Reimagining a System of Care to Promote the Well-Being of Children and Families Proceedings of a Workshop (2021) / Chapter Skim
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3 Reimagining Economic Systems to Support Children and Families
3 Reimagining Economic Systems to Support Children and Families
Pages 19-30
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From page 19... ...
UNDERSTANDING RACE AND IMPACTS ON WEALTH Two speakers presented on issues of systemic racism in our economic system and how those issues negatively impact the health and well-being of children and families. Darrick Hamilton, university professor and d irector of the Institute on Race and Political Economy at The New School, outlined various concerns with the current system and how those concerns contribute to negative downstream impacts.
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From page 20... ...
As Hamilton explained, Roosevelt knew that full citizenship demanded more than just political rights, it required economic rights. He applied this concept to the current pandemic, a real-life situation in which the Black mortality rate in the United States is more than double that of the White mortality rate.
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From page 21... ...
He concluded with a call to be bold and change the paradigms and create initiatives that truly empower people with economic security, dignity, and agency to achieve their self-defined roles. Childhood Income and Life-Course Predictors Taking a more microlevel view of race and wealth, Noble described aby's First Years, a national study with which she serves as a princiB pal investigator.
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From page 22... ...
She noted that their baseline randomization was successful, as they saw no differences between the two groups at the outset. Noble outlined the goals of the study more specifically, saying they are trying to assess whether increasing income among families of low socioeconomic status improves children's developmental outcomes and brain functioning by the time they reach age 3.
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From page 23... ...
Mouhcine Guettabi, asso ciate professor of economics, Institute of Social and Economic Research, University of Alaska, Anchorage, described one of the longest-running cash transfer programs in the country. William Darity, Samuel DuBois Cook professor of public policy at Duke University's Sanford School of Public Policy, reviewed economic policy solutions such as the baby bonds idea proposed by Congress that might address the racial wealth gap.
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From page 24... ...
While some Alaskans resist the idea that this fund was intended as UBI at its inception, Guettabi shared the five original arguments for the program, which included elements of equity and the setting of an income floor. Alaska eliminated its income tax in 1980, and people who were supportive of the dividend through PFD wanted to ensure the benefits of this new oil also supported lower-income Alaskans, thinking this would help deliver benefits more equitably while also building a stronger safety net for low-income residents.
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From page 25... ...
It became apparent that President Obama was opposed to any type of project that would direct resources exclusively to Black Americans. As a consequence of this constraint, Darity indicated, he began to work with Darrick Hamilton to develop a way to make some headway in reduc ing the racial wealth gap in the United States through a universal policy.
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From page 26... ...
As noted above, the median differential between White and Black households is approximately $154,000, while the household wealth differential is $800,000. He believes that targeting the median would be an inadequate measure for closing the racial wealth gap, given that 97 percent of the wealth that is held by White households in the United States is above the White household median level of net worth.
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From page 27... ...
He would love to see both baby bonds and reparations for Black American descendants of persons enslaved in the United States, and concluded "that's the type of world that we should be working to achieve." MAKING PROGRESS ON ECONOMIC POLICIES Discussion Nathaniel Counts, senior vice president of behavioral health innovation at Mental Health America, asked the panelists for their thoughts on how listeners from key institutions could make progress on critical economic policies to benefit families and children and close wealth gaps. Economic policies can feel big and overwhelming sometimes, so the question often comes down to what one person can do at the individual level.
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From page 28... ...
Alternatively, investing directly in the people might stimulate aggregate demand and create spillover effects through the building up of infrastructure projects such as roads and bridges like New Deal programs did. Darity responded to the question saying that he believes we are in a political moment in which serious consideration of reparations enjoy greater prospects than at any point in his lifetime, perhaps even since the Reconstruction era.
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From page 29... ...
history. Educating youth, teachers, and policymakers about the adverse health impacts resulting from Jim Crow laws, voter suppression, and residential segregation may support innovative strategies to address health disparities.
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From page 30... ...
Santos pointed to the numerous maternal and child health inequities and stated that public policy should not wait until women become mothers before addressing some of these challenges. Matt Lyons, director of policy and research at the American Public Human Services Association, called for a constant focus on the investments needed for an equitable economy.
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