Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 2d

Our vision for the #GoodLife includes ensuring disabled Americans and their experiences are an integral part of economic policy.

Our partnership to co-launch the Disability Economic Policy Research Consortium is a part of this commitment. Learn more 👇
https://bit.ly/4q0NDDZ

Graphic from the Roosevelt Institute featuring the quote "People with disabilities are up close and personal with our fraying social safety nets, our lack of federal labor protections, and the indignities of means-tested and underfunded public programs that put undue administrative burden on people simply seeking economic freedom and a dignified life. For this reason, listening to the lived economic experience of disabled people can show us all where the cracks are throughout our public policy."

2 3

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 21d

When a few corporations can decide what news or voices reach the public, democracy shrinks. This isn’t just about competition; it’s about who sets the terms of public debate. People or authoritarians? We need stronger rules, restored ownership limits, and a renewed commitment to the people’s voice.

4 16

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 21d

Yesterday, a late-night show vanished with a simple directive from 2 of the largest media companies you’ve never heard of (Nexstar & Sinclair), backed by the FCC. That’s not “the market at work.” It’s concentrated corporate power cooperating with an authoritarian. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/b...

ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure

www.nytimes.com

37 230 930

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · 21d

New Mexico is making history: the first state to guarantee no-cost universal childcare.

💡 A bold step toward affordability that shows what’s possible when leaders prioritize families.

@lbilik.bsky.social on why federal lawmakers should take note. rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/new-mex...

New Mexico Offers Free Childcare for All. The Federal Government Should Follow Suit. - Roosevelt Institute

Last week, New Mexico announced that it will become the first state in the nation to provide no-cost universal childcare for all its residents. This comes as welcome news in a country in the throes of...

rooseveltinstitute.org

1 10 29

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · 22d

Spoke to @usatoday.com about New Mexico's recent move that shows that government CAN actually deliver what families want and need: in this case, universal free childcare. shorturl.at/8KAa9

New Mexico is first state to offer free universal child care. Will others follow suit?

Universal child care is coming to New Mexico in November, marking the first state in America to guarantee free child care to every parent.

shorturl.at

1 2

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Zohran Kwame Mamdani @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social · 27d

New Mexico's economy is a fraction of the size of New York City's.

If they can enact universal childcare — and relieve working families of a crushing cost burden — surely we can too.

It's just a question of political will.

New Mexico will be the first state to make child care free

The program, which is expected to save families $12,000 per child annually, is available to all residents regardless of income.

19thnews.org

290 4K 17K

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Sep 9

Exciting news from New Mexico, proving that states continue to innovate in the face of the federal government's decades of inaction on childcare. Don't let anyone tell you there isn't nationwide demand for childcare as a public good. shorturl.at/tTENi

3 1

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Sep 3

This people-centered approach is the foundation for a new economic vision: one that reins in corporate power, strengthens worker agency, and secures economic dignity for all. It’s how we build trust, defeat authoritarianism, and deliver the #GoodLife Americans deserve.

An image of an individual painting and a quote from the Roosevelt Institute about designing policy with people-focused outcomes.

4 5

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Aug 28

Working people still have faith in the labor movement because working people ARE the labor movement. Most recent data shows that HALF of Congress are millionaires. If we're ever going to rebuild trust in government again, one thing we need is more regular people in positions of power.

AFL-CIO @aflcio.org · Aug 28

Working people are losing faith in Congress, the media, the Supreme Court—essentially every institution EXCEPT the labor movement.

Workers know that unions fight for them and are their best shot to build a better life for themselves and their family. It’s #BetterInAUnion! ✊

Gallup poll: Americans' approval of labor unions, 1936 - 2025. In 2025, approval of labor unions is at 68%.

2

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Suzanne Kahn @suzmkahn.bsky.social · Aug 28

"Childcare undergirds everything we care about as Americans." - Great conversation between @lbilik.bsky.social and @ehaspel.bsky.social in today's Fireside Stacks.

www.firesidestacks.com/p/raising-a-...

Raising a Nation: Elliot Haspel on What a Universal Childcare Movement Will Take

It is no secret that childcare in the US is, as Elliot Haspel puts it, “a hellscape.” Elliot’s new book, Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All, is a welcome add...

www.firesidestacks.com

4 3

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Forward @rooseveltforward.org · Aug 28

Childcare holds families, communities, and our economy together.

In the latest #FiresideStacks 🔥, @lbilik.bsky.social sat down with @ehaspel.bsky.social, who makes a compelling case for universal childcare as a central tenet of the American Dream. www.firesidestacks.com/p/raising-a-...

No matter where one comes from, whether or not one has kids, whether or not one is particularly comfortable with the idea of young children being cared for outside the home, there is a way into this idea that childcare undergirds everything we care about as Americans. And unless we start explaining that, and making that case on that emotional, values-laden level, I think we’re going to be stuck on a very slow, choppy path toward the system that we need.

1 2

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Aug 25

Communities have been winning incredible state-level funding for childcare - but this is a reminder that the fight isn't over. We have to protect these wins AND go even further -- from an inequitable patchwork of state policies, to a national universal childcare system. tinyurl.com/bdz4cyd5

The “mission accomplished” problem haunting child care activists

State trust funds can come with an unexpected cost.

tinyurl.com

1 1

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Aug 21

Childcare shouldn’t be a luxury.

@lbilik.bsky.social‬ spoke with ‪@publicnewsservice.bsky.social‬ about the need for federal investments to build a universal childcare system that works for families and the workforce. app.publicnewsservice.org/sto...?

The U.S. child care system is often described as "broken," with states and local governments pursuing a patchwork of solutions, along with limited federal subsidies for low-income households. The nonprofit think tank the Roosevelt Institute led a new report calling for a "public option" approach, with stronger federal investments to close gaps.

Lena Bilik, program manager for the institute, said despite the urgency, attempts to solve this crisis for working parents have been uneven at best.

"We keep tinkering around the edges," Bilik observed. "But what we really need is for child care to be a public good."

1 2 6

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Aug 19

Struggling to find or afford childcare is a common experience for many American workers.

The patchwork of market options has failed.

@lbilik.bsky.social talks with @publicnewsservice.bsky.social about a "public option" for MN families and beyond.
app.publicnewsservice.org/story/can-pu...?

Can public option save MN families from expensive child care?

It is a burden many Minnesota parents can relate to, struggling to afford child care or finding an open slot and now, a decades-old idea to create equal access around

app.publicnewsservice.org

2 6 20

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jul 25

Thankful as usual that @warren.senate.gov always calls it like it is.

As I laid out in more detail last week in a @rooseveltinstitute.org blog - Handouts to a few billionaires does NOT improve the economy. But you know what does? Investing in kids.

shorturl.at/GgEOY

4 6

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jul 23

Absolutely disgusting recent move by HHS to make Head Start for "American citizens" only. Not only a devastating loss to undocumented families, it will have a chilling effect on immigrant families in general who need the program, as well as low-income families without gov IDs.
shorturl.at/4leTI

20 states sue over immigration restrictions for Head Start, other programs

The lawsuit alleges the Trump administration policy change would lead to the "collapse of some of the nation’s most vital public programs."

shorturl.at

1

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Kathryn Anne Edwards @kedseconomist.com · Jul 21

Really proud of this! I wrote a proposal for the @rooseveltinstitute.org about how to design a universal system for child care, after school, and summer.

In my latest newsletter, I talk about what it would look like, how it would work, and the potential it holds.

open.substack.com/pub/kedsecon...

Let's go as big as families deserve

My proposal for a universal Child Development System

open.substack.com

18 53

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jul 21

Over the last year, Roosevelt had the invaluable opportunity to speak with parents, childcare providers, and grassroots organizers to help us vision what a truly public, universal childcare system could look like, w/ partners at Community Change & @economicsecurityproject.org.

Check out our report:

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jul 21

NEW📃: The US childcare system is failing families. It's unaffordable, unsustainable, & susceptible to corporate interests.

Today, we offer a bold vision to build a public, universal ECE system that puts children, families, and workers first. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Children and a teacher engaged in activities around a table at an Early Childhood Education center. Text on the image quotes from the Roosevelt Institute about the importance of ECE funding for public welfare.

3 5

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jul 21

New in @msnbc.com from me & @suzmkahn.bsky.social:

Don't let the messaging fool you: a few tax credits (that don't even reach the poorest families) will never solve the childcare crisis. Americans need and deserve historic investment in public universal childcare, and we should demand nothing less.

MSNBC @msnbc.com · Jul 21

OPINION by @suzmkahn.bsky.social & @lbilik.bsky.social:

“For too long, U.S. policymakers have treated child care as a problem primarily for the private market. But child care is a broken market.”

READ MORE:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...

Opinion | JD Vance is putting a new spin on Trump’s wildly unpopular megabill

It’s true that the law will provide modest support for child care costs, yet it’s anything but pro-family.

www.msnbc.com

3 4

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jul 16

Happening next week! 📆

Join us for a conversation with four incredible experts & @kim.senate.gov to envision an affordable, high-quality, public childcare system.

It’s time to reimagine childcare as public infrastructure—RSVP now! rooseveltinstitute.org/event/from-c...

From Crisis to Care: Reimagining Childcare as Public Infrastructure - Roosevelt Institute

On July 21, 2025 the Roosevelt Institute will host a conversation with care experts to think about creative policy solutions to the ongoing childcare crisis.

rooseveltinstitute.org

1 5

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Roosevelt Institute @rooseveltinstitute.org · Jul 14

The GOP budget bill is anti-kid, not "pro-family."

Cuts to Medicaid & SNAP strip health care & food from millions of kids to give huge tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans.

@lbilik.bsky.social explains why we must invest in kids, not billionaires. ⬇️ rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/us-poli...

US Policies Already Fail Our Children. The GOP’s Budget Bill Will Make Things Worse. - Roosevelt Institute

It’s hard to imagine US public policy getting worse for children when we already fall so behind other countries. But the Republican reconciliation bill that passed on July 3 will truly make things wor...

rooseveltinstitute.org

2 5 7

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jul 10

New from me -- We must loudly call the Republican budget bill what it is: anti-children and anti-family. If lawmakers want to be “pro-family,” they should start by acknowledging that our government should be in the business of investing in children.

rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/us-poli...

US Policies Already Fail Our Children. The GOP’s Budget Bill Will Make Things Worse. - Roosevelt Institute

It’s hard to imagine US public policy getting worse for children when we already fall so behind other countries. But the Republican reconciliation bill that passed on July 3 will truly make things wor...

rooseveltinstitute.org

4 6

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jul 9

The lawmakers with a creepy obsession with pronatalism aren't actually interested in passing pro-family policy. If they were, they'd listen to the 2/3 (!!) of Americans that want policies like free or low-cost childcare and paid family leave. shorturl.at/xOWvK

US adults want the government to focus on child care costs, not birth rates, AP-NORC poll finds

A new AP-NORC poll finds most Americans do not want the government to focus on increasing birth rates, despite efforts by the Trump administration to make this a priority.

shorturl.at

1 1

Lena Bilik @lbilik.bsky.social · Jul 9

Today in unsurprising survey data: Most Americans aren't concerned about how many kids other people are having. They're worried about how hard it is to care for the kids they already have. shorturl.at/xOWvK

US adults want the government to focus on child care costs, not birth rates, AP-NORC poll finds

A new AP-NORC poll finds most Americans do not want the government to focus on increasing birth rates, despite efforts by the Trump administration to make this a priority.

apnews.com

1 1 3

Reposted by Lena Bilik

Working Families Party 🐺 @workingfamilies.org · Jul 2

12 million+ off their healthcare

Rural hospitals closing

Kids going hungry

More ICE chaos in our neighborhoods

The largest transfer of wealth from everyday people to the ultra-rich in history

This is that big ugly, ugly bill. It may pass

CALL CONGRESS, SAY NO: 888-924-6518

63 140