#class gap

At the age of 10 I guess, I was surrounded by class mates who would never speak English publicly, and when one would, they would think she is showing off.

Currently, I’m surrounded by people who if I don’t shove an English word in between my Arabic would think I’m vulgar.

To amend title III of the Social Security act to require a substance abuse risk assessment and targeted drug testing as a condition for the receipt of unemployment benefits, and for other purposes. 

This was introduced by Jack Kingston, a Republican (obvi) from Georgia. There are a myriad of problems with this bill. One, we've already seen (thanks to Florida) that drug testing welfare recipients doesn't work.

So why are we still so intent on treating the poor and the down-and-out like criminals? Kingston himself has made claims that companies want to hire people but "half" their options are on drugs. But that seems highly unlikely.

And why would we opt for a system that looses money on drug testing people, instead of using this money to help people get  back to work?

The other thing that worries me about this bill is the wording that would allow it to randomly test people who are more "at risk" for drug use. And who would that be? People with prior drug charges? It doesn't seem to specify, and so I feel like it wouldn't be too bold of me to say this would likely effect minorities and people with a lower income. Right?

I know it's actually a popular public sentiment to test recipients of government resources. But we need to think about what this would actually accomplish and how problematic this is. But those ideas are based off stereotypes and ignorance. People receiving unemployment generally already have guidelines they are following - applying for a certain number of jobs a week, etc.

Older Americans are 47 times richer than young

NEW YORK (CNNMoney) -- One of the most basic tenets of the American Dream is being called into question by recent economic data. Can each new generation do better than the one before it?

So far, today's young people aren't off to an encouraging start.

In 1984, households headed by people age 65 and older were worth just 10 times the median net worth of households headed by people 35 and younger

 According to analysis by the Pew Research Center released Monday, younger Americans have been left behind as the oldest generation has seen wealth surge since the mid-1980s.

  While it's typical for older generations to hold more wealth than younger ones who've had less time to save, the gap between the two age groups has widened rapidly.

  But now that gap has widened to 47-to-one, marking the largest wealth gap ever recorded between the two age groups.

  Households headed by adults ages 35 and younger had a median net worth of $3,662 in 2009. That marks a 68% decline in wealth, compared to that same age group 25 years earlier.

Over the same time frame, households headed by adults ages 65 years and older, have seen just the opposite. Their wealth rose 42%, to a median of $170,494.

So why the growing chasm?

Whether by choice or due to the weak economy, today's young people are getting their independent lives started later in nearly all respects, taking out more debt, living with parents longer and putting off key milestones like employment, marriage and home ownership longer.

Some of those trends come hand in hand with more young people attending college, which can be a double-edged sword.

While those college credentials could lead to income gains for many young people down the road, surging tuition costs are also leaving them burdened by more student loans than prior generations.

Overall, 37% of the young households held zero or negative net worth in 2009, up from 19% in 1984.

Perhaps the biggest factor leading to the wealth gap between the ages though, is the housing market, the Pew Center said. While rising home equity helped drive wealth gains for the older generation over the long-term, younger people had less time to ride out the housing market's volatility -- especially its most recent boom and bust.

 "Most of today's older homeowners got into the housing market long ago, at 'pre-bubble' prices," the report said. "Along with everyone else, they've been hurt by the housing market collapse of recent years, but over the long haul, most have seen their home equities rise."

"For young adults who are in the beginning stages of wealth accumulation, there has been no such luck, at least so far."

Net worth includes the sum of a household's assets (like equity in a home, car and savings and retirement accounts) minus its debts (like mortgage, car and student loans and credit card debt). 

This is really great! A farmers market in California allows people to exchange food stamps for tokens to use to at the market. Now, they are rolling out an offer for anyone who spends $10 worth of these tokens to get an extra $5 in tokens for free.

I think this sounds like such a good way to allow everyone access to healthy, local food. And the extra $5 should help with the fact that some farmers market items can be a little more pricey than a grocery store.