David Gray

Now that President-elect Barack Obama will be joined by his mother-in-law -- Marian Robinson -- in the White House, the New America Foundation’s David Gray, director of its Workforce and Family Program, is ready and able to give the wonky spin on this unique presidential living situation. “The normal mother-in-law jokes are somewhat mitigated in this instance,” Gray told Yeas & Nays. “Obama will be gone a ton, he has a huge house and he’ll be pretty busy.” Still,… more

On November 13, 2008, the New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative and Workforce and Family Program hosted a discussion around the release of, “A Family-Based Social Contract,”  written by David Gray and Phillip Longman.  In their paper, Gray, the Director of New America’s Workforce and Family Program, and Longman, Schwartz Senior Fellow and Research Director of the Next Social Contract Initiative, argue that policymakers should focus on supporting parents and children early in life.  Gray and Longman were joined in the discussion by Reihan Salam,… more

Is the Internet as we knew it - an open platform for innovation - a victim of its own commercial success? In his important new book, Jonathan Zittrain argues that both the Internet and the PC are on a path to a lockdown, devolving into "tethered appliances" that reduce our freedom to innovate. Zittrain argues that the openness of PCs and the Internet spawned an abundance of connectivity and creativity, but have also brought us a… more

Both campaigns "defer a lot of costs in this area," said David Gray, director of the Workplace and Family Program for the New America Foundation, a think tank in Washington, D.C. "It's much more difficult to compare the cost-benefit" than with, say, health care.

Gray, who said it was "significant that you have a Republican doing anything in this area," noted that McCain's proposed commission would cost little to establish, and "if you don't implement any recommendations, there's no cost."

In contrast, he says, "Obama has very… more

The Rev. David Gray, 39, is director of the Workforce and Family Program at the New America Foundation and is a parish associate at National Presbyterian Church. He has served as a lawyer and policy aid in both the legislative and executive branches of government, and is preparing to release a paper on the family aspects of America’s Next Social Contract.

Do you consider yourself to be of a specific faith? I was born and raised Presbyterian and am ordained and serve as a Presbyterian pastor. I appreciate the Presbyterian value of balance--between head… more

On October 14, 2008, the New America Foundation’s Next Social Contract Initiative and Workforce and Family Program hosted “Anxious with Reason: The Future of the American Worker.” The participating panelists offered compelling anecdotal and statistical evidence that American workers feel fundamentally insecure about a broad range of job-related issues. The event featured David Kusnet, a Visiting Fellow at the Economic Policy Institute; Dr. Cliff Zukin, Senior Faculty Fellow of the Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University; and Dr. Carl Van Horn, Director of the… more

There is renewed interest in the power and role of faith in America. We see candidates talking about it in campaigns. But how does it influence how public servants in the trenches think about their work?

For the past several years, John Calhoun has been on a cross-country quest to discover how faith motivates some of America's hardest-working public servants. The result? He selected 24 amazing people who pursue a range of innovative and ambitious plans to help their communities. Their accomplishments are impressive, deeply moving, and… more

The New America Foundation's Workforce and Family Program is announcing a contest for high school seniors to provide their views on the best way to improve the lives of America's young people. New America will be offering $2,500 to the student who best answers the question, "You have just been elected the President of the United States. What is the most important… more

On September 11, we cannot help but think about the power of religion to shape our world. In the past few years, religion has had a revival in America. It has been catapulted to the front pages of our newspapers, splashed on our television screens and most recently, at the forefront of the presidential campaigns. Religion’s rise to the surface does not need to be a negative, divisive matter. Historically, the U.S. has always had a degree of pluralism,… more

I applaud Congressman McDermott and the Committee for holding this important hearing on the Challenges Facing American Workers. This is an important topic at a critical time.[i]

The labor supply of parents has increased dramatically over the last generation. In 1970, almost two-thirds of married couples had one spouse at home to handle family needs; by 2006, 61 percent of married couples with children under the age of 18 had… more