US SOCIETY 2007

Source: PUBLIC AFFAIRS - American Embassy
Sylvie VACHERET
Tel: 01 43 12 48 97
E Mail: vacheretsr@state.gov

ECONOMICS AND POVERTY

Economic and Societal Costs of Poverty

House Committee on Ways and Means – Hearing - January 24, 2007

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=508

“There are 37 million Americans living in poverty, an increase of over 5 million since the year 2000 (after prior years of steady decline)… Poor Americans suffer various hardships, including reduced access to economic and educational opportunities, substandard housing, inadequate diet, greater levels of crime victimization, and diminished health. Less recognized, however, are the costs poverty exacts on society as a whole. Nevertheless, studies indicate that poverty reduces our nation’s economic growth and directly increases crime, health and other expenses absorbed by all Americans. The Committee’s hearing will examine the nature and extent of these costs.”

Economic Opportunity and Poverty in America

House Committee on Ways and Means – Hearing - February 13, 2007

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=524

In announcing the hearing, Chairman McDermott stated, “We need to work to ensure the American dream can become a reality. Today, too many of our fellow citizens see that dream slipping away. Those in poverty feel trapped and the countless millions living paycheck to paycheck feel they could slip into poverty at any time. I hope this hearing and others to follow will illustrate the need for change.” The hearing will focus on the extent and nature of economic opportunity and poverty in America.

Poverty: Rewarding Work, Supporting Families

The Brookings Institute – Position Paper and Fact Sheet – March 2007

http://www.opportunity08.org/Issues/OurSociety/31/r1/Default.aspx

“The nation’s poverty rate is higher now than it was in the 1970s, but no President since Lyndon Johnson has made fighting poverty a major administration goal. The time has come for a reinvigorated fight against inequality and despair. Brookings scholars Isabel Sawhill and Ron Haskins offer a plan that focuses on supporting education, work, and marriage.”

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AGING

The Aging Workforce: What does it Mean for Businesses and the Economy?

Senate – Special Committee on Aging – Hearing - February 28, 2007

http://aging.senate.gov/hearing_detail.cfm?id=270004&

“Today, people over the age of 65 make up about 12 percent of the population, but they will make up almost 20 percent in the next 25 years. That means one out of every five Americans will be a senior by the year 2030. Experts are talking about what this demographic wave will mean for Social Security, Medicare, and long-term care. But as we will hear today, we must address another piece of the puzzle: how the retirement of the Baby Boomers will impact the strength of our nation’s businesses and economy.”

Why Population Aging Matters: A Global Perspective

Department of State and the Department of Health and Human Services - National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health – Report - March 13, 2007 – 32 pages

http://www.state.gov/g/oes/rls/or/81537.htm

“Despite the weight of scientific evidence, the significance of population aging and its global implications have yet to be fully appreciated. There is a need to raise awareness about not only global aging issues but also the importance of rigorous cross-national scientific research and policy dialogue that will help us address the challenges and opportunities of an aging world. Preparing financially for longer lives and finding ways to reduce aging-related disability should become national and global priorities. Experience shows that for nations, as for individuals, it is critical to address problems sooner rather than later. Waiting significantly increases the costs and difficulties of addressing these challenges. This report paints a compelling picture of the impact of population aging on nations.”

John R. Gist

Population Aging, Entitlement Growth, and the Economy

AARP Public Policy Institute, AARP. Report - January 2007 – 64 pages

http://assets.aarp.org/rgcenter/econ/2007_01_security.pdf

Demographic aging is changing the age structure of the U.S population. The age 65 and older group will increase from 12 percent to nearly 20 percent of the population. This change will have a profound effect on the federal budget, American families, and economic growth. This report takes a long-term perspective of the aging population; examines the historical experience of the entitlement programs, and compiles projections to 2050. The paper also offers some policy solutions to achieve economic security for the aging population while maintaining a strong economy.

James C. Capretta

Global Aging and the Sustainability of Public Pension Systems: An Assessment of Reform Efforts in Twelve Developed Countries: A Report of the Aging Vulnerability Index Project

Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) - Web posted January 3, 2007 – 57 pages

http://www.csis.org/media/csis/pubs/pension_profile.pdf

This study chronicles the efforts of twelve developed countries’ attempts to reform their public pension systems. Public benefit systems have been reformed in recent years, but in most developed countries, the pension systems remain unsustainable with the possible exception of Australia. This study supplements the CSIS Aging Vulnerability Index (AVI) published in March 2003.

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EMPLOYMENT

Lynn A. Karoly

Forces Shaping the Future U.S. Workforce and Workplace: Implications for 21st Century Work

RAND Corporation - Testimony presented before the House Education and Labor Committee on February 7, 2007 – 14 pages

http://www.rand.org/pubs/testimonies/2007/RAND_CT273.pdf

“While the consequences of the current state of the economy on the fortunes of middle class families are one area for potential concern, there are a number of longer-term issues that are equally relevant in terms of their potential effects on U.S. workers and employers. Thus, I would like to focus my testimony on the forces that are shaping the world of work and the implications of those trends for the U.S. workforce and workplace.

Understanding these forces is critical for shaping policies that can serve to foster a strong and secure middle class well into the 21st century.”

Increasing Economic Security for American Workers

House Committee on Ways and Means – Hearing - March 15, 2007

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/hearings.asp?formmode=detail&hearing=540

Robert Reich, J.D., Professor of Public Policy, University of California, Berkeley

Thea Lee, Assistant Director of Public Policy, AFL-CIO

Howard Rosen, Visiting Fellow, Peterson Institute for International Economics

Maurice Emsellem, Policy Director, National Employment Law Project

Douglas J. Holmes, President, UWC – Strategic Services on Unemployment and Worker’s Compensation

Christopher H. Wheeler

Trends in Neighborhood-Level Unemployment in the United States: 1980 to 2000

Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, March/April 2007, 89(2), pp. 123-142

http://research.stlouisfed.org/publications/review/07/03/Wheeler.pdf

“Although the average rate of unemployment across U.S. metropolitan areas declined between 1980 and 2000, the geographic concentration of the unemployed rose sharply over this period. That is, residential neighborhoods throughout the nation’s metropolitan areas became increasingly divided into high- and low-unemployment areas. This paper documents this trend using data on more than 165,000 U.S. Census block groups (neighborhoods) in 361 metropolitan areas over the years 1980, 1990, and 2000; it also examines three potential explanations: (i) urban decentralization, (ii) industrial shifts and declining unionization, and (iii) increasing segregation by income and education.”

Giovanni Peri

How Immigrants Affect California Employment and Wages

Public Policy Institute of California - California Counts - February 2007 - 20 pp.

http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/cacounts/CC_207GPCC.pdf

“This issue examines the effects of the arrival of immigrants between 1960 and 2004 on the employment, population, and wages of U.S. natives in California. Among the study’s principal findings: 1) There is no evidence that the influx of immigrants over the past four decades has worsened the employment opportunities of natives with similar education and experience, 2) There is no association between the influx of immigrants and the out-migration of natives within the same education and age group, 3) Immigration induced a 4 percent real wage increase for the average native worker between 1990 and 2004, 4) Recent immigrants did lower the wages of previous immigrants.”

Lael Brainard

The Case for Wage Insurance

Joint Economic Committee Hearing, February 28, 2007

http://www.brookings.edu/views/testimony/brainard20070228.htm

“A new wave of globalization has reached our shores. Although the individual elements feel familiar, the combined contours are unprecedented – in scope, speed and scale… Wage insurance could provide an important tool in a broader set of policies designed to help American middle class families insure against disruptive income fluctuations, while preserving the benefits of a dynamic economy.”

Highlights of a GAO Forum: Engaging and Retaining Older Workers

GAO-07-438SP - February 28, 2007 – 25 pages

http://www.gao.gov/cgi-bin/getrpt?GAO-07-438SP

“GAO convened this forum to address the issues surrounding engaging and retaining older workers. Participants included experts representing employers, business and union groups, advocates, researchers, actuaries, and federal agencies.”

MISCELLANEOUS

Health Care Capital Spending

Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis – Fedgazette – January 2007

http://www.minneapolisfed.org/pubs/fedgaz/07-01/

“Data on health care capital spending are not particularly neat and tidy, but what are available show strong recent growth. Nationally, data from the U.S. Census Bureau's construction survey show steady upward growth in the 1990s, with a bit of a slowdown in the latter part of the decade. But spending took a decided upturn about 2001.”

Ray Fisman, Geoffrey Heal, and Vinay B. Nair

A Model of Corporate Philanthropy

Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania - Web posted January 11, 2007 – 23 pages

http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/papers/1331.pdf

“Our separating equilibrium is built on the assumption that entrepreneurs can be of two types—they are either purely profit motivated or they care about both profits and the externalities they impose. This difference in entrepreneurs’ preferences makes corporate philanthropy more expensive for profit-maximizing entrepreneurs than it is for ‘socially-minded’ entrepreneurs, who gain some warm glow from charity.” The authors’ preliminary tests support the framework that “corporate philanthropy and profits are positively related only in industries with high advertising intensity and high competition.”