When I talk about the importance of being engaged in public policy despite partisan gridlock, I often talk about one of my kids’ favorite Dr. Seuss stories, called “The Zax.” In the story, a north-going Zax and a south-going Zax encounter each other in the Prairie of Prax. Rather than stepping an inch to the west or an inch to the east to allow both Zax to continue their journey, they square off and stubbornly hold their ground.
Category: Advocate
Long-Delayed Workforce Investment Act Bill Makes Its Way Toward the End Zone
Yesterday, House and Senate leadership unveiled the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a bipartisan and bicameral bill that would finally reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). A quick read confirms that priority positions advocated by Goodwill are reflected in the final deal
READ MORE from Long-Delayed Workforce Investment Act Bill Makes Its Way Toward the End Zone
Join the Goodwill® on the Hill Virtual Advocacy Day!
This week, Goodwill advocates from around the country will visit Capitol Hill and meet with hundreds of lawmakers to advocate on behalf of Goodwill. You can help by participating in Goodwill on the Hill Virtual Advocacy Day!
READ MORE from Join the Goodwill® on the Hill Virtual Advocacy Day!
The Power of Work
Soon after the first Goodwill store was established in 1902 to convert donated household items and clothing into revenues to pay wages to Goodwill employees, Goodwill recognized that simply providing jobs that pay wages was not enough. More needed to be done to help the people Goodwill employed and served to escape poverty.
Still Aching After the Recession
We have fairly conclusive proof that having survived “The Recession” many Americans are having to go through that long climb back up the ladder. That means taking jobs that pay much lower than those many held before 2008. Much lower apparently.
Tomorrow’s Economic Crisis Is Today’s Youth Unemployment Crisis
Today's youth need the skills and experience gained in part-time jobs to drive their future careers and our economy.
READ MORE from Tomorrow’s Economic Crisis Is Today’s Youth Unemployment Crisis
For What It’s Worth—The House Budget Resolution
Last week, the GOP-led House of Representatives passed a budget resolution that would seem to balance the budget by gutting domestic discretionary spending, boosting military spending, cutting taxes for the wealthiest and raising them for working Americans. In fact, the Ryan Budget Resolution cuts discretionary programs more deeply than the continuation of sequestration would, by a whopping $791 billion.
READ MORE from For What It’s Worth—The House Budget Resolution
There’s an App for That
U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas Perez compared programs that help people find family-sustaining careers to apps on a smartphone or tablet. Whether you are a person in need of a job or a community stakeholder who understands that work is an effective anti-poverty tool, there’s an app for that called Goodwill.
Hope Springs Anew in D.C.—or Is It April Fools?
As spring blooms in Washington and the cherry blossoms come to life, Congress begins one of its busiest periods. The question is, are the hopes of spring to be realized with the passage of long delayed legislation like the reauthorization of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), benefits for the long-term unemployed and timely consideration of FY 2015 spending bills? Or, are we being set up for a Congressional April Fools’ joke?
READ MORE from Hope Springs Anew in D.C.—or Is It April Fools?
Budget Politics Returns to Washington
In the movie Casablanca, Louis the French gendarme played by Claude Rains is forced by the evil Nazis to shut down Rick’s Café American. Rick, played by Humphrey Bogart, is furious about the shutdown and demands to know on what grounds his café is being closed. Louis states, “I’m shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on in here!” Of course that Louis is the most prolific gambler of any of Rick’s customers is what makes the announcement so ironically funny. So, too, in Washington: I am amused when one side announces that the other side is playing politics with an issue. Really, politics? In Washington? I’m shocked!
Goodwill®, Partners Turn Labor Challenges into Opportunities
Like it or not, advancing technology has and always will affect the labor market. What’s different (and its keeping me awake at night) is the astronomical and accelerating pace of modern advancement. That means it is critical for all workforce stakeholders – policy makers, businesses and employers, service providers and workers – to recognize that changes are soon imminent and to prepare to quickly adapt. Meanwhile, since it expired in 2003, Congress has been unable or unwilling to update the Workforce Investment Act, the primary law that authorizes and shapes the nation’s approach to job training.
READ MORE from Goodwill®, Partners Turn Labor Challenges into Opportunities
Goodwill® Public Policy Team Delves into Key FY2015 Budget Issues
Piggy Bank with American FlagPresident Obama has said that 2014 is a “year of action,” and the Administration’s FY 2015 budget request proposes a host of initiatives aimed at employment and job training and represents a substantial commitment to helping people find and keep good jobs. Below, we highlight priorities of particular interest to Goodwill®. The GII public policy team will be hard at work on Capitol Hill in the upcoming weeks and months pressing for resources that will help our agencies perform their mission.
READ MORE from Goodwill® Public Policy Team Delves into Key FY2015 Budget Issues
