I have never been a fan of numbers.
Math was the subject I tried to avoid and now as a professional I cringe when I hear anyone utter the word budget. However there is a particular budget that does matter greatly and has the ability to completely realign our national priorities and refocus our efforts on any particular issue.
Every year policymakers anxiously await the President to issue his federal budget so that they can see whether existing programs will be funded, what new programs might be created and where cutbacks are made. A President’s budget is the blueprint for his upcoming priorities and without saying a word it has the power to sway emphasis, attitudes and the general direction of our country for better or for worse.
This President’s budget speaks volumes not only for women and their families but also new progressive ideas to combat poverty, spur social innovation, create more service opportunities and tackle our nation’s complicated social problems.
Throughout the budget the President has weaved in funding for new and innovative programs to tackle challenges in the areas of education, housing, volunteerism, sex education, early childhood, and urban redevelopment.
The issues women care about for their own personal and professional success in addition to the welfare of their families has been included and generally funded at a sufficient level in the President’s budget. First and foremost is the President’s desire to reform our healthcare system and his budget brings the nation one step closer by creating a reserve fund of more than $600 billion to serve as a “down payment” on health reform.
A woman’s reproductive health is of utmost importance to her quality of life and the budget includes not only essential services for women, but preventative measures especially for teens such as sexual education and monitoring.
The prior Administration put too much emphasis on abstinence-only programs and not enough inclusion of solid sex education and this budget eliminates this single-minded view of how to prevent teen pregnancy.
Instead the President’s budget allows states to combine abstinence-only with proven sex education methods through the Medicaid program. In addition, the budget funds sexual education programs that work and are evidence-based with their success in lowering the number of teen pregnancies.
In today’s economy and faltering housing market, employment, job training and educational opportunities along with housing assistance is more important than ever. Unemployment and housing are top concerns for women because they are closely intertwined with their ability to properly care for their families.
Obama already had directed dollars in the federal economic stimulus package for green jobs and now the President’s budget allocates additional funding for a new green jobs training initiative, a new workforce data quality initiative and job training at community colleges.
In terms of housing, the budget significantly increases funding for rental housing assistance for low-income people. Finally, it provides $50 million for a new High School Graduation Initiative and proposes large increases in available Pell grant funding.
Our nation’s budget can feel large and complex, not to mention distant from our own personal budget. However it serves as a compass for the direction our nation is going and whether the issues and programs women care about will be maintained, strengthened or cut.
This is important because families are working hard to get back on their feet and they should not have to simultaneously worry about government eliminating the programs they rely on. Not only should existing evidence-based social programs receive support, but new social innovation should be proposed so that families, especially those most in need, receive better and more effective services. That shift is already happening and women will be able to feel the divergence of budgets past.
When Justice David Souter announced his resignation from the Supreme Court I immediately knew what I wanted out of Obama’s nominee. There were only five things, really. And I was hoping that Obama would feel the same way. I rattled my requirements off to anyone that would listen:
Workplace Transformer (def’n): an organization that is changing its workplace and policies to meet the needs of employees through flexibility, equity and diversity.
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