Moving Working Families Forward: Third Way Policies That Can Work

Acknowledgments

| ix Acknowledgments Over the last decade, I had become increasingly cynical concerning public policies. As partisanship has grown, it has become difficult to find support for centrist policies. While they may be acceptable to some Democrats and some Republicans, these policies can never be a priority , since they do not meet the needs of the polarized core constituencies. While I think Republican politicians are most responsible, Democrats are not blameless. My attitude was colored by the continued unwillingness of Democrats to take ownership of the welfare reform legislation that may well have been the crowning achievement of the Clinton administration. Despite protests from liberals, President Clinton steadfastly pursued this legislation. Aided by favorable economic circumstances, this legislation dramatically transformed for the better the lives of single mothers. But rather than pointing to this legislative success, most Democrats have erased its memory. Indeed, when Hillary Clinton ran for president in the 2008 Democratic primaries, neither she nor her opponent, Barack Obama, mentioned this legislation. Not surprisingly, I was particularly disheartened when my book Welfare Transformed: Universalize Social Policies That Work was pretty much ignored. When the 2008 presidential cycle began, however, my children, Sara and Joshua, convinced me that I should make one more try at putting forward a set of centrist policies. After all, both Democratic candidates were pretty centrist so that despite some necessary leftist rhetoric, they and their advisers would be sympathetic to the kinds of policies I would advocate. So, reluctantly, I began on the journey that led to this book. As I began working on this project, I became less cynical. First, I was buoyed by the enthusiasm I received at NYU Press, particularly from my editor, Ilene Kalish. Next, I was most fortunate to enlist the efforts of Bob Lerman, someone I had met during my welfare project. He was cajoled into preparing two of the policy chapters: on housing and strengthening partnerships . These chapters added substantial value to the book. Just as important, x | Acknowledgments his general counsel and suggestions clarified my thoughts and improved substantially many other sections of the book. I also gladly acknowledge many individuals who read book chapters: Alex Vitale, Carolina Bank-Munoz, Veronica Manlow, Herve Queneau, Sumitra Shah, Sanford Schram, Myra Kogen, Mary Gatta, Marc Fox, and Paul Moses. ...