When you examine different government privatization efforts, there are some disturbing parallels between what is happening in Medicare and similar efforts in public education. The Rise of Medicare Privatization With respect to Medicare, in 1982, Congress created what is called Medicare Part C or so-called “Medicare Advantage” (MA) plans to…

Next week is Teacher Appreciation Week, but why wait? Every day should be Teacher Appreciation Day. I have immense respect for the work that our nation’s educators do. They have dedicated their careers to our children, and they do so through their great wisdom, leadership, ability, compassion, performance, and love…

Rachel Aviv just published a powerful, and yet horrifying, piece in The New Yorker about the case of Mackenzie Fierceton, who is still working to overcome an abusive childhood in Missouri despite far too many adults either ignoring, disregarding, or actively throwing up roadblocks in her path. Mackenzie’s Story The…

Most parents and communities seek to do whatever it takes to promote the success of children and to protect them from harm, particularly when that harm can be prevented or significantly reduced. In contrast, although politicians often ignore and treat children as an afterthought, they often have sympathy for kids…

The kids still aren’t alright. Despite the initial disregard for how COVID-19 was impacting children, a majority of people began to recognize that the global pandemic, which has been the biggest public health crisis we have seen in a century, and the resulting economic recession have impacted each and every…

Former Secretary Robert Reich asks a very important question: Why has America chosen to dramatically reduce poverty among the nation’s elderly but not among our children? He juxtaposes the positive actions that our nation has taken through the passage of Medicare and Social Security to reduce poverty for the elderly…

There is no doubt that parents are frustrated, overwhelmed, and at wits’ end after nearly two years of the COVID-19 pandemic and a rough economic recession that was particularly difficult for parents, women, and young adults — a triple whammy for some. As for their children, we have been saying…

Since 2006, First Focus on Children has worked with the Urban Institute, which publishes Kids’ Share, on documenting the tragic decline in the federal share of the federal budget dedicated to our nation’s children and youth. Over that period, the share of federal spending for children has, with a few…

Our democracy needs, or actually demands, informed citizens. Consequently, our nation’s founders strongly supported the creation of public schools. Thomas Jefferson said: Above all things I hope the education of the common people will be attended to; convinced that on their good sense we may rely with the most security…