working poor families project

Creation of a Manufacturing Career Pathway

House Bill 13-1165

Testimony to the Senate Education Committee
Frank Waterous, Senior Policy Analyst
April 25, 2013

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a non-partisan, non-profit research and policy organization founded on progressive values and dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

By Kathleen Hallgren
My Side columnist, Glenwood Springs Post Independent

It's been said that the best anti-poverty measure is a job. But for more than a quarter of Colorado's workforce, working hard isn't enough to make ends meet.

In a recent report, we found that more than 48,000 working families in Colorado lived below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four in 2011. Another 154,085 families – 27 percent of all working families in Colorado – lived on up to twice that amount.

Latin American Herald Tribune website

DENVER – Going to college has become a losing proposition for a growing number of minority youth in Colorado who find themselves burdened with student debt in an economy that is short on good-paying jobs.

"I know several people, including two very close friends, who ... have degrees, but also have a lot of debt and because they can't find work, they end up mowing lawns," Jason Chavez, a business administration student at a Denver university, told Efe.

Fox News Latino website

Going to college has become a losing proposition for a growing number of minority youth in Colorado who find themselves burdened with student debt in an economy that is short on good-paying jobs.

"I know several people, including two very close friends, who ... have degrees, but also have a lot of debt and because they can't find work, they end up mowing lawns," Jason Chavez, a business administration student at a Denver university, told Efe.

By Kathleen Hallgren
Guest columnist, The Daily Camera

It's been said that the best anti-poverty measure is a job. But for more than a quarter of Colorado's workforce, working hard isn't enough to make ends meet.

In a recent report, we found that more than 48,000 working families in Colorado lived below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four in 2011. Another 154,085 families – 27 percent of all working families in Colorado – lived on up to twice that amount.

By Kathleen Hallgren
Guest columnist, The Greeley Tribune

It's been said that the best anti-poverty measure is a job. But for more than a quarter of Colorado's workforce, working hard isn't enough to make ends meet.

In a recent report, we found that more than 48,000 working families in Colorado lived below the poverty line of $23,021 for a family of four in 2011. Another 154,085 families – 27 percent of all working families in Colorado – lived on up to twice that amount.

Creation of a Manufacturing Career Pathway

House Bill 13-1165

Testimony to the House Education Committee
Frank Waterous, Senior Policy Analyst
Feb. 18, 2013

My name is Frank Waterous, and I am a senior policy analyst with the Bell Policy Center. The Bell is a non-partisan, non-profit research and policy organization founded on progressive values and dedicated to expanding opportunity for all Coloradans.

The number of working families living in poverty in Colorado increased by 16,000 from 2004 to 2012 – a jump of almost 50 percent, the Bell Policy Center reports in Measuring Opportunities for Working Families, released today. In addition, the portion of all Colorado working families living in poverty increased from one in 17 to one in 12 over the same period.

The number of working families living in poverty in Colorado increased by 16,000 from 2004 to 2012 – a jump of almost 50 percent, the Bell Policy Center reports in "Measuring Opportunities for Working Families." In addition, the portion of all Colorado working families living in poverty increased from one in 17 to one in 12 over the same period.

(Online edition headline: College isn't what it used to be, but it's critical)

By Frank Waterous

Recently, the value of a college education has come into question. Robert J. Samuelson of The Washington Post, for one, said the "college-for-all crusade has outlived its usefulness."

In these tough economic times, with unemployment high and college graduates facing a bleak job market, the question might seem worthy of debate. But that's because the question misses the mark on two crucial points: