In the first installment of this two-part Spotlight webcast, Ron Haskins and Isabel Sawhill, co-directors of the Brookings Center on Children and Families, examine the barriers to economic mobility in America. In part one of the interview, Haskins and Sawhill discuss the alarming unemployment rate and the extent of poverty in America and the distinct challenges facing immigrant families and African American children. The interview also compares access to economic mobility in the U.S. to that of Europe.
Haskins and Sawhill are both authors of Creating an Opportunity Society, a new book which recommends a three-prong ed approach to providing economic opportunity, including increasing education for youth at the K—12 and postsecondary levels, encouraging and supporting work among adults, and increasing the share of children raised by married parents. The authors argue that it will take a combination of personal responsibility and expanded government assistance to help low-income families achieve economic success.
Part two of the interview will discuss the authors’ strategy to increase economic mobility in America and will air on Spotlight next week. The webcast is moderated by Spotlight’s Mary Jo Gilmore.
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