This week marks the 60th anniversary of landmark anti-poverty legislation.

The Economic Opportunity Act created a network of Community Action Agencies providing critical services to low-income Kentuckians in all 120 counties. It also expanded Social Security benefits and creation of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance and Head Start programs.

Rick Baker, executive director of Community Action Kentucky, said agencies are unique for their wide reach and the number of services they provide.

"No other organization has that ability to provide services directly, locally from birth, literally all the way through senior citizens," Baker outlined. "Through the Head Start programs, through energy assistance programs, through workforce programs."

More than 2,000 Kentuckians have obtained employment through their local agency, and more than 450 have received a workforce credential or certificate.

Denise Harlow, CEO of the National Community Action Partnership, said poverty affects social determinants of health the agencies work to improve.

"We know that the research tells us you can live a couple miles apart from each other but have a 20-year differential in life expectancy," Harlow pointed out.

Baker added all residents, not just low-income households, benefit from resources provided by Community Action Agencies.

"Like public transportation, domestic violence programs, a lot of them operate domestic violence shelters," Baker explained. "It's very important to know who your local Community Action Agency is."

According to census data, nearly 40 million Americans still live in poverty and many more are one missed paycheck away from financial hardship. The nation's child poverty rate more than doubled between 2021 and 2022.

Florida's public employees face twin crises as federal collective bargaining rights suddenly disappear and state government jobs are cut, leaving workers uncertain about their futures and the stability of essential services.

A new White House executive order eliminating collective bargaining rights for federal workers has hit Florida particularly hard, as home to major military installations and thousands of federal employees.

Rich Templin, director of politics and public policy for the Florida AFL-CIO, described the situation as "chaos of the highest order."

"When the Transportation Security Administration was set up, that was a big issue. They agreed to extend collective bargaining rights to those employees," Templin recounted. "This is a big deal, but I think what's most important is to understand is, we don't know the implications, just like we don't know the implications of mass layoffs."

The order has drawn fierce backlash from labor groups, including the national AFL-CIO, which called it an attack on key labor rights. Unions representing federal workers are weighing legal challenges, as the White House defends the order as necessary for national security.

Meanwhile, Gov. Ron DeSantis' plan to eliminate 700 state jobs through a Musk-like government efficiency task force has drawn criticism. DeSantis' office said the cuts would improve efficiency.

Templin argued Florida's workforce, which is already the nation's smallest per capita, cannot absorb further reductions.

"This has been happening for 20 years: two decades that we've been asking our state workforce to do more with less," Templin pointed out. "What the governor's doing right now, he's not cutting fat, he's not cutting meat, he's cutting bone."

The proposed cuts include 142 positions at the Department of Health and 89 at the Agency for Health Care Administration, according to state workforce documents. Teachers, health care workers and transportation employees said the reductions come as they are already struggling with staff shortages.


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More than 70% of West Virginians polled said they opposed privatizing or abolishing the state's health insurance agency for public employees, according to a new poll by RABA Research.

The agency is responsible for providing health coverage for around 200,000 police officers, teachers and other public employees but is struggling financially and premiums are expected to rise by at least 14%. Now, some Republican lawmakers are floating the idea of abolishing it.

Del. Mike Pushkin, D-Kanawha, said if the state wants its roads and bridges maintained and a robust first-responder, educator and law-enforcement workforce, privatizing the agency is the worst course of action.

"We often tell them the pay is not great but the benefits will be," Pushkin explained. "Over the years, the benefits have gotten a lot less great; their premiums keep going up without pay raises to match those. That's effectively a pay cut."

House Bill 2623 would abolish the West Virginia Public Employees Insurance Act and subsequently provide health, dental and vision coverage for state workers through private contracts beginning next Jan. 1.

Supporters of the legislation say the move will help the state save money.

Among West Virginia voters polled, 67% said they would be less likely to vote for a candidate who wanted to cut the amount of health insurance benefits public employees receive. Pushkin believes privatizing the agency will create more administrative costs. Amid rising prescription drug prices, he suggested the state should instead come up with a solution for a permanent funding source.

"That means a designated funding stream, whatever that may be," Pushkin added. "We have to set money aside that's coming in, designated revenue that goes in to keep that agency solvent."

The agency's finance board said public-sector retirees also will see premium increases next year.


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New research showed when employers struggle with personal money problems, they do not always leave their stress at home, and can instead take it out on their employees.

Trevor Spoelma, associate professor of management at the University of New Mexico, said in general, people experiencing financial stress are less satisfied with their jobs and less productive. But when the boss also is under financial strain, it can affect everyone they supervise.

"For instance, when leaders are experiencing financial stress, that spills over to affect how they treat their subordinates, how effective their teams are," Spoelma explained. "We're finding that the costs are a lot more widespread than we might have initially thought."

Spoelma found when leaders were more financially stressed, they felt less in control. To try to regain control, some engaged in abusive workplace tactics including hostile verbal and nonverbal behaviors, like ridiculing or demeaning their subordinates.

The number one stressor across the globe is reported to be money and Spoelma said New Mexico is no stranger, with one of the highest poverty rates in the nation. Like the rest of the country, he noted, housing takes a big chunk of every paycheck.

"Places like Albuquerque, Santa Fe, I know like the costs of housing have really increased," Spoelma observed. "Whereas in the rural areas, maybe it's financial stress due to jobs that aren't paying as much, or limited hours."

Despite the challenges, New Mexico is among the top states where money goes the farthest. The minimum wage and cost of living are about 6% below the national average.

The state's minimum wage is $12 per hour and higher in the City of Santa Fe, at $15 per hour. Spoelma added statewide, what is known as the "livable wage" is $21 per hour for an adult without children.