruit stu
dents.
Certainly, college in and of itself, will
not make you successful. There must be
some drive and determination that students
must have. Determination and aspiration
usually go a long way in helping students
reach their goals.
Students should take advantage of the
opportunities that colleges and universities
give them.
For example, when college recruiters
are on campus, students must see this
activity as an opportunity. Going to see a
company representative in a pair of blue
jeans and sneakers is unacceptable. The
appropriate attire for men is suits and ties
and for women, dresses and pantsuits.
Talking with the office of career services
or one of your professors will help to pre
pare you for the interview.
Yet there are always students who
don't heed the advice and act to the con
trary. Why is it that there is a group of stu
dents who believe doing their assignments
at the last minute will produce their best
work? Some students unfortunately are
always late for class. For example they
will walk in at 8:20 a.m. for an 8:00 a.m.
class and think nothing of it. Lastly, some
students will walk out of class before the
class ends with no prior warning to the
professor. Those students who are in col
lege for the right reasons will be success
ful. Will it take hard work and persever
ance? Yes it will, because nothing in life
worth having is easy. This was true in my
day and it is true today.
It is important that we who have been
through the academy help college students
to understand that success is not at the
"drive-thru" window. It cannot just be
ordered up and put in a bag. If it were that
easy there would be a lot more successful
people out here.
It requires a commitment to hard work,
delayed gratification coupled with
unbending and unwavering goals. While
we have heard this time-honored expres
sion before, the race is not won by the
swift but by those who endure to the end.
The finish line is there for today's col
lege students, and I believe they will get
there.
Listed below are some strategies
that may help.
?Find a mentor to help you in your col
lege experience.
?Become involved in college life. Join
a club or an organization.
?Set monthly and\or semester goals.
?Seek out an older and wiser college
graduate for wisdom and advice.
?Become a member of a study group.
It will help you with your academic stud
ies.
?Get an internship for the summer as
these practical experiences will help you
immensely.
?Find out more about your professors
and how they became successful.
?As a college student, you should real
ize that your competition is sitting right
next to you. Give your best effort each
day.
James B. Ewers Jr. Ed J), is a former
tennis champion at Atkins High School
and played college tennis at Johnson C
Smith University where he was all-confer
ence for four years.
He is the President Emeritus of The
Teen Mentoring Committee of Ohio and a
retired college administrator. He can be
reached at ewers.jr56@yahoo.com.
ObamaCare improves health of Black America
Benjamin
Chavts
Guest
Columnist
Black Americans con
tinue to face serious dispar
ities in education, employ
ment, and in economic
development. While over
45 million black Americans
have made some type of
progress during the past
seven years of the Obama
Administration, there is
still much more to be done
to end the vast racial and
socioeconomic differences
between blacks and whites
in the United States.
One challenge, howev
er, where there has been
significant improvement is
t. ?*
the issue of healthcare
insurance coverage for
Black Americans as a
direct result of the
Affordable Care Act
(ACA). More popularly
known as ObamaCare, this
federal legislative achieve
ment by President Barack
H. Obama did not happen
without conservative oppo
sition and controversy. But
the growing health benefits
to all Americans because of
ObamaCare, and in particu
lar for Black Americans, is
undeniable.
During President
Obama's recent weekly
address to the nation, he
detailed the quantitative
progress and qualitative
impact of the Affordable
Care Act. President Obama
stated, "For decades, too
many working Americans
went without the security
*
of health insurance ? and
their financial well-being
suffered because of it.
We've begun to change
that. As the Affordable
Care Act has taken effect,
we've covered 17.6 million
Americans. Since 2010, the
uninsured rate has
decreased by 45 percent.
And for the first time, more
than 90 percent of
Americans are covered."
The U.S. Department of
Health and Human
Services posted the follow
ing list of achievements of
the ACA with specific ref
erence to black America:
?Last year, an estimat
ed 6 in 10 uninsured
African-Americans quali
fied for Medicaid, the
Children's Health
Insurance Plan (CHIP), or
lower costs on monthly
t
premiums through the
Health Insurance
Marketplace.
?Many shoppers found
coverage for less than $50 a
month and nearly 7 in 10
found coverage for less
than $100.
?7.8 million African
Americans with private
insurance now have access
to preventive services like
mammograms or flu shots
with no co-pay or
deductible
?More than 500,000
African-American young
adults between the ages of
19 and 26 who would have
been uninsured now have
coverage under their par
ents' plans.
?If all states took
advantage of new opportu
nities to expand Medicaid
coverage under the
Affordable Care Act, 95
percent of eligible unin
sured African-Americans
might qualify for Medicaid,
CHIP, or programs to help
lower the cost of health
insurance coverage in the
Marketplace. [North
Carolina has not expanded
Medicaid.]
Not having health
insurance will not only
cause you to suffer finan
cial harm, but also the sta
tus of your health will be
put in increased jeopardy
and difficulty.
My sister. Dr. L.
Francine Chavis of the
Granville Health System in
our hometown of Oxford.
North Carolina, stated,
"Because of the ACA. I
now see many more
African- American patients
at a point where medical
care can help them immea
surably. Having health
insurance coverage, many
for the first time, is an
important factor."
We, therefore, will have
to make sure that our elect
ed officials in Congress are
adequately informed about
the critical positive differ
ence that ObamaCare has
made and is making to sus
tain and improve the health
of black America. We
should oppose all those
who want now to repeal the
Affordable Care Act.
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis.
Jr. is the president and
CEO of the National
Newspaper Publishers
Association (NNPA).
\