Focus of Study:
Focus of Study Federal Spending on Children
Past: 1960-2006
Projected under 'current law': 2007-2017
Measures do not assess effectiveness
Based on earlier work by Rebecca Clark, Rosalind Berkowitz, Christopher Spiro, and Eugene Steuerle
Summary:
Summary Children programs:
Not a priority in the federal budget
Perhaps held their own through continual enactment of new programs
But rapidly decreasing priority under current law
Face a basic budget inequity:
Not a level playing field
Summary of Historic Shifts in Children’s Programs:
Summary of Historic Shifts in Children’s Programs Number has grown significantly
Spending declines as % of domestic spending
But increases modestly as % of GDP
Almost all children’s programs wax, then wane
Direct spending replaces tax subsidies
In-kind replaces cash
Means-tested replaces more universal
Many exceptions to overall shifts
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Future Trends:
Future Trends Overall federal budget
Increasing orientation to end of the life cycle
Increasing orientation to consumption
Children squeezed between rising retirement and health expenditures and limited revenues
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Conclusions:
Conclusions Current budget situation unique
Never before has so much of future revenues been claimed in advance
Meanwhile, children must fight for leftovers… in a budget soon scheduled to have none.