A Powerhouse for the Poor

[ribozyme]

I found an interesting article about public policy and poverty…

You often hear that the poor and working people don’t have a voice in Washington, that they invariably lose out to special interests that give big campaign contributions or can mobilize a vast membership. As it turns out, this bit of conventional wisdom is wrong for one reason: Bob Greenstein and his crew at the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

…

Their weapons in these battles are reliable data, sound analysis and an ability to deliver it when needed. They know when and how to cut and deal. And thanks largely to the center’s work, programs like food stamps, nutrition for mothers and children, and the earned income tax credit have grown despite decades of cuts in domestic programs

…

When was the last time you heard of a thousand people paying money to celebrate a liberal think tank – let alone one with a name so wonkish that even the evening’s emcee, Mark Shields, declared its survival for a quarter-century miraculous?

…

“They have a wonk for everything,” says my Post colleague, Ruth Marcus, who says that she can get “any number that ever appeared in any federal budget document at any time of day” by calling the center’s budget guru, Richard Kogan. Legislative director Ellen Nissenbaum, a 23-year veteran, may well have the best Rolodex anywhere of Hill staffers, civil servants, political activists and journalists.

washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/03/AR2007050302036.html

Any comments? I have to commend these people! Thanks for apprising the public about the travails of the poor! We should be thankful that a group of dedicated people are trying to wonk out poverty.

 

[Dale_M]

No doubt one thing that attracts the foundations is that the center mixes social advocacy with fiscal responsibility. It’s easy, of course, to be a liberal against big deficits when Ronald Reagan or George Bush is running up big deficits by cutting taxes for the well-to-do. But Greenstein is a pay-as-you-go man for all political seasons.

Yes, this organization is worthy of support. That it has survived 25 years is indeed miraculous, not so much for its cumbersome name, but for the fact that it dismisses deficit spending at a time when both major parties decided to wallow in red ink.