Joanne Goldblum

Jul 17, 2024 | courant.com | Joanne Goldblum |Colleen Shaddox

Poverty is a policy choice – not a personal failure. The author of “Hillbilly Elegy” says otherwise. This is not a commentary on the candidacy of author J.D. Vance, but on that flawed book and the flawed policies it supports. We spent three years delving into academic research and traveling the country to ask people in poverty to share their stories. We synthesized personal experiences and data into a book called “Broke In America: Seeing, Understanding, and Ending U.S. Poverty.” Yes, ending.

May 16, 2024 | ctmirror.org | Joanne Goldblum

Each Mother’s Day, I’m reminded that every mom wants the best for their child. Decades of working with families coping with poverty taught me that. But not every mom and/or dad can afford the best, or even the bare minimum. That won’t change until a critical mass of Americans decide to insist upon good things for other people’s children too. Sound utopian? It’s already happening in some places. Raziya Hill struggled to afford diapers to keep her son clean, dry and healthy.

Jan 31, 2024 | ctmirror.org | Joanne Goldblum |Colleen Shaddox

Congress let the refundable child tax credit expire at the end of 2021, among the most damaging policy mistakes in this nation’s history. That’s not hyperbole. The tax credit brought child poverty to a record low, lifting  out of its depths. The child poverty rate more than doubled after the expanded program was allowed to sunset. Now Congress has a second chance to revive the refundable child tax credit. We hope they do not blow it, again.

Jul 4, 2023 | dailykos.com | Joanne Goldblum

Jul 4, 2023 | dailykos.com | Joanne Goldblum

Today America’s moral and highly practical tendency toward giving more people the chance to thrive is at risk. Nearly half the children born in this country are beginning their lives in deprivation. The research is conclusive that poverty interferes with child development, particularly in the first three, critical years of life. Though the potential of every child is astounding, the reality is that growing up in poverty decreases educational attainment, wages, health, and even life expectancy.