Brookings: Topics - U.S. Department of Labor

Budget 2010: New Investments in Transforming America’s Schools and Workforce

Fri, 15 May 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The detailed FY 2010 federal budget reveals many elements of the administration’s strategy to achieve needed reforms in schooling and worker skills. Alan Berube analyzes the significant steps in the departments of Education and Labor budgets toward a national economic strategy that invests strategically in human capital to improve our collective prosperity.

How to Reverse the Trend of Concentrated Poverty

Sun, 28 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Alan Berube urges policy-makers to evaluate short-term opportunities and set long-term strategies in order to help Cleveland’s next generation of residents overcome the challenges of concentrated poverty.

Memo to the President: Decrease Poverty and Increase Opportunity

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A major economic slowdown adds to the problems of lower-income Americans, who have not shared in the economic growth of the last decade. Greater investments in economic mobility and opportunity are needed. Rebecca Blank offers policy solutions and priorities for the president-elect to make greater investments in economic mobility and opportunity.

How Can We Reduce the Rising Number of American Families Living in Poverty?

Thu, 25 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

In this testimony, Rebecca Blank argues for the need to modernize our poverty statistics so that we may have a better understanding of who is poor and how these numbers are changing over time. She discusses anti-poverty strategies for the next decade.

Making Work Pay – Again

Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Ron Haskins offers ways policymakers could create an entitlement to housing assistance that would more fairly distribute housing benefits and convert housing into a more effective element in the nation’s work support system. The goal of reform would be to get the most out of the resources now devoted to housing by providing at least some benefit to all eligible families that want a housing subsidy.

High Priority Poverty Reduction Strategies for the Next Decade

Sun, 31 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

The poor in American cut across all groups, but are disproportionately represented by single mothers and their children, by persons of color, by immigrants, by less-skilled individuals, or by those with physical or mental disabilities. Many working poor and near-poor families face problems with low wages or unstable jobs. This paper by Rebecca Blank outlines three strategic areas where policy and research attention should focus over the next decade.

Supporting Young Children and Families: An Investment Strategy That Pays

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Julia Isaacs details the evidence supporting the long-term benefits of investment in early childhood education, along with prenatal care and greater access to health care for very young children in impoverished families. In a new Opportunity 08 paper, she proposes federal policies for the next President that will provide big returns.

Health Reform Through Tax Reform: A Primer

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Tax incentives for employer-sponsored insurance and other medical spending cost about $200 billion annually and have pervasive effects on coverage and costs. In this paper, Jason Furman surveys a range of proposals to reform health care, either by adding new tax incentives or by limiting or replacing the existing tax incentives.

New Economy Safety Net: A Proposal to Enhance Worker Adjustment Programs

Thu, 20 Mar 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Despite profound economic changes over recent years, America’s job-transition, or worker adjustment, program remains one of the weakest among advanced economies. Lael Brainard proposes fundamental changes in the nation’s programs in order to provide enhanced training and financial support to help American workers compete.

How Effective are Existing Programs in Helping Workers Impacted by International Trade?

Mon, 26 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Testimony by Lael Brainard before the Committee on Education and Labor (3/26/07)

Preserving the Vital Center: Renew the Economy of the Industrial Heartland

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

America's Great Lakes region, once the core of the nation's industrial production and wealth creation, is losing ground rapidly. This 12-state region reaches from Buffalo and Pittsburgh in the east, to Minneapolis-St. Paul and St. Louis in the west. The competitiveness agenda of the next president should include an investment strategy that focuses on regional assets and institutions that steer the transition to the knowledge economy.

Meeting the Challenge of Income Instability

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Testimony by Lael Brainard before a Hearing of the Joint Economic Committee (2/28/07)

Pathways to the Middle Class: Ensuring Greater Upward Mobility for All Americans

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Middle-class prosperity is the cornerstone of the American Dream. Americans believe that through hard work and education families can enter the middle class and keep on climbing. However, recent evidence shows that, even with a rebounding U.S. econom

Attacking Poverty and Inequality: Reinvigorate the Fight for Greater Opportunity

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Although the nation's poverty rate is higher now than it was in the 1970s, no President since Lyndon Johnson has made fighting poverty a major plank of his campaign or goal of his administration. With large and growing gaps between the rich and the poor, it is now time for presidential campaigns and the next President to focus on poverty and inequality in America.

Reforming U.S. Immigration Policy: Open New Pathways to Integration

Wed, 28 Feb 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Roughly 12 million people reside illegally in the United States. More are joining the workforce, and nearly half of these households have children. As presidential candidates debate solutions, Audrey Singer offers ideas for reform.