Monthly Archives: July 2011

Debt, health care, and educational investments

Posted on July 29, 2011 by

What is really the issue with the national debt? The real issue is not the short-run deficit. The deficit should be high right now to deal with the needs caused by the recession, and to stimulate the economy. The problem … Continue reading →

Posted in Economic development

Child tax benefits’ effects on hard skills and soft skills

Posted on July 28, 2011 by

Early childhood policy is more than preschool, child care and parenting assistance programs. It also includes broader policies that may affect the quality of child development, including policies that affect parental income. Such policies include macroeconomic policies to reduce unemployment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs

Pew issue brief for my book “Investing in Kids”

Posted on July 27, 2011 by

The Partnership for America’s Economic Success, a project of the Pew Center on the States, has written a short (8-page) issue brief summarizing my book “Investing in Kids”. This might be useful to those who want a short summary of … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Economic development

Solving the jobs deficit while lowering the government debt burden

Posted on July 26, 2011 by

Well-known Yale economist Robert Shiller had an opinion piece in the Sunday New York Times arguing for stimulating the job market through balanced budget increases in both taxes and spending on productive public services. (Professor Shiller is known for a … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Economic development, National vs. state vs. local

Politically attractive financing for early childhood programs

Posted on July 25, 2011 by

The most straightforward way to finance early childhood programs is to have the government pay for these programs upfront. However, this may not be politically attractive at certain places and times. I’ve mentioned previously the idea of financing early childhood … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs

Boston event

Posted on July 19, 2011 by

I will be out of town for a few days at two conferences in Boston. This includes the 2011 National Business Summit on Early Childhood Investment, sponsored by the Partnership for America’s Economic Success, at which I will be speaking … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs, Economic development

Early childhood programs and parental responsibility

Posted on July 18, 2011 by

My local newspaper, the Kalamazoo Gazette, recently had an interesting interview with the Speaker of the Michigan House of Representatives, Jase Bolger. According to reporter Julie Mack, [Speaker Bolger] also expressed reluctance about spending more tax dollars on social programs … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood program design issues, Early childhood programs

The potential for pre-K in school turnaround strategies

Posted on July 15, 2011 by

Recently, Maureen Kelleher’s Education Week blog drew my attention to a report by Pre-K Now on school districts using pre-K to turnaround student achievement.  The report highlights such strategies for school districts in Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Missouri, North Carolina, and California. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized

Why we know more about the effectiveness of preschool than the effectiveness of third grade

Posted on July 14, 2011 by

State legislators sometimes are skeptical about the claims of any program’s advocates. So, when early childhood program advocates claim great results for these programs, state legislators may be resistant. Why should they believe the claims of advocates for early childhood … Continue reading →

Posted in Early childhood programs

Update

Posted on July 1, 2011 by

I will be out of town again for a few days. I don’t expect to resume regular daily posting until Wednesday July 13, although I may have a few thoughts to add before then.

Posted in Uncategorized