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Thursday, March 31
Blog for Iowa's New Running Conversation!
by
Linda Thieman
on Thu 31 Mar 2005 04:04 AM CST
 Blog for Iowa’s New Running Conversation!
Several
people have expressed an interest in being able to have a running
conversation on Blog for Iowa. It seems feasible now that we
actually have quite a few people who are interested in posting!
So, I’d like to re-introduce our “new” feature called Open Threads.
Blog for Iowa will keep an open thread up and running in a prominent
position – top, left sidebar of the blog. This way, people can
post in the open thread and a real back-and-forth can take place.
How to Post a Comment on Blog for Iowa
In order
to post a comment on Blog for Iowa, you need to first create a reader
account. Go to the Log In component on the left sidebar, and
click on Create Reader Account. Then, once you’ve confirmed your
email address, you need to Log In on the main page of BFIA (left sidebar). THEN
you’ll be able to post a comment.
The
usernames have to be one word - no spaces, all lower case. But you can
choose a nickname which will be displayed when you post a comment, and
the nickname can include spaces, like My Full Name.
We will
not harvest your information after you create a reader account.
You are actually creating a reader account for the entire BlogHarbor
system, our host company, and we have no access to the list.
This post will now be at the top of the Open Threads category, so in order to post in the Open Thread, comment on this post.
Of course, you are still welcome to comment on other posts. You can use the same procedure mentioned above.
So, speak up! We’d love to hear from you!
Linda Thieman, Editor
Blog for Iowa
Monday, March 7
Social Security Saves Iowans from Poverty
by
Linda Thieman
on Mon 07 Mar 2005 04:05 PM CST
 Social Security Saves Iowans from Poverty
Iowa Policy Project
Facts Can Help Public, Policymakers in Current Debate
MOUNT VERNON, Iowa (March 7, 2005)
– Almost 1 in 5 Iowans receives benefits from Social Security,
according to a new publication that shows the New Deal program to be a
critical tool that not only keeps Iowa seniors out of poverty but also
helps children and disabled workers.
Using
information from two respected, independent Washington think tanks, the
Economic Policy Institute and the Center on Budget and Policy
Priorities, the Iowa Policy Project (IPP) released a Social Security
fact sheet for Iowa for use by policymakers, the media and the public.
“We are
circulating this information because the Iowa Policy Project is focused
on encouraging better policy debate in our state. Our leaders should
make decisions based on true information. Decisions on Social Security
are important to Iowans,” said David Osterberg, executive director of
the IPP, a nonprofit, nonpartisan policy analysis organization based in
Mount Vernon.
“Some
numbers really stand out from this fact sheet,” Osterberg continued.
“I’m not sure how many Iowans realize that 19 percent of people in the
state receive Social Security benefits of some sort.
“I think
some might be surprised as well to learn that without Social Security,
more than half of Iowa seniors – 53 percent – would be in
poverty. With it, that drops to just over 7 percent.”
Osterberg said those figures alone carry great implications for the current debate over Social Security.
“Surely
with that many people in Iowa who rely on Social Security, our leaders
must be extremely careful not to risk their economic security,”
Osterberg said. “Any policy choices must be made on facts, not just
ideological guesswork. Too many futures are at stake.”
The
Social Security fact sheet and more information about the impact of
federal and state policy choices on Iowans is available at the IPP
website, www.iowapolicyproject.org, and the Iowa Fiscal Partnership website, www.iowafiscal.org.
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