Less than one-tenth of the federal budget was spent on children in 2008. Over the next decade, as the stimulus bill provisions expire, interest on the debt rises, and entitlement program costs grow, spending on children is projected to shrink. In light of our rapidly expanding national debt, how should the nation invest in its next generation?
Children's Programs and the Deficit: A Conversation with UI Experts
Urban Institute fellows Olivia Golden, former U.S. assistant secretary of Health and Human Services for children and families, and C. Eugene Steuerle, former deputy assistant secretary of the Treasury for tax analysis, take on children's programs and the deficit.
President Obama is pushing for a three-year freeze on discretionary spending. How will this affect children's programs?
"People who know about kids have something to contribute…about what principles we might use to become more effective in our spending."
—Olivia Golden
How should we manage the trade-off between investing in people and getting a handle on our ballooning national debt?
"In the long-run, the children's budget is going to be extraordinarily squeezed unless we get a handle on this broader budgetary issue."
—C. Eugene Steuerle
Children's Programs and the Budget: A Conversation
What is the budget committees' role in funding children's programs? Urban Institute Fellow C. Eugene Steuerle interviews Austin Smythe, Republican staff director of the House Budget Committee.
"Most of the focus has been on the stimulus bill…so I'd be interested to see whether the data shows if children's programs as a share of the budget has declined."
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