MetroTrends Week in Review

In Tuesday’s presidential debate the candidates spoke about – among other topics – poverty and joblessness, professing desire for four years’ chance to combat those economic scourges.

The MetroTrends blog aided our next president with cogent assessment of existing policy on both topics, and by illuminating potential new policy.

• Tom Kingsley and Kait Franks made a compelling case for the use of project-based public housing as springboard for full neighborhood revitalization – it could be effective and efficient, they say.
• Stephen Wandner published his second blog series on joblessness, this time outlining the response of America’s jobs training and reemploying programs to the Great Recession.
  • Long term public workforce spending declines affected the most recent recession
  • Unprecedented increases in reemployment spending helped, but not enough
  • Ultimately Congress responded “passively” and not “actively”; read what that means
  • Stephen concludes by examining the effect of the temporary workforce spending at the state level
  • Don’t miss Stephen’s first series about the economic shortcomings of a central Romney employment proposal