Family Well-Being, Public Policy, and Economic Growth: Lessons from History and Insights for the Future

September 19, 2006 ~ A Policy Education Seminar

Views about social welfare policy are shaped by assumptions about what works, what we as a nation can afford, and how the economy responds to policy. Given rapid changes in the U.S. economy and the growing national debt, how should we think about raising and spending taxpayers' dollars for the social safety net? What does history tell us about tradeoffs between universal and targeted, or mean-tested, benefit programs for families? And equally important, what are the implications for economic growth of different choices about the shape and size of the tax system that supports the safety net? Is there a common base of facts upon which our nation's leaders can develop an enduring vision to guide social welfare policy?

The seminar featured new research by Peter H. Lindert, Distinguished Professor of Economics at the University of California (Davis), who will draw on his recent two-volume work, Growing Public: Social Spending and Economic Growth since the Eighteenth Century (Cambridge University Press, 2004). Lindert argues that, contrary to the intuition of many economists and the ideology of many politicians, social spending can contribute to, rather than inhibit, economic growth.

Discussants explored the policy issues raised by Lindert's findings, such as:

• Implications of universal versus targeted programs to improve the well-being of low- and moderate-income families,
• Pros and cons of alternative ways to raise the funds to support the safety net for low- and moderate-income families, and
• Designing tax and benefit systems that strengthen families.

  – AGENDA –

  Moderator:
  William E. Spriggs, Chair, Department of Economics, Howard University

  • Transcript

  Presenter:
  Peter H. Lindert, Distinguished Professor of Economics, University of California-Davis

  • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Transcript
  • Paper

  Discussants:
  Kimberly Morgan, Assistant Professor of Political Science and International Affairs, George Washington University

  • Paper
  • Transcript

  Itai Grinberg, Tax Attorney, Skadden, Arps, Meagher & Flom LLP, former Counsel to President's Advisory Panel on Federal Tax Reform

  • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Background Paper by Michael Graetz
  • Transcript

  Peter R. Orszag, Joseph A. Pechman Senior Fellow, The Brookings Institution

  • Report
  • Transcript

  Jack C. Ebeler, President and CEO, Alliance of Community Health Plans

  • PowerPoint Presentation
  • Transcript

  Rudolph C. Penner, Senior Fellow, The Urban Institute

  • Transcript

  This seminar is supported by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation.