Poverty Law Prof Blog

House Committee on Ways and Means to hold Hearing on Establishing a Modern Poverty Measure

The Ways and Means Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives is holding a hearing this Thursday, July 17th, on "Establishing a Modern Poverty Measure." Submissions for the record can be uploaded here.  This hearing is similar to one that took place almost a year ago, the testimony and written submissions of which are available here. 

Today, New York City announced, see N.Y. Times story here, it was abandoning the federal poverty line in favor of the model originally proposed by the National Academy of Sciences, a change that would define a greater number of people in New York City as poor.  The NAS report is available as a book but is also available from the Census Bureau website, here: Measuring Poverty: A New Approach.  Gordon Fisher's Development and History of the Poverty Thresholds is available here.

-Thanks to the Kojo Nnamdi show for their coverage of this.  E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Principle or Campaign Driven Support of Faith-Based Delivery of Social Services?

Barack Obama announced yesterday that he wants to continue Bush's Faith-Based Initiative program and, according to a New York Times story here, he may consider "elevating the director of his Council for Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships to a cabinet-level post."  Obama's speech is available on his website here.  A Washington Post op-ed by Michael Gerson that is not very sympathetic and touches on the politics of this policy can be found here.  I expect tomorrow's papers will have many more op-eds on the topic as writers react.  The following resources look at or touch on Bush's faith-based programs:

• John J. DiIulio Jr., Godly Republic: A Centrist Blueprint for America's Faith-Based Future (2007). 
• David Kuo, Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction (2006)
• Martha Minow, Should Religious Groups Be Exempt from Civil Rights Laws?, 48 Boston Coll. L. Rev. 781 (2007) and somewhat relatedly: Martha Minow, Partners, Not Rivals: Privatization and the Public Good (2003).
• Office of Faith Based Initiatives, The Quiet Revolution: The President's Faith-Based and Community Initiative: A Seven-Year Progress Report (White House 2008). 

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Congressional Research Services on Child Welfare Issues in the 110th Congress

For those who don't know... Congressional Research Service is the public think tank of the nation, providing reports to members of Congress on current political issues.  For more on CRS, click here.  Open CRS provides access to CRS reports that are in the public domain... Anyway, there is a new report of interest:

• "Child Welfare Issues in the 110th Congress" (Emilie Stoltzfus, CRS Report for Congress, Feb. 26, 2008) (the summary is on page 2 of the report). 

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Clinton Proposes "Poverty Czar"

Hillary Clinton announced that as President she would create a "Poverty Czar."  The story is covered by a  N.Y. Times article, a Boston.com post, and the full speech can be found here from the Clinton website. 

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Romney's gracious exit from the campaign

It is almost not worth blogging about, but after listening to Mitt Romney's withdrawal speech from the presidential campaign (Romney campaign press release here), I thought his attack on welfare was worth noting because it seemed particularly angry as well as odd; quoting from the speech, "... tolerance for pornography--even celebration of it--and sexual promiscuity, combined with the twisted incentives of government welfare programs have led to today's grim realities...".  For more, see the text of his speech, available here. 

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Krugman on the difference between the Clinton and Obama Health Care plans

Paul Krugman (an unofficial Krugman site is here) has an interesting article on the health care proposals of Clinton and Obama and how the plans differ in terms of ensuring everyone is covered: "Clinton, Obama, Insurance" NYTimes Feb. 4, 2008.  The conclusion, that Obama's plan will leave some uninsured is not surprising if you have been following the debates, but Krugman is always worth reading. 

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Candidates Obama, Edwards, and Clinton on Poverty

There is a new center for the study of poverty at Stanford, The Stanford Center for the Study of Poverty and Inequality, and their first issue of Pathways: a magazine on poverty, inequality, and social policy edited by David Grusky and Chris Wimer is out.  The issue (available here) contains the following articles:

Letter from the Editors by David Grusky and Chris Wimer

TRENDS
Poorer by Comparison by Timothy M. Smeeding
The U.S. has much poverty, far more than comparable countries, like the U.K. Why?
Striking it Richer by Emmanuel Saez
A new analysis of tax data reveals an unprecedented rise at the top of the income distribution. Are capitalists or professionals the big winners?

A NEW WAR ON POVERTY?
It is time for a new war on poverty? The presidential candidates and top commentators weigh in.
Building One America by John Edwards
Pragmatic Solutions for Reducing Poverty and Inequality by Hillary Clinton
Tackling Poverty and Inequality in America by Barack Obama
How to Wage the New War on Poverty: Advising and Grading the Candidates by Rebecca Blank
Poverty and Marriage, Inequality and Brains by Charles Murray
The Pragmatic Case for Reducing Income Inequality by Robert Frank

RESEARCH IN BRIEF
New research developments
The gender gap in educational outcomes, debt reform and financial risk, and the surprising decline in residential segregation.

INTERVENTIONS
Escaping Poverty: Can Housing Vouchers Help? by Stefanie DeLuca and James E. Rosenbaum
Should poverty policy be built around housing vouchers? Making sense of the evidence.

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu

Edward's "Two Americas" Time Article

Time Magazine recently featured the story, ""Two Americas" Enough for Edwards?" by Karen Tumulty.  It discusses Edwards' coming to focus on poverty issues and the power of his 2004 Two Americas speech. 

-E.R. erosser@wcl.american.edu