White House to Cut Energy Assistance for the Poor

With all the self-righteous talk about cutting spending, those cuts have to hit someone. But is energy assistance for low-income households really where we should cut?

From National Journal.com:

President Obama’s proposed 2012 budget will cut several billion dollars from the government’s energy assistance fund for poor people, officials briefed on the subject told National Journal.

It's the biggest domestic spending cut disclosed so far, and one that will likely generate the most heat from the president's traditional political allies. Such complaints might satisfy the White House, which has a vested interest in convincing Americans that it is serious about budget discipline. One White House friend, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY), earlier today said a Republican proposal to cut home heating oil counted as an "extreme idea" that would "set the country backwards." Schumer has not yet reacted to Obama's proposed cut. On Wednesday, Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., declared: “The President’s reported proposal to drastically slash LIHEAP funds by more than half would have a severe impact on many of New Hampshire’s most vulnerable citizens and I strongly oppose it." A spokesman for Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., declared similarly: “If these cuts are real, it would be a very disappointing development for millions of families still struggling through a harsh winter.”

The Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, or LIHEAP, would see funding drop by about $2.5 billion from an authorized 2009 total of $5.1 billion. The proposed cut will not touch the program's emergency reserve fund, about $590 million, which can be used during particularly harsh cold snaps or extended heat spells, three officials told National Journal.

In 2010, Obama signed into law an omnibus budget resolution that released a total of about $5 billion in LIHEAP grants for 2011. Pointing to the increasing number of Americans who made use of the grants last year, advocates say that LIHEAP is already underfunded. The American Gas Association predicts that 3 million Americans eligible for the program won't be able to receive it unless LIHEAP funding stays at its current level.

Continue reading at National Journal.com...

Low Income Taxpayer Clinic Grant Recipients Announced

According to their newest press release, the IRS has awarded nearly $10 million in matching grants to Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) for the 2010 grant cycle (Jan. 1 to Dec. 31, 2010).

LITCs are organizations that represent low-income taxpayers in federal tax controversies with the IRS for free or for a nominal charge, provide tax education and outreach for taxpayers who speak English as a second language, or both.

Through the LITC program, the IRS awards matching grants of up to $100,000 a year to qualifying organizations. For the 2010 grant cycle, the IRS awarded LITC grants to 160 organizations. LITCs and their employees and volunteers operate independently of the federal government.

The LITC grant program is a federal program administered by the Taxpayer Advocate Service, led by National Taxpayer Advocate Nina E. Olson.

Questions about the LITC Program can be addressed to the LITC Program Office at (202) 622-4711 (not a toll-free call) or by e-mail at LITCProgramOffice@irs.gov. IRS Publication 4134, Low Income Taxpayer Clinic List, provides information on LITCs in each geographic area and the languages each clinic serves in addition to English. It is available at www.irs.gov or at local IRS offices.

1/3 of Tax Returns Filed Pay Zero Tax

According to the Tax Foundation “46.6 million people who filed tax returns in 2007 had a zero or negative tax liability -- 32.6% of the 143.0 million tax returns filed. In about half of these cases, substantial additional money was ‘refunded’ to the tax filer. 15 million people do not earn enough to file a tax return, so 61.6 million people do not pay federal income taxes.”

The Tax Prof Blog posted the following video when covering this story of a FOX News segment with Jim Angle discussing this disturbing figure. You can check out the embedded video below.

Hawaii Cuts Payments to the Temporarily Disabled

Like many other States in the country, Hawaii has been trying to make budget cuts where they can. However, their latest cut of payments to the temporarily disabled has thousands of Hawaiians in an outrage. Several prominent local authorities, such as Senator Suzanne Chun, are speaking out against the cuts saying they will leave many helpless, homeless, and hopeless. You can find the clip of an article discussing this recent development courtesy of the Associated Press below.

Right when more people need welfare, they're getting less from Hawaii's government.

Monthly payments to poor, temporarily disabled people fell by one-third this week, from $450 to $300, because more people are drawing benefits from the same pool of money.

State lawmakers met at the Hawaii Capitol on Wednesday to try and find more money for the program, and they questioned how government could shortchange these 5,055 people when they may have no other income.

"That money won't cover the rent anymore, so many of them will go homeless," said Sen. Suzanne Chun Oakland, D-Kalihi-Liliha.

This money, called general assistance, goes to people without dependent children who are unable to work because of a temporary disability. To qualify, they must have little or no income and can't get other federal assistance.

"What will happen in our aloha state to those who are most needy?" asked Alex Santiago, executive director of a group of nonprofits called PHOCUSED, which stands for Protecting Hawaii's Ohana, Children, Underserved, Elderly and Disabled. "This is their last hope. There has to be an alternative."

One In 10 Americans Gets Help To Buy Food

A tough realization of our Country’s financial stability has set in, as new studies that find one in 10 Americans gets help to purchase food. Below is a snippet from a Reuters.com article on the shocking new discovery.

A record 32.2 million people -- one in every 10 Americans -- received food stamps at the latest count, the government said on Thursday, a reflection of the recession now in its 16th month.

Food stamps, the major U.S. anti-hunger program, help poor people buy groceries. The average benefit was $112.82 per person in January.

The January figure marks the third time in five months that enrollment set a record.

"A weakened economy means that many more individuals are turning to SNAP/Food Stamps," said the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger group, using the acronym for the renamed food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in February, the highest in 25 years. New claims for jobless benefits totaled 669,000 last week, the highest in 26 years, the government said on Thursday.

Food stamp enrollment rose in 46 of the 50 states during January as the national total rose by 580,000 people, or 1.3 percent, from December, when the previous record was set, said Agriculture Department figures.

Vermont, Alaska and South Dakota had increases of more than 5 percent. Texas had the largest enrollment, 2.984 million, down 65,000, followed by California at 2.545 million, up 43,000, and New York with 2.211 million, up 37,000.

"It is a very difficult time for low-income families and individuals and also a difficult time for the groups that serve them," said Valentine Breitbarth of Bread for the City, a group that works with poor families in Washington.

American Bar Association to Host Free Tax Workshop

According to their website, the American Bar Association (ABA) will present a free workshop in Washington, DC later today. The workshop is designed for low income taxpayers who are struggling to pay their taxes in today’s tough economy. According to the ABA’s announcement, the “workshop will cover all aspects of representing individual taxpayers in IRS examinations, and it will include a discussion of all recent legislation regarding debt relief as well as the Service’s new identity theft program… It will be held at the Doubletree Hotel Crystal City at National Airport, immediately prior to the IRS’s LITC Grantee Conference. Attendance is not restricted to LITC employees. All are welcome.”

IRS Announces Low Income Taxpayer Clinics Grant Recipients

Earlier today Nina E. Olson, National Taxpayer Advocate, announced that the Internal Revenue Service will be awarding nearly $8 million in matching grants to Low Income Taxpayer Clinics (LITCs) this year. The IRS will be awarding LITC grants to 154 organizations from 49 states plus the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. According to the IRS LITCs are "qualifying organizations that provide representation for free or a nominal fee to low-income taxpayers involved in tax disputes with the IRS or that provide education on taxpayer rights and responsibilities to taxpayers for whom English is a second language or who have limited English proficiency." Source: IRS.gov.

Poor Hit Hard By Refund Anticipation Loans

According to an Associated Press report, people who were hit hardest by refund anticipation loans were low income households. A North Carolina investigation found that people in the state spend about $44 million per year on refund anticipation loans with interest rates topping 800%. The study claims that nearly 86% of the refund loans issued in 2004 went to low-income borrowers. About 500,000 taxpayers in North Carolina get tax refund loans every year, with average costs ranging from $78.30 to $174.95. For more details on the study visit Forbes.com.