[Vision2020] The States Doling Out the Best (and Worst) Benefits

[Kenneth Marcy]

With the president and Congress attempting to reach a budget deal in an 
effort to avoid the fiscal cliff, it is likely they will agree on 
spending cuts, including those to entitlement programs. If they do not 
reach a deal in time, the nation may stumble into another recession 
triggered by the automatic austerity measures related to the fiscal 
cliff. Either way, there is almost no doubt that social programs and 
other spending will be cut in some way. The latest offer on the table 
includes the elimination of unemployment insurance for hundreds of 
thousands of Americans, as well as longer-term reductions in Social 
Security.

If another recession is not avoided, the need for state assistance, like 
unemployment insurance and welfare, will grow. Yet not all states 
provide for their residents equally. Based on a 24/7 Wall St. review of 
key state entitlements, including unemployment benefits, Medicaid, 
welfare and education, we identified the states guaranteeing the best 
and worst benefits.

First page link to article:
http://247wallst.com/2012/12/20/the-states-doling-out-the-best-and-worst-benefits/

The 10 states with the worst benefits:
http://247wallst.com/2012/12/20/the-states-doling-out-the-best-and-worst-benefits/4/

*8. Idaho*
*> Average pension benefits: *$16,470 (14th lowest)
*> Total per pupil spending: *$7,106 (2nd lowest)
*> Medicaid payments per enrollee: *$5,658 (24th lowest)
*> Pct. of weekly wages covered by unemployment benefits: *36.8% (19th 
highest)
*> No. of months of TANF received: *6.5 (the lowest)
*> Avg. TANF cash assistance per month:* $298 (19th lowest)

In the third-quarter of 2012, Idaho was one of the nation's least 
expensive states to live in. Despite the low costs of living, few states 
spend less on social programs than Idaho. In 2010, the state spent just 
over $7,000 per student, the second-lowest amount in the nation behind 
Utah. A September report from the Center for Budget and Policy 
Priorities stated that per student spending in Idaho was down 19% from 
2008 after adjusting for inflation. This was a larger decline than 
nearly all states in the U.S. Needy families in the state also received 
little support, getting just over six months of TANF benefits on average 
--- worse than any other state and nearly 32 months less than the U.S. 
average.

<[...]>

In order to assess how much or little a state does to guarantee benefits 
and services, 24/7 Wall St. gauged spending by each state on a number of 
different programs. Average pension benefits figures we considered, 
published by the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College for 
the 2010 fiscal year, reflect the largest general employee public 
pensions for which the center provided information. Education 
expenditure figures for fiscal 2010 are from the U.S. Census Bureau's 
study, "Public Education Finances: 2010." Medicaid payments per enrollee 
for fiscal 2009 are from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. 
Unemployment insurance figures were provided by the U.S. Department of 
Labor's Employment & Training Administration and are calculated over a 
12-month period ending in the third quarter of 2012. Information on 
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families figures was taken from the the 
Department of Health and Human Services' Administration for Children and 
Families.

The 10 states with the best benefits:
http://247wallst.com/2012/12/20/the-states-doling-out-the-best-and-worst-benefits/2/ 



Ken


-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://mailman.fsr.com/pipermail/vision2020/attachments/20130114/d615af7a/attachment.html>