Newswise — Without a series of carefully targeted federal expenditures, high unemployment over the next three to five years will do long-term damage to children and youth, erode states’ abilities to fund educational and social services, and hamper long-run prospects for the U.S. economy, say a trio of scholars from the Urban Institute and Georgetown University. Funding from vital provisions in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) will begin to run dry in January 2011 and without renewed support in many of these areas, a firm recovery will be difficult to achieve, Peter B. Edelman, Olivia A. Golden, and Harry J. Holzer point out in a new policy brief, “Reducing Poverty and Economic Distress after ARRA: Next Steps for Short-Term Recovery and Long-Term Economic Security.” (http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412150)
While the authors share widely expressed concerns about the nation’s long-term debt, they argue that spending on the most disadvantaged and those most hurt by the recession should not be shortchanged as policymakers tackle the debt problem. Indeed, carefully targeted expenditures can create new jobs, stimulate economic growth, and relieve severe economic pain without significantly adding to the long-term ratio of debt to gross domestic product (GDP). Key investments can add to GDP growth and fiscal balance in the long run by preventing long-term reductions in earnings capacities, higher crime rates, and worse health among the impoverished.
Synthesizing evidence about patterns and consequences of unemployment from current and past recessions, as well as programs and interventions that work, Edelman, Golden, and Holzer recommend three goals to shape antipoverty policy after ARRA:
1. Prevent continuing damage from the current recession over the next three to five years, with targeted investments in job creation, training, income support, and help for children and youth.
2. Use the lessons of this recession to improve responses to the next one.
3. Make sensible, long-term investments in poverty reduction by drawing on research about programs that work, such as investments in young children and in youth soon to enter the workforce.
Peter B. Edelman is a law professor at the Georgetown University Law Center. Olivia A. Golden is an Institute fellow at the Urban Institute. Harry J. Holzer is a professor of public policy at Georgetown University and an Institute fellow at the Urban Institute.
In addition to “Reducing Poverty and Economic Distress after ARRA: Next Steps for Short-Term Recovery and Long-Term Economic Security,” the Urban Institute is releasing eight two-page summaries covering policy papers presented at a post-ARRA forum hosted by the Institute and Georgetown University earlier this year. The publications include
• “Reducing Poverty and Economic Distress after ARRA: Potential Roles for Place-Conscious Strategies—Summary,” by Manuel Pastor and Marge Turner.http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412145
• “Low-Income Children, Their Families, and the Great Recession: What Next in Policy?—Summary,” by Lawrence Aber and Ajay Chaudry.http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412149
• “Promising Antipoverty Strategies for Families—Summary,” by Maria Cancian, Daniel R. Meyer, and Deborah Reed.http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412146
• “Laboratories of Underfunding? State Financing for Anti-Poverty Efforts after the Recession—Summary,” by Nicholas Johnson. http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412143
• “Publicly Funded Jobs: An Essential Strategy for Reducing Poverty and Economic Distress throughout the Business Cycle—Summary,” by Clifford Johnson, Amy Rynell, and Melissa Young. http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412142
• “The Great Recession, Unemployment Insurance, and Poverty—Summary,” by Wayne Vroman.http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412147
• “Creating a Safety Net That Works When the Economy Doesn’t: The Role of the Food Stamp and TANF Programs—Summary,” LaDonna Pavetti and Dorothy Rosenbaum.http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412148
• “Postsecondary Education and Training As We Know It Is Not Enough—Summary,” by Anthony Carnevale.http://www.urban.org/url.cfm?ID=412144
To read the full papers and other materials from this series, please visit: http://www.urban.org/issues/reducing-poverty-economic-distress.cfm
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