Fair Start Movement

Category: Wealth Inequality & Reparations

  • Inequality and Children: Why A Head Start for Some, Hurts All Kids

    Inequality and Children: Why A Head Start for Some, Hurts All Kids

    Bloomberg recently posted a story about a summer camp for the ultra-rich, that teaches them how to get richer.

    What?

    Why should a select few get to have their hands held to jump to the front of the line? Children born with a head start are handed opportunities, access, guidance, trust funds, and connections that allow them to easily generate wealth in adulthood. The doors are opened to them to simply walk through. Compare that with the rest of Americans who struggle to find affordable housing, healthcare and fair paying jobs, and are often burdened with student loan debt.

    But inheriting a massive head start in life from wealth and privilege is not simply unfair. It degrades democracy. Because as the rich getting richer at the expense of a shrinking middle class, powerful interests wield their power to influence policy and keep our economy working only for themselves.

    Furthermore, we know that the economic inequality created by such policies is closely tied to poverty and crime, and results in a number of negative health and development outcomes for children. As inequality increases, child welfare decreases. And that is the direction we are going. How is that progress? Our standard of living should improve over time, not worsen.

    So then, how can we create more fairness and take a serious approach in attacking inequality? The answer is not simply a redistribution of wealth from a system flawed at its foundation. It’s looking at our values as Americans, as humanitarians, and recognizing that children deserve to be born with a fair start. That means safe neighborhoods, healthcare, a quality, equitable education, and nutrition. It also means having parents that are able to give them the time and attention that they need to thrive and be successful.

    This can be accomplished with a cooperative family planning framework. Fair Start family planning brings us together to invest in all kids, to improve equity and create a better society.

    Who would argue against a level playing field?

    TAKE ACTION: Ask him to respond to Having Kids’ questions. Fairness for children starts with those questions. Add your name here.

  • It’s Time to Address Child Poverty in the U.S.

    It’s Time to Address Child Poverty in the U.S.

    Headlines tell us that the U.S. economy is strong and that the unemployment rate is low. But those positive indicators don’t reflect the reality for the 40 million Americans living in poverty. As politicians thirst to slash safety nets, many take the stance that people need to pull themselves up, and simply work hard.

    It’s not that simple, however. Wages are stagnant, inflation is rising, and hourly jobs are not guaranteeing hours to employees, which leaves many struggling to stay afloat week to week.

    But aren’t we losing sight of who is most vulnerable? When we talk about welfare programs and SNAP food assistance benefits, there’s often an undertone of judgement focused on the adults. What if we brought the focus back to kids, and the staggering fact that nearly half of U.S. children live near the poverty line, according to a study in 2014?

    Addressing this epidemic requires solutions from many angles. But one of the most critical answers is ignored by our leaders and most of the child welfare community. And that is family planning. Never mind the expenses for basic needs. The cost of childcare is a significant barrier to employment. When parents can’t find affordable child care, they stay home.

    If we’re serious about addressing increasing inequality, child welfare and working to reduce the number of people relying on social programs, we must improve family planning. It is essential to tackling systemic low income.

    Last week we asked Secretary of Health and Human Services, Alex Azar to respond to a few questions regarding child welfare. Better family planning starts with those five questions. Let’s refocus towards the needs of children from the start, rather than the failing downstream approaches currently in place.

    Take action: Add your name here.

  • My Kids Deserve a Head Start in Life (Over Your Kids)

    My Kids Deserve a Head Start in Life (Over Your Kids)

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    Recently, an author chastised several celebrities for refusing to leave their immense fortunes to their children. That sort of thinking is pervasive today, with proponents justifying the vast and ever-deepening divide between rich and poor kids.

    This attitude can also be seen among parents in uber-rich communities who don’t want to share the PTA-fundraising wealth with schools that educate underprivileged kids. Some schools already shame kids whose parents fall behind on school lunch payments. Other wealthy parents want to cut legal aid for children while their own kids get the best lawyers money can buy. Isn’t it enough that a child’s health is already largely determined by her family’s income?

    Those willing to accept inequality among children often say something like this: “Parents who work hard should be able to give their own children the benefit of that hard work.” But whether income always correlates with hard work in today’s world is, at best, questionable. Even if it does, though, and inequality among adults is justified, there is no justification for inequality among children.

    What’s the solution? We must first make a commitment to a fair start for every child. If we want families with more resources and those with less to be able to offer all children a fair start in life, we need to prioritize communities that work together to ensure equality and fairness.

    In order to make that happen, Having Kids is redefining our approach to planning families. We’re moving from isolationist parent-centric models to a holistic child-centric model, and you can be a part of this change.

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

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

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    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.

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  • 62 Billionaires vs. Half the World

    62 Billionaires vs. Half the World

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    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.

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