Womenstake

Double Standards in the Economic Recovery Debate

by Joan Entmacher, Vice President for Family Economic Security
National Women’s Law Center

The Senate has started debating the economic recovery plan, and it could do a lot to create and preserve jobs for women and men, help families through tough times, and invest in our nation’s human capital and physical infrastructure.  But despite the dire need, the outcome in the Senate is uncertain.  Not a single House Republican voted for the package – and there’s a risk that measures important to women and families could get dropped or scaled back to make room for corporate tax breaks that will do little to create jobs.

While modest investments in Head Start are questioned, multinational corporations are mounting a “lobbying blitz” to get billions of dollars in additional tax breaks into the package.  Their goal is to get Congress to declare another “dividend repatriation” tax holiday.  This would allow corporations that shifted their profits overseas to bring them back at a super-low tax rate:  5.25% instead of the usual 35% rate on corporate profits. 

As Citizens for Tax Justice observes, this would reward corporations that moved their profits to offshore tax havens and create an incentive for them to do it again.  But – even so – would it create jobs?  If corporations knew that they had a one-time-only opportunity to bring funds back to the United States at a low tax rate, would they bring back the money and invest it in creating jobs at home?

That’s what Congress hoped when it declared the first tax holiday for multinationals in 2004 as part of the American Jobs Creation Act of 2004.  But, even though Congress put restrictions on the use of the repatriated funds, several analyses of the impact of that tax break, summarized in a recent paper by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, found that it “did little more than give windfall profits to a small number of large multinational corporations and did not lead to increased investment and jobs in the United States.”  Indeed, several corporations that received billions of dollars cut thousands of jobs the following year. 

News Release: NWLC Congratulates New Administration, Offers Platform for Future

The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) urged women to vote and make their voices heard, and is extremely gratified by the record turnout reported in this year’s historic election. NWLC congratulates President-elect Barack Obama and the incoming Members of Congress on their recent victories.

“Now is the time to look to the future and work together to tackle the issues that are so critical to women and their families,” said Marcia D. Greenberger, Co-President of NWLC. “The nation has no time to spare in providing guaranteed, affordable health care for all, passing essential legislation that provides basic fairness in the workplace, like the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, and undoing some of the onerous restrictions on women’s access to reproductive health that were imposed by the Bush Administration.”

Nancy Duff Campbell, Co-President of NWLC, added: “A first order of business is to pass and implement an economic recovery plan that addresses the needs of women and their families, including by extending unemployment insurance benefits and by increasing nutrition, energy, housing, child care, and Head Start assistance. In addition, the plan should provide fiscal relief to the states to avert cuts in education, Medicaid, child support enforcement, and other critical services. We are eager to begin working with the Obama Administration and the new Congress to expand opportunities for women and their families.”

The National Women’s Law Center has developed a Platform for Progress with concrete proposals to address the unmet needs of women and their families in the areas of education, employment, basic economic security, health, and legal rights.

To learn more about NWLC’s Platform for Progress, visit www.nwlc.org/platform, or the following links:

• Supporting Women in the Workplace
• Building Economic Security
• Improving Women’s Health
• Improving Women’s Education
• Guaranteeing Equal Rights

A Mother's Day Wish List

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy
National Women’s Law Center

As we celebrate the mothers in our own lives this Mother's Day, we should also remember that many parents are denied the best gift of all — knowing that their children are in high-quality child care.

This care gives parents the support and peace of mind they need to be productive at work, and helps children learn and develop skills they need to succeed in school and in life. However, if current federal funding trends continue, more and more children will lose child care assistance, and will not be able to participate in Head Start.

In honor of Mother's Day, please write a Letter to the Editor of your local newspaper, reminding our nation’s leaders to make child care and Head Start national funding priorities — and please also send an eCard to your family, friends, and co-workers inviting them to do the same.

And check out MomsRising’s Mother’s Day eCard. 

When America supports child care, we encourage children, families, and our nation to reach their full potential.

Thank You for Marching Forth

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy
National Women's Law Center

On March 4th, advocates across the country asked their members of Congress for increased investments in child care and Head Start. Our collective efforts resulted in more than 25,000 calls and e-mails to Members of Congress.

Congress is showing signs of recognizing the importance of investing in young children. The recently released Senate budget suggests a $440 million increase for child care and $447 million increase for Head Start appropriations. Although the budget is not binding, the mentioning of an increase in these key programs is definitely a step in the right direction.

Thank you to all who participated in the March Forth for Child Care and Head Start! We’ll let you know what happens next.

What’s Right with Kansas

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy
National Women's Law Center

Kansas has gotten the message on the importance of reaching children early and providing support for infants, toddlers and their families. In her 2008 State of the State Address, Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius announced plans for an Early Childhood Block Grant, which would provide $23 million for grants to community-based programs, school district, Head Start sites, and childcare programs - with at least 30 percent of funds reserved to serve infants and toddlers. The governor also proposed additional investments in other child care assistance and prekindergarten. These initiatives are in response to the fact that half the state's five-year-olds aren't ready for kindergarten.

It’s about time our spending reflects the fact that the learning process starts as early as infancy, and that early stimulation is essential to children’s successful development. In her address, the Governor remarked:

“We know that early education is key to preventing school failure. We can’t afford for any of our young Kansans to be so far behind that they never catch up by the time they enter kindergarten.”

By including aid to these programs in her proposal for the Kansas state budget, Sebelius acknowledges that learning begins before prekindergarten.

The Early Childhood Block Grant would provide support ranging from pre-natal care and newborn screening to early childhood education programs such as Early Head Start and Parents as Teachers. 

Kudos to Kansas for these pioneering efforts to provide the state’s children with the benefits of an early education. We hope other states will follow the Sunflower State’s lead by supporting comprehensive early childhood education bills that include infants and toddlers.

Today's the Day — March Forth for Child Care and Head Start!

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy
National Women's Law Center

Today, all across the country, thousands of advocates are joining together to March Forth in support of increased funding for child care and Head Start by calling or e-mailing their Members of Congress.

We are joining together because our children deserve a better and brighter future. Under the President’s budget, 200,000 low-income children and their families will lose child care assistance, and 14,000 children will lose Head Start.

Please add your voice by calling or e-mailing your Members of Congress today.

To call your representatives, use the script below and dial toll-free at 1-888-460-0813. The operator who answers the phone will ask which Senator or Representative you would like to speak to. To find out who your Senators and Representative are, search our directory before you call.

Tell the staffers who answer the phone in your representatives’ offices:

• Hi, my name is (INSERT NAME.) I’m a constituent. (If you are also a parent, child care provider, community leader, etc., feel free to mention that as well.)
• I am calling because I believe that child care and Head Start are essential programs for children and families. I urge Senator/ Representative (INSERT NAME) to support an increase of $874 million for child care and $1 billion for Head Start in this year’s budget.

Thank you for Marching Forth for child care and Head Start!

Census Findings: Child Care is a Major Financial Burden

by Karen Schulman, Policy Analyst
National Women’s Law Center

New Census data released last week provide more evidence that paying for child care can be a tremendous financial burden for families, particularly for families with low incomes.

Families with incomes under 100 percent of poverty who pay for child care spend an average of 29 percent of their income on child care, according to the new Census data. Families with incomes between 100 percent and 200 percent of poverty who pay for child care also spend a significant portion of their income on child care — 14 percent. In comparison, those with incomes at or above 200 percent of poverty spend 6 percent.

The Census data also demonstrate that low-income families have less access to good child care and after-school options for their children. Only 7.8 percent of children ages five to fourteen with incomes under 100 percent of poverty and 10.3 percent of children ages five to fourteen with incomes between 100 percent and 200 percent of poverty participate in enrichment activities (including organized sports, lessons, clubs, and before- or after-school programs), compared to 17.6 percent for children ages five to fourteen with incomes at or above 200 percent of poverty.

Cutting Taxes for the Rich — While Women and Families Get Cut Out

by National Women’s Law Center

People are losing their jobs, homes, and health care. So on Monday the Bush administration released a new budget that proposes to cut taxes for millionaires — and services for everyone else.

Many vital supports to vulnerable women and children were cut by the President’s budget, including:

• Health Care. The President’s budget proposal will only further destabilize our fragile health care system, slashing funding for Medicare and Medicaid. Together, these two programs provide critical health care for nearly 50 million elderly and low-income women.
• Child Care and Head Start. The Administration itself estimates that 200,000 low-income children and their families will lose child care assistance and 13,000 children will lose Head Start under the proposed budget.
• Education & Employment. The President’s budget eliminates critical programs at a time when it is more important than ever to ensure that all students are receiving a good education. It reduces funding for employment and training programs at a time of rising unemployment for women and men.
• Safety Net. The budget cuts supports for vulnerable and low-income people, including victims of domestic violence; energy, housing and nutrition assistance; child support enforcement; and other vital social services.

At the same time, President Bush’s budget proposes making his tax cuts permanent: a policy that would cost $4.3 trillion over the next 10 years and overwhelmingly benefit the wealthiest Americans. Proposed changes to budget process rules would severely limit spending for vital services while promoting more unaffordable tax cuts for years to come.

We believe — and we hope you agree — that it’s long past time our nation’s budget reflected the priorities of women and their families.

Read NWLC’s full analysis of President Bush’s proposed budget.

The Last Bush Budget: Missing the Boat on Early Care and Education

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy
National Women's Law Center

An increasing number of governors and state legislators around the country, recognizing the importance of the early years to children’s development and their futures, are supporting new investments in early childhood programs. Yet, with the budget proposal he has released today, it is clear that the President is refusing to join with these state leaders.

Turning a deaf ear to the advice of esteemed economists and researchers and ignoring the experiences of millions of children and families, the Administration has proposed a budget that actually would reduce the number of poor infants, toddlers, and preschoolers who could participate in the comprehensive Head Start program. It would also reduce the number of low-income children and families who could receive help paying for child care, making it more difficult for parents to afford the child care they need to work.

These cuts belie common sense.

UPDATE: Check out NWLC's full statement on the President's budget.

A Sweet Song for Head Start Children

by Helen Blank, Director of Leadership and Public Policy
National Women’s Law Center

Today, I witnessed one of the most poignant moments I’ve ever seen on Capitol Hill.

The bill reauthorizing the landmark Head Start program was enrolled by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and sent to the President for his signature. Head Start has provided comprehensive supports to millions of low-income children and their families for over 40 years. The Speaker enrolled the bill with a shining-eyed Head Start child on her lap.

Senator Ted Kennedy then led the group of advocates who had worked for almost five years towards the passage of this very important bill, as well as Head Start families and children and Head Start Directors and teachers in singing “The Itsy Bitsy Spider.” Children got something they deserved from the Congress, as well as a very sweet song. The bill’s provisions strengthen the program and allow to it to not only reach more children but also younger children. Providing the funding needed to make this happen should be their next step.

Children and their families had a good day in Washington.