Restoring Social Justice » News & Updates

A Relational Approach to Social Justice

diane — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 18:13:23 +0000

Ryan Messmore of the Heritage Foundation argues for a small-government, relationship-based approach to social justice in “Social Justice goes beyond Government funding,” published by the Maxim Institute in New Zealand. In it, Messmore recounts the story of the relationship between a couple from upscale north Dallas and a former drug-dealer from a poor neighborhood living with his girlfriend and four children. Some important conclusions can be reached from watching their story unfold, such as the importance of marriage for the well-being of children and the power of personal relationships in combating the dynamic web of human need.

Forever Poor?

diane — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 22:05:48 +0000

The U.S. Census Bureau has released a new method for measuring poverty based on a relative scale. Robert Rector of The Heritage Foundation explains in the National Review: “if the real income of every single American were to magically triple over night, the new poverty measure would show there had been no drop in poverty, because the poverty income threshold would also triple.” Instead of providing a concrete measure of hardship to be overcome, this new measurement makes alleviating poverty contingent on equal wealth distribution. Find out more here.

Beyond the front door: Engaging families for strong economic and social policymaking

diane — Wed, 10 Mar 2010 21:04:27 +0000

What is the relationship between strong families and economic success? How and where should the federal government be involved in family life? These questions, among others, will be addressed at the Institute of Marriage and Family Canada conference on Thursday, March 11. The discussions at the conference will examine the relationship between family, social and economic policy and will feature internationally renowned speakers, such as Miriam Grossman, MD, author of You’re Teaching My Child What?; Brian Lee Crowley, PhD, author of Fearful Symmetry: The Fall and Rise of Canada’s Founding Values; and Wade Horn, PhD, former Assistant Secretary for Children and Families. Find out more at www.imfcanada.org.

Unreforming Welfare

diane — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 19:08:16 +0000

The Heritage Foundation’s Katherine Bradley explains in National Review Online that while the $5 billion TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families) Emergency Fund in last year’s stimulus was supposed to be short-term, “[t]he president is now seeking an additional $2.5 billion to expand and extend the emergency fund for another year.” Bradley argues that this runs counter to the successful 1996 welfare reform. The renewal of TANF essentially “pays states bonus money for increasing the size of their caseloads,” a method that creates dependence on government and disincentive toward work. Additionally, Obama has requested an end to the Marriage and Fatherhood grant program which “aimed to promote healthy marriages and responsible fatherhood in low-income communities.” Ending this initiative will terminate programs that actually work to prevent family breakdown and generational poverty.

A New Urban Agenda

diane — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 20:47:34 +0000

In a February 25th Washington Examiner op-ed, Howard Husock discusses how conservative policies in the urban setting– like “Compstat” policing reforms in New York City, welfare reform, and housing vouchers– have proven immensely successful where big government solutions have failed. Husock states, “[I]n reality, it is conservatism which has brought greater benefits to cities in recent years and offers new if not widely-known policy ideas which hold more promise than yet another generation of subsidized housing and jobs programs.”

Free to Learn in New Zealand

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 01:09:34 +0000

Greg Fleming of the Maxim Institute (New Zealand) says a report on school choice recently released in Parliament, Step Change, contains some good ideas. But Maxim believes that the report “isn’t deep or broad enough” and that the “education system needs holistic improvements that can benefit all students.” Fleming argues, “Schools should have the flexibility to respond to the diverse educational needs of all families and children.” Another report, Free to Learn, was simultaneously released by the minority party providing “serious recommendations for how to improve schooling across the board,” improvements that Fleming says “would be so popular with parents, it would stand the test of time.”

A Local Strategy for Orphan Care in Haiti

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 16:46:59 +0000

A coalition of U.S. adoption advocacy groups is taking an innovative approach to caring for Haitian orphans. “Adoption is not a big enough solution to the vast numbers of Haitian children,” said a spokesman with World Orphans. Consequently, a team is now developing a database of churches in Haiti with plans to partner them with American churches. With this strategy, the focus shifts from adoption to equipping local church leadership in Haiti to better care for orphans. “What we’re putting together here can be looked at as disaster response for orphans worldwide,” said Paul Myhill, president of World Orphans. Read more on this innovative and local strategy here.

Even the Best Intentions Are Not Enough

admin — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 15:51:23 +0000

This week, a group of ten missionaries were arrested for trying to transport 33 Haitian children into the Dominican Republic, contrary to the rules of Haiti’s government. Jedd Medefind, Executive Director of the Christian Alliance for Orphans, reminds us that in no way should this serve to deter the support of the “thousands of committed Christian organizations, churches and individuals—both foreign and indigenous—[who] were effectively meeting deep needs in Haiti even before the earthquake”. According to Medefind, the larger lesson to carry from this is that “[p]assion alone is simply not sufficient; it must be consistently paired with wisdom. Zeal without knowledge can be a destructive force…the hard work of education, preparation, and planning must always stand between us and a job well done.” Read more here.

Poverty Solutions: For the Elite or for the Free Individual?

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 15:52:18 +0000

Between 1970 and 2006, the global poverty rate fell nearly 75 percent, and the percentage of the world’s population living on less than a dollar a day fell from 26.8 to 5.4 percent. What’s to account for this success? Ryan Streeter of the Legatum Institute remarks that “[d]uring roughly the same period… the percentage of free countries in the world increased from 29 to 46 percent.” Do liberalization and economic growth go hand in hand? Find out more here.

Mere Recipients OR Resources for Poverty Reduction?

admin — Mon, 01 Feb 2010 15:53:51 +0000

Peter Jon Mitchell of The Institute of Marriage and Family Canada responds to a December 2009 Senate subcommittee report out of Canada acknowledging the failure of past social policies intended to solve poverty and offering 74 new recommendations. Although pleased with this heightened concern, Mr. Mitchell points out that the report has “one significant weakness: It ignores the role of the family as one of the most important poverty fighting institutions.” He goes on, “[t]he report treats families only as the recipients of social benefits rather than a resource for poverty reduction.” Instead, Mr. Mitchell advocates for family-centered policies that encompass a pro-family tax code, improvement of the foster care system, and accurate tracking of marriage and family statistics. Find out more here.