Karen Kornbluh

A generation or more ago, it would have been impossible to envision the life of the American worker as it is lived today. A flood of women into the workforce has fundamentally changed the face of employment, largely for the better. Families are better able to increase their household income, and companies have benefited from the ability to tap female talent. But at home, working Americans have a dwindling amount of time to spend with their families. The parent who… more

Trying to make sense of the steady stream of economic news can be frustrating. Is the economy getting better or worse? The news seems to change weekly and, depending on what is measured, can seem bleak or sunny. Wages are stagnant but productivity is up. The unemployment rate declines but so does labor force participation.

We can't even begin to understand how America is faring economically unless we first establish how its families are doing -- how much they're… more

Today fully 70 percent of families with children are headed by two working parents or by an unmarried working parent. The "traditional family" of the breadwinner and homemaker has been replaced by the "juggler family," in which no one is home fulltime. Two-parent families are working 10 more hours a week than in 1979.

To be decent parents, caregivers, and members of their communities, workers now need greater flexibility than they once did. Yet good part-time or flex-time jobs remain… more

Summary of Remarks

The second panel of the Real State of the Union, "Rethinking Domestic Policy" was moderated by Morton Mondracke, executive editor of Roll Call. The discussion focused on fundamental problems at the core of American domestic policy, including asset management, health care, and improving standards for all Americans.

Ray Boshara, Director of New America's Asset Building Program, led off the discussion by focusing on the "ownership society." Mr. Boshara defined the current economic social status in the United States as… more

Tax reform is one of the Administration's top agenda items, but little is known about what their tax proposal will look like. What should the goals of tax reform be? How do we determine the winners and losers? Can fairness and inefficiency be balanced? How likely is it that tax reform will pass?

The New America Foundation's Fiscal Policy and Work & Family Programs brought together a panel of experts with varying perspectives to discuss the goals, prospects for and effects… more

President George W. Bush has framed his domestic agenda in recent speeches as a response to women's economic security concerns. In fact, in the president's "Ownership Society," women would be less -- not more -- economically secure.

The president's nomination acceptance speech contained a direct appeal to working moms. He offered women a post-"era-of-big-government-is-dead" message about putting government on the side of families: "The times in which we live and work are changing dramatically...Today, workers change jobs, even careers, many times… more

FROM: Karen Kornbluh SUBJECT: America's Promise in A New Century DATE: August 6, 2004

Americans are concerned as they have not been since 1992 about the future of their way of life in a global economy. They sense that their kids may be part of the first generation that does worse than its parents and they don't understand… more

The recent political discussion of the "middle class squeeze" has emphasized themes of both economic opportunity and values. This event delved more deeply in the policies that address the stresses on modern families, as New America's Work & Family Program presented its third event in a series entitled "The Stresses on 21st Century Families."

This event series provided a venue for discussing the current state of American families, including their need for increased workplace flexibility to balance work and family commitments… more

Father’s Day holds few surprises. A gift from the kids-usually a bad tie-and dinner with the family. Fatherhood itself, however, has undergone dramatic changes over the past few decades as Dads have taken on far more responsibility at home and, in many ways, changed the very definition of Father. The rest of the world has yet to catch up with the new Dad. As a result, even in 2004, too many fathers must still choose between being good breadwinners and… more

Today, Senator John Kerry announced new after-school and child care tax credit initiatives. His speech is part of a renewed focus on easing the "middle class squeeze." Yesterday, Senator Edward Kennedy and Representative Rosa DeLauro introduced a bill guaranteeing employees paid time off for their own or a family member's illness.

The emphasis on families and the pressures on them is exactly right. American families are experiencing a "family budget shock" as a result of three reinforcing trends: stagnating incomes, increasing… more