3:30-5 pm, Sanford Institute, Rhodes Conference Room
In 1964, President Johnson declared war on poverty. Since then, federal spending on anti-poverty programs has increased from $50 billion to $700 billion. For more than 30 years, however, the nation made no progress against child poverty.
In the mid-1990s, welfare reform, a good economy and federal work support programs boosted the economic well-being of low-income working families, especially those with children. To further reduce poverty and to increase opportunity for children from low-income families to move ahead, Haskins advises that the government should:
* Continue to help parents enter the labor force
* Strengthen programs that support work
* Expand access to high-quality preschool programs
* Encourage children from low-income families to earn post-secondary credentials.
Ron Haskins is a senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution,
a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC.
A former White House and congressional advisor on welfare issues, Ron Haskins co-directs the Brookings Center on Children and Families. He is an expert on preschool, foster care, and poverty and was instrumental in the 1996 overhaul of national welfare policy.
Reception immediately following lecture. Seating is limited. Please register for this event by October 31. ________________________________________________________________
12-1:30 pm, Sanford Institute, Rhodes Conference Room
The combination of out-of-control health spending, rising Social Security payments, and other rising costs in the federal budget will drive the deficit into uncharted territory. As early as 2020 all federal revenues will be required just to pay for Medicaid, Social Security, Medicare, homeland security and interest on the debt, leaving little for other spending in the budget. One of the gravest threats of the budget crisis is that spending on the big entitlement programs will crowd out other spending, including spending on children. Social science research shows that inequality is growing in America and that greater investment in both preschool and post-secondary education could boost development and learning, give children from poor families a better shot at the middle class, and stimulate the American economy, not least by helping our businesses take full advantage of new technology. But it will prove difficult just to maintain current levels of spending on children, let alone make major new investments, unless we can get the federal deficit under control.
Ron Haskins is a senior fellow of economic studies at the Brookings Institution, a nonprofit public policy organization based in Washington, DC. A former White House and congressional advisor on welfare issues, Ron Haskins co-directs the Brookings Center on Children and Families. He is an expert on preschool, foster care, and poverty and was instrumental in the 1996 overhaul of national welfare policy.
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10 -11:30 am, Rubenstein Hall, Room 207
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