It’s over! The election is over. No matter how you voted or how you feel about the results, we can all breathe a sigh of relief, at least for the short while between now and the next election. In his acceptance speech, President Obama illustrated his vision for our future: “Despite all our differences, most of us share certain hopes for America’s future. We want our kids to grow up in a country where they [...]
The following post first appeared in A Better Life, a blog for the Courier-Journal about the aftermath of the recession. I spent the last 3 presidential debates and the vice presidential debate on my couch at home, very tense, watching and listening closely. While I was watching as a concerned citizen (though a decided voter), I was also watching as a child advocate – specifically listening for any mention of child programs, the need to [...]
Tuesday’s meeting of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform was disappointing. Walking into the conference room, you would have noticed the 15 or so easels with boards containing 95 options for tax reform. The Commissioners added a 96th option during the meeting. Including Tuesday’s meeting, the Commissioners have three, four-hour meetings to par that list of 96 options into a cohesive plan of recommendations for reforming Kentucky’s tax system. Options range from applying [...]
Unless you live off the grid, it was difficult not to notice all of national attention paid to Kentucky last week – Danville, Kentucky in particular. The Vice Presidential debate brought hundreds of reporters from around the world to Danville for one evening. Things were a buzz around Kentucky Youth Advocates as well. It was a busy week for us hosting the 2012 Step Up for Kids Conference on Monday, working with the Heart of [...]
A strong Kentucky economy is based on the foundation of local economies; in turn, local economies depend on stable, working families. Members of the Governor’s Blue Ribbon Commission on Tax Reform and policymakers are facing critical decisions as they work to make recommendations to modernize Kentucky’s tax system and hopefully build a stronger future for Kentucky. A state EITC is a proven way to increase work participation, generate local business, and pull families from poverty [...]
How would you answer this question? “Have there been times in the past 12 months when you did not have enough money to buy food that you or your family needed?” Gallup asked this question of people throughout the country and 18% of Kentuckians did not have enough money for the food they or their families needed. Eighteen percent. That is almost one in five Kentuckians who could not afford a basic necessity. Before Congress [...]
We know that all children benefit when they live in families with adequate resources to meet their basic needs. But, not all families can make ends meet during these extraordinarily difficult economic times. That’s where the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) comes in. State EITCs (accompanying the federal EITC) not only make a difference for families’ pocket books, but also in the health of their children. State EITCs are correlated to healthier babies and better [...]
The future prosperity of Kentucky depends on the state’s ability to foster the health and well-being of the next generation. When Kentucky makes smart investments in kids, the next generation will pay this back through a lifetime of productivity and responsible citizenship. Unfortunately, this “payback” is becoming increasingly difficult to achieve as social mobility of any kind becomes further out of reach for children growing up with fewer family resources. While in Washington, DC last [...]
There has been a lot of buzz, both positive and negative, in the child advocacy world following the publication of the Esquire article, The War Against Youth, by Stephen Marche. I responded in a blog post with my thoughts on how the youngest generation faces tougher hurdles to succeed as adults and why investments in kids are more important than ever. Generations United also responded to the article, concerned that generations were being pitted against one [...]
New economic well-being data has been posted to the KIDS COUNT Data Center, including the average monthly number of children receiving Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits (formerly called food stamps), assistance from the Kentucky Transitional Assistance Program (KTAP) , and those ages 0 – 5 served by the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). These new data reflect the lingering effects of the recession through 2011. The average monthly number [...]
