Fair Start Movement

Category: Social Justice & Equity

  • Why We March: Having Kids at the Women’s March On Washington

    Why We March: Having Kids at the Women’s March On Washington

    [et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

    On January 21st, people and organizations from across the country will participate in the Women’s March on Washington to stand for women’s rights and reproductive rights and to protect our families and communities. Having Kids staff members and supporters will participate in both the core march in Washington, D.C., and in satellite marches in New York City and Trenton, New Jersey.

    Having Kids is marching for the future of our families, our communities, our children, and our planet. We believe that we all need to be intentional about the future that we want to create for future generations, and we need to make sure they have the resources they need and a healthy environment to have a better life than we did. However, this needs to be true for every child. We cannot be satisfied with the fact that most children born into this world will not have a high quality of life or even have their basic needs met. We need to create a community that cares about one another and sincerely wants to make life better for all.

    We also recognize that if we give people the tools to have smaller families—such as sex education, birth control, and access to reproductive health services—then they can ensure that more resources are available for each of their children to create this future. In fact, they might have more resources leftover to help other families that might be struggling.

    Having Kids believes that we need to look at things more holistically, and that we need to make sure that we have the ability to provide a healthy planet, safe communities, and the things children need to have a high quality of life. Next Saturday, we will march for these values and to protect the programs that help us move toward that future. Will you march with us?

    [/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/model/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Learn More” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)”] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section fullwidth=”on” specialty=”off” admin_label=”Section”][/et_pb_section]

  • Australia’s “Close the Gap” Program Can Do Better

    Australia’s “Close the Gap” Program Can Do Better

    [et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

    There is a massive gap between indigenous and non-indigenous communities in Australia when it comes to things like healthcare, education, and employment. (These graphics from The Economist demonstrate the disparity visually.) And despite years of policies designed to close the gap, a recent study shows there has been little progress. Why not?

    Gap-closing initiatives often ignore the disproportionate influence that early childhood has on quality of health, well-being, learning, and behavior across a child’s life. The Having Kids model increases the focus on early childhood by redirecting the resources being used to create larger families towards improving the birth conditions of each child. By working together, we can close the gap for good.

    [/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/model/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Learn More” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)”] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

  • 62 Billionaires vs. Half the World

    62 Billionaires vs. Half the World

    [et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”14″]

    Almost all modern political systems share at least one guiding principle: that the people within them should be born free and equal. Ensuring that  equality — a fair start for all people — is required to legitimize those systems.

    So, how are our political systems doing these days, in terms of their legitimacy?

    Not very well. Oxfam drew much attention last week with a report calculating that the 62 richest billionaires in the world own as much wealth as the poorer half of the world’s population. If we extrapolate that report to children and consider the vastly different opportunities children have in life, with some children mining the cobalt for other children’s smartphones, its unclear where the fair start that legitimizes our political systems actually exists.

    What’s the solution? Oxfam was right to call for more aggressive tax enforcement and investment in public services. But they missed perhaps the most compelling rationale for that enforcement and plan for that investment: Giving every child a fair start in life. The Having Kids model can help.

    [/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/adopt-the-model/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Adopt the Model” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)” header_font_size=”26″ body_font_size=”14″ button_text_size=”20″ button_border_width=”2″ button_border_radius=”3″ button_border_radius_hover=”3″] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

  • Child Brides in the USA?

    Child Brides in the USA?

    [et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”14″]

    Mention child brides and most people will assume they exist only outside of the United States. But the reality is that thousands of children in the United States have recently taken marital vows. Most are girls married to adult men thanks to “parental consent” and other legal loopholes in minimum marriage age laws. These loopholes stem from a view of the family as isolated from the rest of society and a culture of parenting that lets parents control and limit their children’s future, including marrying them off to be wives – and mothers – before they are even adults.

    Let’s change that paradigm.

    [/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/adopt-the-model/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Take Action” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)” title=”Adopt the Model” header_font_size=”26″ body_font_size=”14″ button_text_size=”20″ button_border_width=”2″ button_border_radius=”3″ button_border_radius_hover=”3″] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]

  • Our Values: Population is About More Than Just Numbers

    Our Values: Population is About More Than Just Numbers

    [et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Post Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” text_font_size=”14″]

    Recently, the New York Times reported on the need for higher birthrates in China and Europe. There is an unspoken assumption looming behind Steven Erlanger’s article, which rings alarm bells about “aging populations and not enough babies.” He assumes that healthy demographics require replacement-level fertility. But is it true? Even at current birthrates, we’ll fill our world with more than eleven billion people by 2100. Does anyone want their children to live in a world like that, given that our current population of 7.2 billion is enough to degrade our atmosphere, acidify our oceans, change our climate, and cause the mass extinction of other species? Demographics is about values as much as numbers. Assuming the need for replacement-level fertility values traditional growth economics over a cleaner, safer, and healthier future – for us and for our children.

    [/et_pb_text][et_pb_cta admin_label=”Action Button” button_url=”https://fairstartmovement.org/mission-values-and-vision/” url_new_window=”off” button_text=”Our Values” use_background_color=”off” background_color=”#18aacc” background_layout=”dark” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_button=”on” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”on” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ saved_tabs=”all” button_bg_color=”#ea593c” button_border_color=”#ffac9b” button_font=”|||on|” button_icon=”%%20%%” button_bg_color_hover=”rgba(234,89,60,0.8)” header_font_size=”26″ body_font_size=”14″ button_text_size=”20″ button_border_width=”2″ button_border_radius=”3″ button_border_radius_hover=”3″] [/et_pb_cta][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]