Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children | janresseger

Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children | janresseger

Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children

When public policy has been entirely inadequate and misguided for decades, it is difficult to grasp the full implications of the beginning steps for reform. Such is the case with President Joe Biden’s proposal last week to respond to our society’s outrageous level of child poverty. The development of coherent, efficient policy to ameliorate the overwhelming and complicated problems of America’s poorest families will take a long time, even if Democrats continue to occupy the White House and sustain Congressional majorities.

But on April 28, President Biden introduced a plan to begin the journey to remedy fiscal austerity when it comes to our society’s poorest families and children. We can turn to some experts to put the significance of President Biden’s proposed American Families Plan in perspective.

California’s EdSource quotes Deborah Stipek, a professor in the Stanford University Graduate School of Education: “Biden’s proposals, so far, will go further toward supporting children—especially those living in poverty—than anyone in the White House in my lifetime… Right now, children from low-income families are beginning kindergarten substantially behind their middle-class peers. Most of the achievement gap is well in place when children begin school. One reason is lower participation in preschool and lower quality preschool for low-income children. Anything that broadens access and ensures quality is worth doing, and the child care and extension of the tax credit initiatives are very exciting.”

First Focus on Children’s Bruce Lesley also believes Biden’s American Families Plan is revolutionary: “There are moments in time when historic or transformational changes are made by our nation’s leaders to really make a difference for children and families in this CONTINUE READING: Biden’s Proposed American Families Plan Would Revolutionize Life for Poor Children | janresseger

CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, Joe

CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, Joe

Dammit, Joe

So up on my screen pops the headline "Biden says K-12 education isn't working--calls for fgre pre-K to 'grade 14'"

The good news is that the headlines is, as headlines will be, a bit inaccurate. The bad news is everything else. Starting with this lede:

President Joe Biden on Wednesday praised the nation's K-12 education system for fueling America's economic growth for almost a century. But, he stressed, that system may no longer be sufficient as the foundation for future prosperity.

We've been here before, starting with this fundamental misunderstanding of the problem:

Mr. Biden's American Families Plan is taking aim at an issue that has bedeviled economists as well as millions of families struggling to stay afloat financially: A high school diploma is no longer enough to secure a middle-class life.

If the situation has changed, if all the good stuff has been moved to a shelf that is too high for regular folks to reach, is the problem that regular folks are too short, or that somebody moved the good stuff to a too-high shelf? The democratic/neo-lib theory is based on the too-short-humans theory, in part because the MarketWorld thinking of neo-libs is that the economic CONTINUE READING: CURMUDGUCATION: Dammit, Joe

The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium

The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever

There are moments in time when historic or transformational changes are made by our nation’s leaders to really make a difference for children and families in this country. If President Biden’s just released American Families Plan becomes law, today would be one of those moments.

Unfortunately, the reality we face is that children are often merely an afterthought of election officials, as kids do not vote, do not make campaign contributions or operate a Political Action Committee (PAC), and do not employ a team of lobbyists to demand that lawmakers hear their concerns and address their needs.

To overcome these barriers for children, we at First Focus Campaign for Children established a Legislative Scorecard to identify Champions for Children in the U.S. House and Senate who do positive things for children and families because it is the right thing to do and not because a special interest gave them a campaign contribution. We also created a Children’s Budget to identify and analyze all investments in the federal budget and to hold the White House and Congress accountable for whether they are succeeding or failing our children. In that endeavor, we have often quoted then Sen. Joe Biden and his words:

Don’t tell me what you value, show me your budget, and I’ll tell you what you value.

When candidate Biden was running for president, other candidates had a CONTINUE READING: The American Families Plan: Potentially the Most Important Proposal for Children Ever | by Bruce Lesley | Voices4Kids | Apr, 2021 | Medium