Almanac of Policy Issues - U.S.
"The Almanac of Policy Issues provides comprehensive background information and links on major U.S. public policy issues. The Almanac is an independent public service not affiliated with any particular issue or cause. Every effort is made to present all sides of each issue, and to do so in an unbiased, journalistic format."
- incl. links to:
Criminal Justice (Death Penalty, Drug Policy, Gun Control ...)
Culture and Society (Abortion, Arts, Civil Rights ...)
Economic Issues (Budget and Tax, Job Training ...)
Education (Elementary & Secondary, Higher Education ...)
Environment (Endangered Species, Global Warming....)
Government Operations (Campaign Finance Reform, Privatization ...)
Health (Health Insurance, Medicare ...)
Social Welfare
(Social Security, Welfare [incl. welfare reform info up to October 2002]...)
World: Foreign Affairs & National Security (Israel, Iraq ...)
Minimum Wage

AARP (formerly called the American Association of Retired Persons)
"AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization for people 50 and over. We provide information and resources; advocate on legislative, consumer, and legal issues; assist members to serve their communities; and offer a wide range of unique benefits,special products, and services for our members. These benefits include AARP Webplace at www.aarp.org, Modern Maturity and My Generation magazines, and the monthly AARP Bulletin. Active in every U.S. state and territory, AARP celebrates the attitude that age isn't just a number -- it's about how you live your life."

Internet Resources Related to Aging (U.S.)
List of Contents - like a site map, incl. links to sites organized under the following headings : General Interest - Government - Health - Housing - Income - Law - Leisure - Libraries, Clearinghouses and Databases - Social Services - States and Communities - Statistics and Research - Listservs - Newsgroups - Electronic Magazines - Search Tools - Alphabetical Index
Other Internet Directories Related to Aging - links to 9 directories, most from the U.S. Administration on Aging, including state and even local links to resources for seniors
Source :

Links to AARP sites in all states

AARP Online U.S. Pension Calculator (Note: this page works better for me in IE5.5 than in Netscape 4.75)

American Public Human Services Association (APHS)
"Founded in 1930, APHSA is a nonprofit, bipartisan organization of individuals and agencies concerned with human services. Our members include all state and many territorial human service agencies, more than 1,200 local agencies, and several thousand individuals who work in or otherwise have an interest in human service programs."

American RadioWorks
"AMERICAN RADIOWORKS® is the national documentary unit of American Public Media. ARW is public radio's largest documentary production unit; it creates documentaries, series projects, and investigative reports for the public radio system and the Internet."
Reviewed by:
The Scout Report, Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2006.

After Welfare
In August 1996, landmark legislation fulfilled the promise to "end welfare as we know it" in the U.S. Congress gave the states money to run their own programs and required them to move many welfare recipients into the workforce.
Supporters declared it a new day, the beginning of self-sufficiency for poor families. Others warned the action would push women and children into the streets, perhaps by the millions.

After Welfare - U.S.
May 2006
[requires Real Player and Macromedia Flash Player]
Over the past few years, the American RadioWorks has raised the bar for like-minded radio documentary programs, producing thought-provoking and insightful studies on topics such as, Congressional reform, intelligent design, and international adoption programs. In this recently released documentary, John Biewen has created this introspective look into the world of welfare reform in the United States, and how it has affected the lives of five different women and their families. The women profiled come from a host of different backgrounds, and visitors may be surprised at some of the findings that Biewen presents in the documentary. The site also includes an interactive feature that allows users to find out how their own state ranks in terms of welfare and foodstamp recipients, welfare check sizes, time limits, and unemployment rates. Visitors can also look over a list of additional external links of interest and also read the complete transcript of the program.
Source:

Related Links:

Your State of Welfare (also fromAmerican RadioWorks)
"Find out how your state ranks in terms of welfare and foodstamp recipients, welfare check sizes, time limits poverty and unemployment rates, welfare cases closed (and why) and more."
Comment: Wow - very impressive. Move your cursor over the map of the U.S. and it expands to let you click on the smaller states - provided that you know the names and locations of the states (it took me three tries to find Minnesota

Links and Resources - links to a dozen online resources

The latest Government report to Congress on welfare reform:

TEMPORARY ASSISTANCE FOR NEEDY FAMILIES (TANF)
Sixth Annual Report to Congress
November 2004
Source:
Office of Family Assistance
[ part of the Administration for Children and Families ]
[ part of the Department of Health and Human Services ]

Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN)
ACORN is the nation's largest community organization of low and moderate-income families, with over 100,000 member families organized into 500 neighborhood chapters in 40 cities across the country. Since 1970 ACORN has taken action and won victories on issues of concern to our members. Our priorities include: better housing for first time homebuyers and tenants, living wages for low-wage workers, more investment in our communities from banks and governments, and better public schools. We achieve these goals by building community organizations that have the power to win changes -- through direct action, negotiation, legislation, and voter participation.
See other ACORN affiliate websites:
ACORN Housing Corporation
ACORN Law on the Web
Living Wage Resource Center - Brief history of the national living wage movement, background materials such as ordinance summaries and comparisons, drafting tips, research summaries, talking points, and links to other living wage-related sites.

Beliefnet

The Twelve Tribes of American Politics
The religious groups that comprise the U.S. electorate--and how they voted in 2004.
Source:

NOTE:
Although this is not Canadian social policy as such, I was nonetheless compelled to include a link to this short (8-page) synopsis after the death last week of Jerry Falwell, icon of the Religious Right.
Religious groups that work to influence American public policy include:
• the "religious right" • heartland culture warriors moderate evangelicals • white bread protestants • convertible catholics • the "religious left" • spiritual but not religious • seculars • latinos • jews • muslims & other faiths • black protestants

- incl. info for each group on:
• Percent of voting-age population • Percent of 2004 voters • Who they are • Examples • Ideology • Political Party • Political trend • How they voted • What they care about

Benton Foundation - ("... working to realize the social benefits made possible by the public interest use of communications")
- Washington, D.C.
 - **Coalition for America's Children

 - **Children and Foster Care (June 1998)
American Public Human Services Association (formerly the American Public Welfare Association)

Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Bill and Melinda Gates believe every life has equal value. In 2000, they created the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to help reduce inequities in the United States and around the world.

Remarks of Bill Gates
Harvard Commencement
June 7, 2007
“From those to whom much is given, much is expected...
(...) We can make market forces work better for the poor if we can develop a more creative capitalism – if we can stretch the reach of market forces so that more people can make a profit, or at least make a living, serving people who are suffering from the worst inequities. We also can press governments around the world to spend taxpayer money in ways that better reflect the values of the people who pay the taxes. If we can find approaches that meet the needs of the poor in ways that generate profits for business and votes for politicians, we will have found a sustainable way to reduce inequity in the world. This task is open-ended. It can never be finished. But a conscious effort to answer this challenge will change the world. (...) I hope you will come back here to Harvard 30 years from now and reflect on what you have done with your talent and your energy. I hope you will judge yourselves not on your professional accomplishments alone, but also on how well you have addressed the world’s deepest inequities … on how well you treated people a world away who have nothing in common with you but their humanity."

Bloomberg
" Bloomberg is the leading global provider of data, news and analytics."

House Adopts Higher Minimum Wage, $310 Billion in Tax Cuts
July 29
"The House voted to boost the minimum wage for the first time since 1997 in Republican-backed legislation that also cuts $310 billion in taxes, largely by reducing a levy on multimillion-dollar estates. The minimum wage increase, and the inclusion of $38 billion in tax cuts that many Democrats support, were described by some Republicans as a bid to attract votes for the estate tax legislation when it reaches the Senate, where it has been rejected twice in the last month."
Source:

NOTE: if passed by the U.S. Senate, the House measure would boost the federal minimum wage, now at $5.15 an hour, to $7.25 by June 1, 2009. Over 80% of the US population supports a minimum wage increase, according to a CBS News/New York Times poll.

Related Link:

COMPARING THE HOUSE MINIMUM WAGE AND ESTATE TAX PROPOSALS:
Who Benefits and By How Much?
July 28
by Joel Friedman and Aviva Aron-Dine
http://www.cbpp.org/7-28-06tax2.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/7-28-06tax2.pdf, 2pp.
Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (Washington)

Google News Search Results:
"US, minimum wage"
Google Web Search Results:
"US, minimum wage"
Source:
Google.ca

Brookings Institution
In its research, The Brookings Institution functions as an independent analyst and critic, committed to publishing its findings for the information of the public. In its conferences and activities, it serves as a bridge between scholarship and public policy, bringing new knowledge to the attention of decisionmakers and affording scholars a better insight into public policy issues.
Large site - worth a long visit...
Includes links to : Economic Studies - Governmental Studies - Research - Scholars - Commentary - Opinion - Articles - Testimony - Events - Brookings Press - Media Contacts - Policy Centers - Center on Social and Economic Dynamics - Center on the United States and France - Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy - and much, much more.

Welfare Reform & Beyond (PowerPoint Presentation- 714K, 101 slides)
Spring 2002
Source:
The Brookings Institution
Excellent information on the history of welfare in the U.S. ---- highly recommended - if you can put up with the cryptic language of PowerPoint slides...
(this isn't a criticism of the Brookings Institution --- PowerPoint slides are often difficult to grasp without more detailed notes...)

The Challenge of Achieving High Work Participation Rates in Welfare Programs - U.S.
Policy Brief
by LaDonna Pavetti
October 2004
"Efforts to reform the welfare system over the last two decades have largely focused on reducing welfare dependency by getting welfare recipients to work. By the time the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program was created by the welfare reform law of 1996, there was widespread agreement in the states that welfare recipients should be required to look for work and to do so shortly after (or even before) they began receiving cash assistance. Once TANF was implemented, work became a central focus of local welfare offices. However, as shown by the recent debates on the reauthorization, consensus on work requirements remains elusive."
HTML version
PDF version (284K, 8 pages)

Welfare Reform: Plenty of Work Left
November 2, 2004
Philadelphia Daily News
by Margy Waller
"Late last summer, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson celebrated the eighth anniversary of the historic welfare-to-work law by announcing a small welfare caseload decline in 2003: 'American families are improving their lives by leaving public assistance and entering the workforce,'he said. A mere three days later, the U.S. Census Bureau announced the 2003 poverty estimates. Poverty increased and unfortunately, children accounted for most of the overall increase and more than a third of all poor people. This isn't the way things should work."
Source:
Welfare Reform - links to these two files plus dozens more articles, op-eds, speeches, (etc.) going back to 1997 on the subject of welfare reform
[ Welfare Reform and Beyond Project ]
[ The Brookings Institution ]

Heeding Clinton's Welfare Advice
Op-ed by Margy Waller
Philadelphia Daily News
February 6, 2004
"PRESIDENT Clinton shared a few ideas about how to next proceed on welfare reform just before he left office in 2001. His thoughts are worth reviewing as the Senate prepares to take up the reauthorization of the historic 1996 welfare law. Noting that it had then been five years since the bill had passed, he said, "We need to look and see where it's working and what the problems are."
He identified five issues for policy-makers: Helping the 'hard to place' to find work, job-training, transportation, addressing the needs of places with a disproportionate concentration of recipients and reducing recidivism.
Then he went on, saying 'one of the great stories of the last eight years is that all of us who thought poor people would rather work than draw a government check for not working were right.' But he worried that 'people still have to be able, even on modest wages, to succeed at work and at home,' citing the need to raise minimum wage and his disappointment that this hadn't happened since 1996.
Finally, he said something few politicians have been willing to say in the context of welfare policy: 'we've got to make sure that people who are working, particularly if they're single parents, can do a good job with their kids, because raising children is still the most important job of any society.'"

Welfare Reform: Building on Success
Testimony of Margy Waller (Brookings Institution) to the Senate Committee on Finance
March 12, 2003
"In my testimony, I will first review some important outcomes and lessons of the state and local implementation of the welfare law. Next, I will outline my concern that these successes will be undermined by the limitations and cost of the administration's proposal. Finally, I will make some specific recommendations to the committee for your consideration as you draft a reauthorization bill."
Full testimony (PDF file - 58K, 21 pages)

Tax Policy as Housing Policy: The Earned Income Tax Credit's Potential to Make Housing More Affordable for Working Families
by Michael Stegman,Walter Davis, and Roberto Quercia
October 2003
Full report (PDF file - 200K, 16 pages)

Block-Grant Mania: A Way to Cut Aid to the Working Poor?
In this op-ed, Margy Waller reviews the history of block grants and asks whether the administration's many block grant proposals are intended to lead to reduced federal funding to working poor families.
July 28, 2003

Tax Credits for Working Families: The New American Social Policy
August 2003
Highlights
"In a policy environment averse to direct spending on programs dedicated to income support, a variety of federal tax credits have emerged as key vehicles for providing assistance to low-to-moderate income families. Indeed, the two largest individual income tax credits—the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC)—will represent over $75 billion in tax expenditures in 2003."
Full Report (PDF file - 389K, 61 pages)

Tax Reform for Families
Publication Date: July 01, 2003
"This brief argues that the time is ripe for an integrated credit that combines the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit into an Earned Income Child Credit (EICC). The proposed EICC simplifies and standardizes the definition of qualifying children and those who may claim them, and indexes the new credit for inflation so that it retains its purchasing power over time. The EICC also provides enhanced benefits to low-income working families and reduces marginal tax rates. One version would cost $6 billion relative to current law (JGTRRA) in calendar year 2003.
Summary (HTML)
Complete report (PDF file - 271K, 8 pages)

Stunning Progress, Hidden Problems: The Dramatic Decline of Concentrated Poverty in the 1990s (PDF file - 1.1MB, 24 pages)
"The issue of concentrated poverty is one that continues to engage the attention of social workers, politicians, and scholars alike. In this intriguing 24-page report from the Brooking Institution's Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy, Paul A. Jargowsky presents findings that suggest that concentrated poverty declined significantly during the 1990s. Some of his findings include statistics indicating that the number of people living in high-poverty neighborhoods declined by 24 percent, and that concentrated poverty declined among all racial and ethnic groups, especially African-Americans. The methodology section is quite helpful, as it explains the exact definition of "high-poverty concentrations" and the federal government standards for poverty levels. Additionally, the report contains numerous tables, graphs, and charts that document this transformation, including several organized maps detailing this change in Detroit, Los Angeles, and Chicago."
Reviewed in The Scout Report (May 28, 2003), Copyright Internet Scout Project 1994-2002

Business Week

The Poverty Business
Inside U.S. companies' audacious drive to extract more profits from the nation's working poor
May 2007
"(...) In recent years, a range of businesses have made financing more readily available to even the riskiest of borrowers. Greater access to credit has put cars, computers, credit cards, and even homes within reach for many more of the working poor. But this remaking of the marketplace for low-income consumers has a dark side: Innovative and zealous firms have lured unsophisticated shoppers by the hundreds of thousands into a thicket of debt from which many never emerge."

NOTE: you'll find links to the following related items on the same page as the above article:

* Chart: Borrowing Binge
* Graphic: Extreme Interest
* Chart: The Other Banking System
* Graphic: From Thin Wallets, Big Money
* Study Now—And Pay And Pay And Pay Later
* Chart: Expensive Debt
* The Economics of the Poverty Business
* Cutting the Cost of Poverty

Source:
Business Week - May 21/07 issue

Canadian Policy Research Networks

Redesigning the “Welfare Mix” for Families: Policy Challenges
Discussion Paper by Jane Jenson, Director of the Family Network
Canadian Policy Research Networks
February 2003
Impressive, extensive collection of information on Canadian, American and European welfare (social assistance) programs and recent initiatives to improve labour market attachment as a means of reducing welfare dependency.
Includes some excellent info on the following topics (to mention but a few):
Defining the Welfare Mix - Current Challenges (An Ageing Society- Economic Marginalization and Social Exclusion - Changing Families - Child Poverty) - Redesigning the Welfare Mix: What is Being Done Elsewhere --- The European Union (An Employment-Centred Strategy for Achieving a Better Welfare Mix) - The United States (Welfare Mix of Hidden Expenditures and Dramatic Reforms) - The Adequacy of Social Assistance Benefits in Canada - Canada’s Strategies for Increasing Labour Force Attachment - Work and Family (Child Benefits and Other Supports for Families)
- also includes info about the Self-Sufficiency Project (Final Results), a table showing Adequacy of Welfare Benefits by Province and Location of Residence (Lone Parent, One Child Families and Couples with Two Children) - Comparison of Selected Countries’ Programs to Foster Labour Force Participation, Aid Transition from Social Assistance to Work, and Ensure Adequate Income - Rankings of Provinces by Amount of Social Benefit and “Poverty Gap” - Comparison of Provinces’ Programs to Foster Labour Force Participation, Aid Transition from Social Assistance to Work, and Ensure Adequate Income.

Cases and Materials on American Federalism
Purdue University - Calumet, Indiana
By Dr. Douglas G. Amber
"These materials were developed for the Introductory American Government & public policy classes that I teach at Purdue University Calumet. The cases and materials contained herein are an attempt to create an organized net-based resource for a political science student's journey of discovery into both the "hows" and the "whys" of American Government and public policy without getting bogged down in shallow discussions of the propriety vel non of the polarizing (and usually inflammatory) current topics of popular discussion."
- great collection of historical resources, includes links to : American Socio-Political Heritage - Our Constitutional Beginnings - The Consequences of Federalism - "Democracy": Its Definition(s) & Structure(s) - The Congress - The President - The Federal Courts - Civil Liberties & Rights - Glossary - Appendices [State Law -- Relevant Political Works Available Online - A Timeline of Events Related to American Federalism - PoliticalParties & Organizations With Websites - Additional Significant "Federalism" Cases]
Sample Content :
A Timeline of Events Related to American Federalism - 1066 to 2002

Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty
The Center for American Progress is a progressive think-tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action.

Investing in Our Children: The U.S. Can Learn From the U.K.
By Jane Waldfogel
July 30, 2007
The former and newly installed British prime ministers, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, are longstanding Labour Party rivals, yet they were able to unite in what history may one day view as their most important domestic achievement—a commitment to end child poverty in the United Kingdom.
(...)
Although most of the focus in the United Kingdom is on relative poverty, the government also tracks its progress using an absolute poverty line, similar to the one the United States uses. On this measure, the United Kingdom has reduced poverty by a stunning 50 percent since the start of its anti-poverty campaign—reducing the numbers of children in absolute poverty before housing costs from 3.4 million in 1999 to 1.6 million in 2006. From a U.S. vantage point, this is a remarkable achievement.
Source:
Center for American Progress

Also from the Center for American Progress:

Poverty Task Force
The Task Force on Poverty of the Center for American Progress has identified new solutions to address the fact that too many Americans are living on the edge in today's economy. Thirty-seven million Americans are poor and millions more struggle each month to pay for basic necessities. The Task Force calls for a national goal to cut poverty in half in 10 years and proposes a strategy to reach the goal.

Task Force Report:

From Poverty to Prosperity:
A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
April 25, 2007
"(...)Consider the following facts:
* One in eight Americans now lives in poverty.
* Millions of Americans will spend at least one year in poverty at some point in their lives. One third of all Americans will experience poverty within a 13-year period.
* Poverty in the United States is far higher than in many other developed nations.
* Inequality has reached record highs.

A strategy to cut poverty in half should be guided by four principles:
* Promote Decent Work.
* Provide Opportunity for All.
* Ensure Economic Security.
* Help People Build Wealth.

Twelve key steps to cut poverty in half:
1. Raise and index the minimum wage to half the average hourly wage.
2. Expand the Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit.
3. Promote unionization by enacting the Employee Free Choice Act.
4. Guarantee child care assistance to low-income families and promote early education for all.
5. Create 2 million new “opportunity” housing vouchers, and promote equitable development in and around central cities.
6. Connect disadvantaged and disconnected youth with school and work.
7. Simplify and expand Pell Grants and make higher education accessible to residents of each state.
8. Help former prisoners find stable employment and reintegrate into their communities.
9. Ensure equity for low-wage workers in the Unemployment Insurance system.
10. Modernize means-tested benefits programs to develop a coordinated system that helps workers and families.
11. Reduce the high costs of being poor and increase access to financial services.
12. Expand and simplify the Saver’s Credit to encourage saving for education, homeownership, and retirement.

Our recommendations would cut poverty in half. "
[Excerpts from the report]

Complete report (PDF file - 8.1MB, 80 pages)
Executive Summary (PDF file - 3.9MB, 8 pages)

Related links:

Canadian context:
There are currently "official" strategies to reduce poverty (including targets and benchmarks and all that) in the following Canadian jurisdictions:
Newfoundland and Labrador Poverty Reduction Strategy
Québec Strategy to Combat Poverty and Social Exclusion
In the United Kingdom:
Department for Work and Pensions - Child Poverty
(The U.K. Government is committed to halve child poverty by 2010 and eradicate it by 2020.)

----------------------------------------------

From Poverty to Prosperity
A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
Press Release
April 25, 2007
Washington, DC—Today the Center for American Progress released a new report from its Task Force on Poverty—From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half. CAP formed the task force over a year ago to tackle the persistent problems of poverty. With one in eight Americans living in poverty, and inequality at record highs, the time for action is now. The report recommends that the United States set a goal of cutting poverty in half over the next 10 years.

From Poverty to Prosperity: A National Strategy to Cut Poverty in Half
April 25, 2007
Highlights and recommendations - HTML

Complete report (PDF file - 8.1MB, 80 pages)

Executive Summary (PDF file - 3.9MB, 8 pages)
Research Model (PDF file - 2.9MB, 49 pages)
[HINT: don't waste your time opening the "research model" file if (like me) you don't know what a "TRIM3 Microsimulation Model" is. Economists, Go Nuts!]
Watch Task Force members discuss the report (video - might not be accessible behind an institutional firewall)
Source:
Task Force on Poverty
[ Center for American Progress Task Force on Poverty ]
The Center for American Progress is a progressive think-tank dedicated to improving the lives of Americans through ideas and action.

Check the CEPR Publications Page for 150+ reports about everything from Social Security and NAIRU to IMF and WTO.

Sample reports:

Tens of Millions of Families with Low-Wage Workers Fall Into Gap Left by Employers and Government
Nearly 41 million people in working families cannot afford basics like health care, housing, or child care, even with public work supports.
Press Release
October 10, 2007
Washington, DC--Low wages, inadequate benefits, and limited work supports leave one-in-five people (nearly 41 million) in working families struggling to make ends meet. According to a study released today by the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC, and the Center for Social Policy at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

National report:

Bridging the Gaps: A Picture of How Work Supports Work in Ten States (PDF file - 1.3MB, 47 pages)
October 2007
"...new findings on how well six work supports (child care assistance, Earned Income Tax Credit, Food Stamps, housing (public housing and section), Medicaid/State Children's Health Insurance Program, and Temporary Assistance to Needy Families) provide working families with the opportunity to bridge the gaps between their earnings and a basic standard of living."

Technical Report (PDF file - 1.1MB, 88 pages)
Podcast

Welfare-To-Nothing (Op-ed)
Heather Boushey
July 10, 2006

"(...)The new welfare rules set down by the Department of Health and Human Services last week establish uniform definitions of what constitutes work or work preparation activities for welfare recipients, limiting states’ ability to make these determinations. (...) In an Orwellian fashion, the administration refers to the increased work requirements as increasing self-sufficiency and reducing dependency. But a parent who must show up in study hall rather than do her homework with her children around the kitchen table is not less self-sufficient, not more. A parent who cannot take a day off to care for a sick child is not meeting her family’s needs. It’s time this administration stopped talking about self-sufficiency and sits down to look at the actual, rather than imagined, lives of working families and developed policies that—sufficiently—foster a workable balance between work and family."

The Conservative Nanny State
How the Wealthy Use the Government to Stay Rich and Get Richer (U.S.)
A free e-book by Dean Baker, published May 2006
"In his new book, economist Dean Baker debunks the myth that conservatives favor the market over government intervention. In fact, conservatives rely on a range of “nanny state” policies that ensure the rich get richer while leaving most Americans worse off. It’s time for the rules to change. Sound economic policy should harness the market in ways that produce desirable social outcomes – decent wages, good jobs and affordable health care."

"The key flaw in the stance that most progressives have taken on economic issues is that they have accepted a framing whereby conservatives are assumed to support market outcomes, while progressives want to rely on the government. This framing leads progressives to futilely lash out against markets, rather than examining the factors that lead to undesirable market outcomes. The market is just a tool, and in fact a very useful one. It makes no more sense to lash out against markets than to lash out against the wheel." (Excerpted from Preface)

Complete report:
PDF version (1MB, 119 pages)
HTML version

Press Release

Source:
Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR)
[Dean Baker is a macroeconomist and co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC.]

Related Link:

Socialism for the rich
by Scott Piatkowski
May 25, 2006
Source:
rabble.ca

CERP Briefing- poverty, income, and health insurance coverage for 2003
August 19, 2004
"On August 26, the U.S. Census will release new numbers on poverty, income, and health insurance coverage for 2003. This data will come from the Current Population Survey's Annual Demographic Supplement, conducted in March 2004. The Census will also release data from the 2003 American Community Survey. CERP is previewing this data on August 19 by presenting analysis on poverty, income, and health insurance coverage from the Survey of Income and Program Participation (SIPP), another Census data product, for the first six months of 2003."

Analysis of the Upcoming Release of 2003 Data on Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance
By Heather Boushey
August 19, 2004

Globalization - links to two dozen recent publications and news, plus links to resources on the following: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank - Taxing Speculation (Tobin Tax) - The World Trade Organization (WTO) - The Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) - The Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA)

IMF / World Bank - links to 50+ online resources

Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)
"The Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) is a national non-profit that works to improve the lives of low-income people. CLASP’s mission is to improve the economic security, educational and workforce prospects, and family stability of low-income parents, children, and youth and to secure equal justice for all."

Sample reports from the Center for Law and Social Policy:

Final TANF [Temporary Assistance for Needy Families] Rules Include Modest Improvements;
Further Action Needed to Restore the Safety Net (PDF File - 32K, 2 pages)
by Elizabeth Lower-Basch
February 1, 2008
This week, the Department of Health and Human Services placed on public display the final rules implementing the changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. These regulations are scheduled for publication in the Federal Register next week. The final rule contains a number of modest changes from the interim final rule published in June 2006 and the guidance that HHS has given states since then. Many of the changes respond to concerns that CLASP and numerous other organizations submitted in response to the interim final rule. The rule also provides some helpful clarifications in areas where states were concerned that they might be subject to penalty.
Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy

What's TANF?
Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) is a block grant created by the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act of 1996, as part of a federal effort to “end welfare as we know it.” The TANF block grant replaced the Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) program, which had provided cash welfare to poor families with children since 1935...
Source:
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities

Improving Access to Education and Training for TANF Participants (PDF file - 31K, 2 pages)
May 18, 2007
By Elizabeth Lower-Basch
The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant is one of the major sources of funding for services designed to help low-income parents succeed in the workplace. The TANF law limits the degree to which states can count TANF families engaged in education and training activities toward federal work participation rate requirements—an unfortunate limitation, given the strong link between educational attainment and earnings. In this two-pager, CLASP recommends that Congress remove these arbitrary limits on education and training.
"(...)policies limiting access to education and training are highly counterproductive, as there is strong evidence that education leading to a credential—whether a training certificate or a postsecondary degree—is an effective pathway to higher earnings. (...) welfare to work programs that have succeeded in helping participants find higher paying jobs typically have made substantial use of education and training, including access to postsecondary programs."

Securing Equal Justice for All:
A Brief History of Civil Legal Assistance in the United States (3.2MB, 71 pages)
January 2007 (Revised)
by Alan W. Houseman and Linda E. Perle.
This document chronicles civil legal assistance for the low-income community in the United States from its privately funded beginnings, through its achievement of federal funding, and to its expansion and growth into a national program operating throughout the U.S. It also describes some of the political battles that have been fought around the legal services program and the restrictions that have come with government funding. It concludes with some brief thoughts about the future.

Child Care and Early Education State-by-State Data - U.S.
November 16, 2006
This set of state-by-state data includes new analysis of 2005 child care spending from Child Care Development Block Grant and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families funds and of 2005 Head Start Program Information Report data, along with data (published in March 2006) on states’ use of community-based child care to provide pre-kindergarten.

Child Care Assistance in 2005: State Cuts Continue (PDF file - 78K, 9 pages)
November 1, 2006
State spending on child care assistance declined in 2005 for the second consecutive year. Twenty-two states made cuts to their child care programs, as the number of children living in low-income families that received help from these programs continued to decline. Many families turn to child care assistance programs to get help paying for the child care they need in order to work and to succeed. This policy brief provides an overview of national expenditure data for the Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) funds directed towards child care. 9 pages.

Analysis of Fiscal Year 2005 TANF and MOE Spending by States
October 10, 2006

Two-Thirds of States Qualify as "Needy States" for
Extended Counting of TANF Job Search and Job Readiness Assistance
July 28, 2006
by Elizabeth Lower-Basch
Under TANF rules, job search and job readiness assistance may only be counted toward the work participation rate for 6 weeks in a fiscal year; however this limit is extended to 12 weeks in high unemployment states and those qualifying as "needy" under the Contingency Fund provisions of the law. This provision gives eligible states some flexibility in providing activities that address barriers to employment and that are only countable toward meeting TANF participation rates under the job search/job readiness work activity as defined in the interim final regulations.

CLASP Federal Budget Resources
July 12, 2006
"CLASP actively tracks and analyzes developments in the areas of our focus—with the goal of promoting a federal budget that does not disproportionately disadvantage programs for vulnerable families or reduce services and supports that are effective in moving families toward self-sufficiency."

Source:

Analysis of New Interim Final TANF Rules (PDF file - 286K, 34 pages)
July 21/06
by CLASP and the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
This collaborative analysis provides an overview of the major regulatory provisions and the implications for state policies of rules issued by the Department of Health and Human Services on June 29, 2006. The interim final regulations implement the changes to the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program made by the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. The analysis explains the new federal definitions of the countable work activities and their implications for education and training and services for individuals with barriers to employment. The analysis also examines the treatment of child-only cases, how hours of participation must be counted tracked and verified, implications for child care, and changes in the maintenance of effort requirement.

Getting Punched: The Job and Family Clock...It's Time for Flexible Work for Workers of All Wages (PDF file - 159K, 32 pages)
July 20/06 by Jodie Levin-Epstein
Get the facts on the dramatic labor market changes that result in more and more workers facing dual and dueling responsibilities - those at work and those at home. Businesses that recognize this tension address it through responsive scheduling and paid time off; and, these businesses benefit from cost savings when they do. Getting Punched suggests 10 ways that government should get more involved in promoting responsive workplaces for workers of all wages. It's about time.

All 2006 CLASP publications on welfare reform (with links to earlier years at the bottom of the page)
All 2006 publications on child care and early education (ditto)

The UK Commitment: Ending Child Poverty by 2020 (PDF file - 100K, 17 pages)
by Elisa Minoff
January 30, 2006
In 1999, the United Kingdom (UK) announced its pledge to cut child poverty by one-quarter by 2004 and eliminate it by 2020. This paper examines the history of this ambitious commitment, and the progress to date. It also analyzes the components of the national effort—which range from employment supports, asset building initiatives, and child-targeted assistance to tax, welfare, and education policies—and the next steps the UK is considering to meet the goal of eradicating child poverty.
Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) - U.S.
"...a national, nonprofit organization founded in 1968, conducts research, policy analysis, technical assistance, and advocacy on issues related to economic security for low-income families with children."

House Cuts to Foster Care Funding Would Jeopardize Children
Living With Grandparents and Other Relatives (PDF file - 43K, 5 pages)
November 9, 2005
"The House of Representatives is considering budget reconciliation legislation that would decrease federally funded foster care services by $577 million over five years and $1.3 billion over ten years. This brief examines the provisions, which, if implemented, would discourage the placement of abused and neglected children with grandparents and other relatives, impede efforts to reunify children with their parents, and make it more difficult to provide critical services to children and families."

Families Will Lose Child Care Assistance under Ways and Means Committee Welfare Reauthorization Bill (PDF file - 36K, 4 pages)
November 1, 2005
"The House Ways and Means Committee’s budget reconciliation bill includes provisions to reauthorize the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. Even as the bill increases families’ work requirements—and thus, the need for child care—it provides only $500 million in new child care funding over five years, despite Congressional Budget Office estimates that keeping pace with inflation will cost $4.8 billion over five years. If enacted, this bill would force states to cut child care assistance for low-income working families over the coming years."

CLASP Federal Budget and Tax Policy Page
"For quick links to these and other CLASP analyses, as well as comprehensive background materials and resources from partner organizations and coalitions, visit the CLASP federal budget and tax policy page."

Testimony of Mark Greenberg to the
Subcommittee on 21st Century Competitiveness (PDF file - 74K, 14 pages)
Committee on Education and the Workforce, U.S. House of Representatives
March 15, 2005
Mark Greenberg
Director of Policy
Center for Law and Social Policy
This testimony discusses the work and child care provisions of the 1996 welfare law, pending reauthorization proposals, and CLASP’s recommendations.
"Between 1996 and 2000, combined federal and state funding for child care tripled. Most of the growth was attributable to federal funds, and the single biggest factor was the ability of states to redirect TANF funds. As a result of this increased funding, the number of children receiving subsidies grew from an estimated 1 million in 1996 to 2.4 million in 2001, and states were able to improve child care payment rates to providers, reduce required family copayments to make child care more affordable, and expand quality initiatives. (...) During the last three years, several key indicators have become less positive. (...) The economy entered into a recession, after which initial job growth was slow. States entered into a period of large budget deficits, placing strains on TANF funds and other state resources, and forcing cutbacks in child care and other services. The pressures resulting from the economy and state budget crises are apparent in indicators of employment, child poverty, child care, and welfare participation." (Excerpt, p. 2)
Source:
Center for Law and Social Policy

Welfare Caseloads Increase in 27 States Between June and September 2003 (PDF file - 116K, 7 pages)
February 2004

Administration is Misstating Amount of Child Care Funding in Pending TANF Reauthorization Bills
CLASP and Center for Budget and Policy Priorities
December 2003

Centre for Public Sector Studies (University of Victoria)
The Centre for Public Sector Studies was established in 1978 to encourage interdisciplinary research in public policy at the University of Victoria.
Summer Institute for Social Policy Analysis (UVic)
North American Institute - "NAMI's mission is to examine all aspects of the North American regional relationship, recognizing the challenges facing the governments, peoples and cultures of North America, and to develop better approaches to this changing relationship"
Center for North American Studies (Duke University) Interdisciplinary international center focusing on the political, social, and cultural consequences of regionalization, and attempts to place them within the long history of the interaction of Canada and Mexico with the United States.

Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP)
"...one of the leading organizations in the country working on fiscal policy issues and issues affecting low- and moderate-income families and individuals. The Center specializes in research and analysis oriented toward policy decisions that policymakers face at both federal and state levels. The Center examines data and research findings and produces analyses designed to be accessible to public officials, other non-profit organizations, and the media."

List of reports in the CBPP Publications Library: All recent material is online and free; paper copies of older studies can be ordered from CBPP.
- Includes many reports and studies organized under the following themes: Federal Tax Policies - Federal Budget Priorities - State Fiscal Policies - State Welfare and TANF Issues - Federal Welfare Policies - Social Security Reform - Poverty & Income Issues - Low-Income Housing - Health - EITC Analyses - Food Assistance - Labor Market Policies - Immigrants

February 4, 2008

2009 Federal Budget Analysis
- incl. links to extensive budget analysis and special features, e.g., Introduction to the Federal Budget, Slideshow: Federal Budget Overview
Sample content:
--- The Dubious Priorities of the President’s Budget
"The President's budget would provide more tax cuts heavily skewed to the most well-off while cutting vital services for low- and moderate-income Americans, generating large deficits, and increasing the strain on states already confronting budget problems as a result of the economic downturn. The budget reflects misguided priorities that would leave the American people more vulnerable in a number of ways...."
--- President's Budget Would Push States Deeper into Fiscal Crisis
"Federal grants to states and localities cut deeply in Fiscal Year 2009 Federal Budget"

State Budget Debates
- analysis of state budget issues including multi-state trends, the adequacy and equity of tax policies, structural budget issues, and budget transparency

U.S. 2009 Federal Budget Links from the Center for Law and Social Policy:

President’s Budget Disregards Sound Investments for Young Children (small PDF file - 5 pages)
February 4, 2008
by Hannah Matthews and Danielle Ewen.
Every Administration uses the budget to send a signal about its priorities for the coming year. In this period of economic downturn, when our most vulnerable children and families need access to comprehensive supports, the message of this budget is simple and stark: children in low-income working families don’t matter.

Related link from the Government Printing Office (GPO):

Fiscal Year 2009 Budget (FY09)
- Transmitted to Congress on February 4, 2008
- Covers the fiscal year beginning October 1, 2008

Browse the FY09 budget - links to: Budget Documents | Appendix | Supporting Documents | Related Documents | Spreadsheets
Description of FY09 budget documents

Related link from the
National Association of State Budget Officers:

State Budget Links

More sample CBPP site content:

Poverty and hardship affect tens of millions of Americans
December 20, 2007
During the holiday season, we know that many national, regional, and local media focus attention on less-fortunate Americans and the efforts to help them through charities, food banks, and other institutions. With this in mind, the Center has issued a new snapshot of the state of poverty and hardship in this country. The analysis takes stock of how the poor are faring in terms of incomes, food availability, housing needs, and health coverage and explains the inadequacy of current federal programs to address those problems.

Full report:
HTML : http://www.cbpp.org/12-20-07pov.htm
PDF : http://www.cbpp.org/12-20-07pov.pdf (3pp.)

Appendix providing additional information on the data:
http://www.cbpp.org/12-20-07pov-app.pdf (4pp.)

Other reports on poverty and income

Income inequality hits record levels, new CBO data show
Incomes Rose $180,000 for Top 1 Percent in 2005 But Just $400 for Middle-Income Households
December 14, 2007
By Arloc Sherman
[PDF version - 4 pages]
Real after-tax incomes jumped by an average of nearly $180,000 for the top 1 percent of households in 2005, while rising just $400 for middle-income households and $200 for lower-income households, according to new data from the Congressional Budget Office (CBO). Taken together with prior research, the new data indicate that income is now more concentrated at the top than at any time since 1929.
Other highlights of the CBO data show that as of 2005:
* The share of the nation’s total after-tax income going to the top 1 percent of households more than doubled and hit the highest level on record (with data back to 1979).
* The share of national after-tax income going to the middle fifth of households (the middle 20 percent) was the smallest on record.
* Similarly, the share of national after-income tax going to households in the bottom fifth was the smallest on record.
The $180,000 average income gain for these households in 2005 is more than three times the average middle-income household’s total income.

Policy Points:
ADDRESSING MISCONCEPTIONS ABOUT THE NEW SENATE BUDGET PLAN
March 16, 2007
The new Senate budget resolution is a bigger break with recent congressional budget practices — and a larger step in the direction of fiscal responsibility — than some initial media reports suggest.
http://www.cbpp.org/policy-points3-16-07.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/policy-points3-16-07.pdf - 2pp

THE SENATE BUDGET COMMITTEE'S BUDGET PLAN: A Brief Analysis
By James Horney
This analysis examines various aspects of the budget plan including:
* the adherence to Pay-As-You-Go rules,
* provisions for funding discretionary and entitlement programs,
* revenue assumptions, and
* effects on the deficit.
http://www.cbpp.org/3-16-07bud.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/3-16-07bud.pdf - 5pp

President's budget would cut deeply into important public services and adversely affect states
February 2007
by Arloc Sherman, Sharon Parrott and Danilo Trisi
This new analysis finds that:
* The President’s budget would reduce funding for most parts of the domestic discretionary budget below the 2007 funding levels, adjusted for inflation. The cuts would start in 2008 and grow deeper in each of the four succeeding years.
* The proposed reductions would effectively shift billions of dollars in costs on to states, requiring them to scale back key public services or raise taxes to plug the holes left by the federal cuts.
* The reductions would come from a wide range of areas, including education, environmental protection, community development, and key supports for low-income families.
* At the same time, the budget would permanently extend virtually all of the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts. Extending the tax cuts would cost much more each year than all of the proposed discretionary program cuts would save.

Summary:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud.htm

Full Report:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud.pdf (PDF file - 294K, 21pages)

State-by-State Tables:
http://www.cbpp.org/2-21-07bud-tables.pdf (PDF file - 498K, 48 pages)

Myths and realities about the Alternative Minimum Tax
February 14, 2007
by Aviva Aron-Dine
Public discussion of issues surrounding the AMT suffers from several misconceptions, which seem to be widespread among policymakers and others.

The Alternative Minimum Tax was created in 1969 to ensure that the highest-income households could not exploit loopholes, exclusions, and deductions to avoid paying any federal income tax. The AMT acts as a stop-gap tax system, with taxpayers owing their regular income tax or AMT liability, whichever is higher. Because the AMT parameters were never indexed for inflation, and because the 2001 and 2003 tax cuts substantially lowered taxpayers’ liability under the regular income tax without changing the structure of the AMT, the tax will affect a rapidly increasing number of taxpayers in future years in the unlikely event that no changes are made.

This piece examines 1) who pays the AMT, 2) the causes of the AMT problem, and 3) options for AMT reform.
http://www.cbpp.org/2-14-07tax.htm
http://www.cbpp.org/2-14-07tax.pdf 6pp.

Tax Cuts : Myths and Realities
Revised February 13, 2007
Since 2001, the Administration and Congress have enacted a wide array of tax cuts, including reductions in individual income tax rates, repeal of the estate tax, and reductions in capital gains and dividend taxes. Nearly all of these tax cuts are scheduled to expire by the end of 2010. Making them permanent would cost about $3.5 trillion over the next decade (when the cost of additional interest on the federal debt is included). Because important decisions about these tax policies must be made in the next few years, it is essential to understand their effects on deficits, the economy, and the distribution of income. Supporters of the tax cuts have sometimes sought to bolster their case by understating the tax cuts’ costs, overstating their economic effects, or minimizing their regressivity. Here, we address some of the myths heard most frequently in recent tax-cut debates.

Implementing the TANF changes in the Deficit Reduction Act:
“win-win” solutions for families and states
Second Edition
February 9, 2007
In the coming months, states will face key choices as they decide the next direction for their Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) programs. After a lengthy and contentious reauthorization process, Congress enacted changes to TANF in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005 (DRA) that substantially increase the proportion of assistance recipients who must participate in work activities for a specified number of hours each week. In June 2006, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) issued new regulations that implement these changes and significantly limit states’ flexibility in assigning recipients to work activities. The new requirements will be challenging for most states to meet and likely will require increased investments in welfare-to-work programs and work supports. (...) This guidebook, intended for state policymakers, human service agency staff, policy analysts, and others, discusses strategies that can help states as they consider their policy options for this next phase of welfare reform.

Complete report (PDF file - 665K, 129 pages)
Executive summary (PDF file - 156K, 6 pages)
Table of contents - download the individual chapters and appendix by clicking on the links appearing in the table of contents in the right-hand margin of the page.
[HINT: scroll down the table of contents page to see a short sumamry of all chapters before clicking on any individual chapter link.]
--- Chapter 1: Changes to TANF Requirements Under the Deficit Reduction Act
--- Chapter 2: Improving Welfare-To-Work Programs and Increasing Engagement
--- Chapter 3: Income Supplements for Working Families
--- Chapter 4: Making TANF Work for Individuals with Disabilities
--- Chapter 5: Examining TANF Spending Priorities
--- Appendix: Additional Resources on Work Support Programs

Poverty Remains Higher, and Median Income for Non-Elderly Is Lower, Than When Recession Hit Bottom:
Poor Performance Unprecedented For Four-Year Recovery Period
August 30, 2006

The Number of Uninsured Americans Is at an All-Time High
August 29, 2006

How to Assess Tomorrow's Income and Poverty numbers
August 28, 2006
by Arloc Sherman and Robert Greenstein
Tomorrow, August 29, the Census Bureau will release findings regarding household income and poverty for 2005. This analysis provides some context within which the data should be viewed.
HTML - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.htm
PDF - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.pdf 2pp.

How to Assess Tomorrow's Income and Poverty numbers
August 28, 2006
by Arloc Sherman and Robert Greenstein
Tomorrow, August 29, the Census Bureau will release findings regarding household income and poverty for 2005. This analysis provides some context within which the data should be viewed.
HTML - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.htm
PDF - http://www.cbpp.org/8-28-06pov.pdf 2pp.

Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) AT 10:
Program Results are More Mixed than Often Understood
by Sharon Parrott and Arloc Sherman
August 17, 2006
"The 1996 Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act established the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) block grant. Under TANF, states received fixed block grants and had broad flexibility to design their own rules for their cash assistance progr