(Office of the Press Secretary) Washington, DC – Today, President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden will hold a meeting of the Middle Class Task Force, where they will lay out key investments for middle class families.  Today’s discussion will preview one of the key themes of the President’s State of the Union address, which include creating good jobs, addressing the deficit, changing Washington, and fighting for middle class families. President Obama said, “We are fighting every single day to put Americans back to work, create good jobs, and strengthen our economy for the long-term. The additional steps laid out today focus on easing the burdens on middle class families who are struggling in this economy, and providing the help they need to get ahead.” “Every day, middle class families go to work and help make this country great.  For a year, our Task Force has been hearing that they are struggling with soaring costs and squeezed family budgets.  These common sense initiatives will help these families cope with these challenges,” said Vice President Biden. After traveling across the country the past year talking with families, ...

Republican National Committee (RNC) Chairman Michael Steele released the following statement today: “As President Obama travels to Copenhagen to bring the Summer Olympics to his hometown seven years from now, Americans back home are increasingly concerned they won't have a job seven months from now as they see more and more of their neighbors and friends lose jobs today.  The president’s verbal gymnastics will not hide that fact that more than 263,000 Americans lost their jobs in the month of September alone and the national unemployment rate increased yet again to 9.8 percent.  The president said, ‘the measure of an economy is, is it producing jobs?’  Clearly it isn’t.  President Obama can either acknowledge that his economic experiments have failed and change course, or continue down this path and see even more Americans lose their jobs.”

From DallasSouthNews.org Last night I moderated a Town Hall meeting hosted by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson at Dallas City Hall regarding an Area Mail Processing (AMP) Feasibility Study conducted by the United States Post Office.  AMP Studies are taking place all across the country. Tim Vierling, Dallas Sr. Plant Manager, gave a presentation, and then took questions from the audience as well as myself.  Also involved in the conversation were Mayor Tom Leppert and State Senator Royce West. Senator West had some very pointed comments for Mr. Vierling and the Post Office, including the fact that his office had contacted USPS about this matter at least twice without a response.  He also referenced a previous AMP study done either late ‘06 or early ‘07. This latest AMP study apparently concludes that the Post Office will save $9.2 million annually by consolidating mail processing operations in Dallas with those at the North Texas facility located in Coppell.  I say apparently because no one outside of the Postal Service has seen this study.  Most of the savings will come from eliminating 117 jobs. The first document on the USPS website regarding the AMP is a brief dated March 24, 2009 which says the following regarding the study: If ...

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics announced that the U.S. unemployment rate was virtually unchanged for the second straight month, down .1% from June to July.  The 9.4% unemployment rate fir July is identical to May, but another 247,000 jobs were lost during this period. The African-American unemployment rate declined for the third time in as many months, dropping to 14.5% from 14.7% in June.  The unemployment rate for African-Americans reached 15% in April. Black males saw a .6% drop in unemployment to 15.8% and down from 17.2% in April. Click here for the employment situation summary by the Labor Statistics Bureau.

Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson, Southwest Center Mall, and the Consumer Credit Service of Greater Dallas will host a Financial Education Lecture Series on Thursday, July 30, 2009 from 4PM to 6 PM.  The free workshop  on surviving a financial crisis is scheduled to help attendees: Prepare a back-up plan in case of a job loss Identify resources for financial assistance Take steps in saving your home Financial Stress Test For more information, call 214-922-8885 SEMINAR LOCATION Southwest Center Mall 3662 W Camp Wisdom RD Dallas, TX

DALLAS/FORT WORTH – KERA examines the impact that unemployment and the recession are having on the lives of North Texans in an hour-long special, The Economy:  Facing the Mortgage Crisis, premiering Wednesday, July 22, at 8 p.m. on KERA-TV and simulcast on KERA-FM. Hosted by KERA’s Sam Baker and Shelley Kofler, the program will feature studio discussions and taped segments that shed light on the complicated process of foreclosure and explain to those out of work for the first time how they can tap into unemployment assistance.  The program will also connect families and individuals with the resources available through “2-1-1 Texas,” a service of the Health and Human Service Commission’s Texas Information and Referral Network that offers free information to those in need. “The need for information and assistance is great because Texas state law allows a home to be foreclosed in as little as three months,” said Rick Thompson, Executive Producer of The Economy:  Facing the Mortgage Crisis. “While this started out as more of a subprime problem, the increase in unemployment is now exacerbating the crisis.” Guests for the studio discussion include Dana Dillard, Senior Vice President for GMAC Mortgage and a member of the ...

Dallas residents who need assistance with their utility bills and live in a 752xx Zip Code may contact the Martin Luther King Social Services program.  Residents in need may receive up to $600 towards their bill. Individuals may call 214-670-8416 to make an appointment on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays starting at 9 a.m.  The Social Services Program Staff will take calls until slots are filled for the day.  Those over 60 years of age may also call on Tuesdays (9AM). The Martin Luther King Center is located at 2922 Martin Luther King Blvd.  Residents  in other parts of the City of Dallas, or hose in need of help with utilities and/or food can call the city's Community Help Line - 211. Please share this information with anyone who may be helped by this service.

There was little change in unemployment for the month of June, which went up to 9.5% from 9.4% in May. But 467,000 more jobs were lost during this period, up from 322,000 in May. In all, there are now 14.7 million unemployed Americans, an increase of 7.2 million since the start of the recession (Dec. 2007). The unemployment rate for African-Americans was 14.7% last month compared to 12.2% for Hispanics and 8.7% for whites. The African-American unemployment rate is down for the second straight month after reaching 15% in April. Unemployment for Black men is at 16.4%, down from a high of 17.2% in April. Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, May, June 2009 7.6 8.1 8.5 8.9 9.4 9.5 This does not include 2.2 million people who were marginally attached to the labor force last month. And of that number 793,000 are considered "discouraged workers", because they are not currently looking for work because they believe there are no jobs available. The other 1.4 million had not searched for work in the previous 4 weeks. Could Black men be the first to start steering out of the recession? From the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

BY JAMES "BIRD" GUESS Credit cards do not put people in debt, financial decisions that people make is what put them in debt! On May 22, 2009, President Obama signed The Credit Card Holder’s Bill of Rights Act into law, which could potentially help people become debt free quicker. This new legislation will dramatically help the roughly 50% of American consumers who have charged nearly $1 trillion, and carry an average balance of $8,000. Twenty percent of those who carry a balance are paying more than 20% interest on that balance. Most of the new legislation will not become effective until early 2010, but it will finally use some common-sense methods regarding interest rates. For example, it prohibits lenders from increasing interest rates on existing balances (stuff you already charged) unless you are more than 60 days late on your bill. And if you actually fall behind on paying your credit card bill and the rate is increased, the lender must restore the lower rate if you have paid your bill on time after six months. Also, borrowers are required to have periodic payment history reviews by their lenders and have their rates decreased if indicated by the review. This may be hard ...

I thought Gemna Holmes from Gemna Speaks had an interesting take in a recent post regarding Tavis Smiley. I thought I'd repost some of it here: This is the third in a series of posts about Tavis Smiley and Wells Fargo, sponsor of the State of the Black Union (SOTBU). Everyone is in uproar about Wells Fargo employees calling loans to black mortgage holders “ghetto loans” and the disdain they showed for the customers they made the most profit from. But the media, especially black media, has been very silent about the role Tavis Smiley played in helping stack this ill fated deck of cards that has plagued the black community in several major cities. When Mr. Smiley first partnered with Wells Fargo in 2005, he was a TEACHER of economic empowerment and assembled seminars around the country as the keynote speaker for wealth building. Press releases filled every major news outlet inbox and black newspapers were infected with faxes stating Mr. Smiley’s desire to teach the principles of home ownership as the key for breaking the cycle of poverty in the African American community. All this knowledge was given at no charge to trusting black folks. This was the golden ...