A Citizen's Guide to Indiana

Bill Theobald, writing for the Gannett News Service has an article entitled ’05 study is a snapshot of homelessness. The first study in a decade puts the number at “744,313” but notes it’s an estimate and that measuring homelessness is inherently difficult. The last comprehensive study, performed a decade ago, put the number at 440,000 to 842,000. The Urban Institute also noted that the number was a snapshot at a particular point in time and further estimates that, within any given year, between 2.3 million and 3.5 million people are homeless at some point in time.

Some other figures:

• 44 percent of homeless people, or about 300,000, live on the streets. The rest are in shelters or transitional housing.

• 59 percent were single adults. The rest were families.

• 23 percent were considered chronically homeless.

The report also measured the number of homeless by state and found Alaska, California, Colorado, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Rhode Island and Washington had the highest percentages of their population who were homeless.

The District of Columbia has the highest rate with 5,518, or 1 percent of its population.

Arizona has an estimated 1,351 to 12,264 homeless people, about 0.21 percent of the population.

Niki Kelly has an article for the Fort Wayne Journal Gazette entitled, “State Minimum Wage Hike Gaining Steam.” State efforts seem spurred on by federal efforts, public sentiment, and the mere fact that it hasn’t changed in 10 years.

I always have mixed feelings about the minimum wage. It needs to be there. But I couldn’t say how to put it at a level that makes sense. I’m not sure you want it high enough to result in supporting a family if someone works 40 hours. Not all jobs are full-time or significant enough to warrant a living wage. If you want to hire someone for an odd job that isn’t very significant, you should be able to pay what the work is worth rather than some inflated price designed for a different type of situation. On the other hand, you want someone who works hard and plays by the rules to be able to support a family and prosper. You don’t want the huddled masses spending every waking hour struggling to make enough to shelter and feed themselves at a subsistence level.

Everybody seems to do better when the majority of Americans have a little walking around money. I figure the economy does better when the money is in the pockets of folks who are going to spend it on things like washers and dryers tan it does when the money is in the pockets of folks who are going to buy yachts or expensive works of art.

[tags]minimum wage, labor[/tags]

The Louisville Courier Press has an editorial honoring Momofuku Ando, the inventor of Ramen noodles who recently passed away. Ramen noodles, the staple of starving students everywhere, were reasonably filling, easy to prepare, and dirt, dirt cheap. I seem to recall the going price being 5 for a dollar at the grocery store in Oxford, Ohio — known for its gouging prices.

Thanks in large part to Ramen, I once ate for a week on Spring Break for $20. My menu was pretty much just a loaf of bread, a dozen eggs, and piles and piles of Ramen. Of course this was supplemented by vast quantities of beer for which I’m sure I paid a lot more than $20. Ahh, memories. Thank you Mr. Ando.

Lesley Stedman Weidenbener, writing for the Louisville Courier Press has an article entitled Daniels, local celebs challenge Hoosiers to lose weight.

Kudos to Gov. Daniels for making fitness a significant theme in his tenure as governor. Changes in society have simply made it so that exercise does not naturally occur in the every day life of a majority of people. A good number of jobs don’t involve significant physical activity. A lot of residences are in places with limited yards, no sidewalks, and busy streets so it’s tough to go anywhere or do anything unless you drive there. Junk food is cheap, tasty, and abundant. You have to work a little harder and sometimes spend a little more to get healthy food. So, being out of shape really isn’t a sign of particular sloth or gluttony or other vices. It’s pretty much a natural result of the world we live in and a special effort is necessary to overcome it.

The effort is worthwhile, of course. Every day energy levels increase, and there are long-term health benefits. Also, in my humble opinion, once you get into the habit of exercising, it’s quite a bit of fun. Personally, I have taken to hitting the local YMCA 3 or 4 times per week, usually alternating between lifting weights and running on the treadmills. I won’t be running marathons any time soon, but I’ve gotten to where I can cover about 5 miles in a little under an hour.

I can’t really comment much on the eating side of the equation. I have what a friend described as an “irate” metabolism. So, I have never been in a position where I needed to limit my consumption. (An extreme example – I had an entire Totino’s pizza as a “snack” last night at about 9 p.m.). But, I naturally tend to favor plain meats and vegetables rather than carbs and heavy sauces. So, my weight is at around 150# on my 6’1″ frame. (But who knows what kind of crap I have building up in my arteries.)

That brings me to the governor’s challenge to lose 10 lbs in 10 weeks. I won’t be participating. My guess is that it would be medically inadvisable for me to intentionally reduce myself to 140 lbs. But, for most Hoosiers, statistically speaking, it’s probably a good idea. According to the Governor’s web site:

Registered participants will first receive an e-mail outlining how they can prepare themselves for the Challenge, such as keeping a food diary, taking an inventory of their pantry, and other tips. During the 10 weeks, participants will receive a weekly e-mail instructing them on how to lose one pound along with encouragement to stop smoking. Current INShape Indiana participants have been automatically enrolled in the 10 in 10 Challenge.

The weekly e-mails, being prepared with the assistance of a trainer and a nutritionist, will incorporate one suggestion for a change in diet (250 fewer calories a day) and another for increased physical activity (burning 250 additional calories a day). At the end of 10 weeks, participants will be asked to report back on their weight loss.

Good luck to everybody who decides to participate.

Update Taking a contrary view, Leo Morris does not like the idea of a government weight-loss cheerleader.