Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Sam Melvin

Julia Raifman, ScD @juliaraifman.bsky.social · Apr 30

With news that the US economy is shrinking, who is most affected by recessions?

The same populations that already rely on Medicaid, SNAP, & Head Start to meet basic needs

Cutting these programs now would deepen poverty in a way that harms whole communities, most of all those directly affected

Who Suffers during Recessions?

(Summer 2012) - In this paper, we examine how business cycles affect labor market outcomes in the United States. We conduct a detailed analysis of how cycles affect outcomes differentially across pers...

www.aeaweb.org

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Sam Melvin @sammelvin.bsky.social · May 1

At #SRCD2025 Policy Preconference, Walter Gilliam reminded us that Ed Zigler, known as the father of #HeadStart, modeled the program on how we used to treat immigrant families, including his own. This story brought me to tears as we fight for that legacy: medicine.yale.edu/news-article...

‘Father of Head Start’ and Zigler Center leader reflect on Head Start at 50

If you believe in karma — the good kind, that is — then you’ll believe it was working for Head Start pioneer Edward Zigler two years ago. He was preparing to

medicine.yale.edu

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Sam Melvin @sammelvin.bsky.social · Mar 5

What wasn’t mentioned in tonight’s #jointaddress:
❌ Access to affordable, quality health care and child care
❌ Costs of groceries, housing, and basic needs
❌ Paid leave and fair wages

How does ignoring families and gutting Medicaid, SNAP, programs that benefit babies = the American dream?

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Casey Peeks @kcpeeks.bsky.social · Mar 5

Needless to say there was a whole lot of awful going on in this speech tonight, but there was also a whole lot missing.

Trump spent a lot of time discussing the economy tonight, but you know what’s missing from his remarks? A plan for child care.

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Peggy Bailey @peggybaileydc.bsky.social · Mar 5

The President left out "for the wealthy' when talking about the tax cuts he supports. His proposals, which are included in the House budget resolution, cut taxes for the top 1% and pay for it by cutting food assistance and Medicaid. #CBPPJointAddress

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Casey Peeks @kcpeeks.bsky.social · Mar 5

Trump just claimed that his administration is prioritizing eliminating exposure to toxins, especially for children.

However, they are actively attempting to prohibit the replacement of lead service lines all while gutting the EPA.

Allie Schneider (she/her) @allie-schneider.bsky.social · Feb 27

In other words, Trump’s admin is attempting to prohibit the government from EVER requiring LSL replacement or lowering lead limits. They’re also working to remove a recent ban on TCE, a toxic & common water pollutant.

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Center for Law and Social Policy @clasp.org · Mar 5

3/ Detaining children without charge, separating families, & forcing kids into harmful conditions is NOT who we should be. Every policymaker who voted for this bill voted against children’s well-being. We must do better. #JointAddress

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Anthony Wright @awright2care.bsky.social · Mar 5

If you care about child cancer, maybe it's a bad time to cut #Medicaid, which covers over 40% of children in our country.

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MomsRising @momsrising.org · Mar 5

FACT: One of the best ways to keep our children healthy and help children with disabilities like autism is to NOT cut Medicaid by $880 billion — as proposed by congressional Republicans and Donald Trump. #MOMSky

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Sam Melvin @sammelvin.bsky.social · Mar 5

What’s actually waste, fraud, and theft? Tax cuts for billionaires.

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MomsRising @momsrising.org · Mar 5

FACT: What Musk calls "government waste" are jobs and programs that lift veterans, farmers, small business owners, sick children, seniors, and families across the United States. Take action to say no to Musk, DOGE, and Trump's unlawful overreach: action.momsrising.org/sign/governm...
#MOMSky

Tell Congress to stop the dismantling of federal agencies & unjust mass firing of employees!

Take action now! Tell Congress to stand up to Elon Musk and Donald Trump and stop the dismantling of federal agencies and unjust mass firing of employees!

action.momsrising.org

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Melissa Boteach @mboteach.bsky.social · Mar 5

Notice what Trump isn’t talking about in his #jointaddress to Congress:

The Republican plan to rip healthcare from people to pay for tax cuts for billionaires and corporations.

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First Focus on Children @firstfocus.bsky.social · Mar 5

President Trump touts cuts to foreign aid during his #JointSession, but let's be clear: cutting USAID programs saves very little money, but it WILL cost millions of children their lives.
firstfocus.org/resource/fac...

Fact Sheet: USAID cuts total $4 billion for children, tens of thousands of lives | First Focus on Children

Trump's USAID shutdown halts $4 billion in vital aid for children, threatening millions with malnutrition, disease, and death. Learn how this affects global health and security.

firstfocus.org

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Emily Gee @emily-gee.bsky.social · Mar 5

Curious how Trump can balance the budget while providing TRILLIONS in planned tax giveaways, including to corporations and billionaires? If he does, it will be at a grave cost to the health care and economic security of working- and middle-class Americans. www.americanprogress.org/article/4-wa...

4 Ways House Republicans’ Emerging Tax Package Would Put Billionaires Over Families

The emerging House Republican tax package would raise working- and middle-class families’ costs to shower enormous tax giveaways on the wealthiest Americans.

www.americanprogress.org

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Sam Melvin @sammelvin.bsky.social · Mar 5

Babies and families—and the programs and people that provide resources that help them to thrive—are not wasteful #jointaddress #stopthecuts

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Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · Feb 26

Hero

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Megan Carolan @megancarolan.bsky.social · Feb 25

"Notably, the Idaho hearing featured testimony from child care provider after child care provider stridently opposing the proposed changes, with one aptly noting, “how often do you get small business owners up here asking you to regulate them more?”" #childcare

Elliot Haspel @ehaspel.bsky.social · Feb 25

ID is moving a radical child care bill that would eliminate all max child-to-adult ratios and instead have each individual provider set whatever ratio they deem "appropriate." Shockingly, the bill is being promoted by the child care tech co. Wonderschool.

familyfrontier.substack.com/p/idaho-is-a...

Idaho is about to endanger its youngest residents—with help from Wonderschool

(and what happens in Idaho is unlikely to stay in Idaho)

familyfrontier.substack.com

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Andrea Ducas @andreaducas.bsky.social · Feb 25

What could House Republicans’ $880B in potential Medicaid cuts mean for your congressional district?

On average, we estimate a $2B funding loss per district and substantial reductions in coverage in states that expanded Medicaid. ⬇️

www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

The Republican House Budget Resolution's Potential $880 Billion in Medicaid Cuts by Congressional District

The Republican House budget resolution would cost congressional districts an average of $2 billion each and could eliminate coverage for 15.9 million people.

www.americanprogress.org

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Lea Woods @lea9223.bsky.social · Feb 16

Head Start provides nearly a quarter (22%) of child care supply in rural areas. It is a critical early education and anti-poverty program. Cutting its resources is a cruel attack on families. www.americanprogress.org/article/proj...

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Catherine Rampell @crampell.bsky.social · Feb 16

Yesterday ~68 people employed in HHS's Administration for Children & Families early childhood offices were terminated. I'm told Office of Head Start lost ~20% of staff; Office of Child Care lost ~25%
These workers process grants for preschools/childcare centers, monitor health/safety issues, etc.

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Prof Dynarski @dynarski.bsky.social · Feb 14

FANTASTIC

ICPSR at U Mich is coordinating the archiving of at-risk federal data (all of it?)

You can upload data you have & search for data you don’t have

www.datalumos.org/datalumos/

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Sam Melvin @sammelvin.bsky.social · Feb 14

We're #hiring!
@zerotothree.bsky.social’s Policy Center seeks a Policy Research Analyst passionate about early childhood development and data-driven #policy for babies and their families. Pls share widely!
Apply now: job-boards.greenhouse.io/zerotothree/...
#ECEHiring #PolicyResearch #DataAnalysis

Policy Research Analyst

Remote - USA

job-boards.greenhouse.io

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MomsRising @momsrising.org · Feb 12

Wait, what? Child care costs more than rent?

New data released from the @dol.gov shows that families are paying a high price to access the care their children need #SolveChildCare

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Katie Phang @katiephang.bsky.social · Feb 11

JUST IN:

Federal judges orders HHS, CDC, and FDA to restore “by no later than 11:59 pm” today their websites and datasets to pre-January 30th status.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

storage.courtlistener.com

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Erica Greenberg @ericahgreenberg.bsky.social · Feb 10

🌟 Did you know that most federal education data are archived in the @urbaninstitute.bsky.social Education Data Explorer? It's a great resource for research and analysis - and there's even a full API version linked in thread. 🌟

#EduSky #EdPoliSky #EduSkyECEC
educationdata.urban.org/data-explorer

Education Data Explorer

Explore education data

educationdata.urban.org

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