Urban Institute experts weigh in on current social and economic policy issues.
Revitalizing Social Security: Effectively Targeting Benefit Enhancements for Low Lifetime Earners and the Oldest Old Melissa Favreault Posted: June 17, 2009
I argue that Social Security benefits for long-term, low-wage workers are modest and need to be increased. There are many ways to bolster benefits for low-income retirees, each with strengths and weaknesses, so technical details of each proposal will determine its effectiveness. Any Social Security reform package will include multiple provisions that interact with one another. Certain provisions to help low-earners may be more or less desirable depending on a package's other components. Finally, some low-income older and disabled Americans are beyond Social Security's reach. To help them, Congress should consider expanding the Supplemental Security Income program.
Hearing on Health Reform in the 21st Century: Proposals to Reform the Health System John Holahan Posted: June 24, 2009
The testimony begins by mentioning a large number of positive aspects of the legislation. The role and importance of an individual mandate is then briefly discussed. It argues that the public plan that is proposed in the plan is important for overall cost containment and for budget savings. The plan would address problems in the current market that are caused by increasing concentration in insurance and hospital markets. Further it is argued that it is in fact possible to structure a fair competition between public and private health insurance plans. Finally, the testimony makes recommendations for the financing of the Medicaid expansion and for modifying the employer mandate proposal.
A National Commitment to Ending Homelessness among Veterans - Why Affordable Housing Programs Matter Mary K. Cunningham Posted: June 10, 2009
In this testimony, Mary Cunningham discusses different housing-based interventions that policymakers could adopt to end homelessness among veterans. Increasing HUD-VASH vouchers and tightly targeting them to high need veterans, as well as increasing rapid rehousing programs and affordable housing programs for low-income veterans who are homeless primarily for economic reasons are discussed.
Reject proposal to end welfare Olivia Golden,
Sheila R. Zedlewski Posted: June 14, 2009In this commentary for The Press-Enterprise (Riverside, Calif.), Olivia Golden and Sheila Zedlewski advise states to grab the federal dollars offered by the economic stimulus package to help pay for recession-driven increases in the demand for welfare.
Five Questions For Sharon K. Long Sharon K. Long Posted: June 15, 2009
Urban Institute researcher Sharon Long answers five questions about Massachusetts's landmark health reform experiment, which aims for near-universal coverage and improved access to affordable health care. In 2006, lawmakers passed a bill that required most adults to get health insurance, expanded Medicaid, provided subsidies for lower-income adults, created a health insurance exchange where residents can buy plans easily, and required employers to offer coverage or pay a fee. Early success has made the state a model for nationwide reform.
The Stimulus and Poverty: A Role for Foundations in Seizing the Moment Olivia Golden Posted: May 13, 2009
In this commentary for SpotlightOnPoverty.org, Institute Fellow Olivia Golden lays out five strategic investments foundations can make to sustain the economic stimulus package's positive outcomes for low-income families.
New Life for US Housing and Urban Policy Margery Austin Turner Posted: June 04, 2009
Three big themes animate the Obama Administration's emerging urban policy framework: competitiveness, equity of opportunity, and sustainability. These themes recognize that the well-being of urban places and the welfare of people are inextricably linked. To achieve the new Administration's urban policy vision, enormous challenges must be overcome including jurisdictional balkanization, federal budget pressures, and macro trends whose long-term impacts can't be fully anticipated. In the face of these challenges, the research community has an opportunity to contribute hugely to the realization of the new urban agenda, but only if we are prepared to make our work genuinely useful to policymakers.
The Impact of Foreclosures on Home Ownership and Affordable Housing in the District of Columbia Peter A. Tatian Posted: May 28, 2009
In this testimony before members of the D.C. City Council, Peter Tatian, senior researcher in the Urban Institute's Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center and director of NeighborhoodInfo DC, presents recent data showing that the national foreclosure crisis has not spared households in the District of Columbia. Although the intensity of the foreclosure problem is not as severe as in other parts of the region, the nation's capital has seen a marked and steady increase in foreclosures since the beginning of the housing market downturn.
Different Way to Pay for Health Reform Leonard E. Burman Posted: May 19, 2009
Expanding health-care access is a top priority for the Obama administration, and leaders in Congress are on board. Political leaders also agree that any health insurance expansion must not increase the deficit. So how do we pay for health care without sinking the economy? The best option would be to phase in a value-added tax (VAT) dedicated to paying for health care. Packaged with the right bells and whistles, the VAT would help revive the economy, offset the burden on low-income families, and help slow health-care costs.
What about long-term care? Howard Gleckman Posted: May 26, 2009
More than 250 million Americans-more than 80 percent of us- have health coverage, usually through employers or Medicare, Howard Gleckman points out in a USA Today commentary. By contrast, just 7 million have long-term care insurance. That, it seems, is the real crisis of the uninsured.
