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Holiday cheer or holiday hunger?
Nearly half of all U.S. children will use food stamps, says poverty expert
Nov. 2,
2009 -- Holidays and tables full of delicious food usually go hand in hand, but for nearly half of the children in the United States, this is not guaranteed. "49 percent of all U.S. children will be in a household that uses food stamps at some point during their childhood," says Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., poverty expert at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. "Food stamp use is a clear sign of poverty and food insecurity, two of the most detrimental economic conditions affecting a child's health." Rank's study, "Estimating the Risk of Food Stamp Use and Impoverishment During Childhood," is published in the current issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine. Video available.
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'We must succeed in meeting this challenge'
Top officers of energy companies meet in St. Louis Nov. 2 to discuss the National Research Council's roadmap for the energy future
Oct. 27,
2009 --
America has the potential to solve its energy crisis over the next decade, but doing so will require immediate investment in clean energy technologies, says Mark S. Wrighton, chancellor of Washington University in St. Louis and vice chair of a National Resource Council report on America's energy challenges. The report will be the topic of a symposium to be held from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 2, in the May Auditorium in Simon Hall on the Danforth Campus of Washington University in St. Louis.
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Major milestone in the health care debate
Expert discusses the next steps for health care reform in the U.S.
Oct. 16,
2009 -- With health care legislation now up for debate in both the House and the Senate, comprehensive health care reform is closer than ever, says Timothy McBride, Ph.D., health economist and associate dean of public health at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. McBride says that there is still much work to be done with health care reform and contentious issues remain. Among those are the public option, how the legislation will be financed, the generosity of the coverage, Medicare Advantage reforms and whether there will be mandates for employers to offer coverage. (Video available)
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China's rapidly aging population -- part of a worldwide trend
The global demographic shift is a significant opportunity as long as it is in tandem with a policy and cultural shift, say productive aging experts
Oct. 14,
2009 -- China's population of adults over 65 tops 100 million. This number is steadily growing, putting China at the forefront of a global demographic shift that includes the United States and other developed nations. "While a common tendency is to focus on the burdens an aging population will place on a country's economic and social welfare, an aging society represents an opportunity, not just a crisis," says Nancy Morrow-Howell, Ph.D., productive aging expert and professor at the Brown School of Social Work at Washington University. "Expanding opportunities for productive engagement, including paid employment, formal volunteering, and mutual aid, may reduce social costs by reducing health care expenses and need for post-retirement income supports. (Video available)
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Obama and the LGBT movement
Vaid will go 'beyond the wedding ring' for Assembly Series Oct. 23
Oct. 14,
2009 -- Urvashi Vaid, a stalwart of the LGBT movement, will deliver the Spencer T. Olin Fellows annual lecture, "Beyond the Wedding Ring: LGBT Activism in the Age of Obama." The event will be held at 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 in Graham Chapel and is free and open to the public.
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Census Bureau to release health insurance numbers Sept. 10
Discrediting official uninsured estimates only minimizes the real health care problem, says health economist
Sept. 3,
2009 --
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| McBride |
The health reform debate to date has been characterized by a lot of confusion and misinformation. "The conclusion that most of the uninsured either are voluntarily uninsured or do not need assistance is erroneous," says Timothy McBride, Ph.D., leading health economist and associate dean of public health at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in St. Louis. The Census Bureau will announce the official health insurance estimates on Thursday, Sept. 10. According to McBride, because of the economic downturn, the number of uninsured may top 50 million.
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Assembly Series
Fall 2009 lecture program begins with a comic touch by alum Ramis
Sept. 1,
2009 -- The fall 2009 Assembly Series will start off on a light note with comedic filmmaker and Washington University alumnus Harold Ramis. The series continues through mid-November covering topics on entrepreneurship, equal rights, human rights, government and the environment.
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"A Challenge to Democracy"
Fall series to explore past and present of ethnic profiling
Aug. 12,
2009 --
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| Passing Poston: An American Story (2008) |
Ethnic profiling is illegal in the United States, prohibited by the Fourth Amendment, which requires probable cause for searches and seizures, and by the Fourteenth Amendment, which calls for equal protection under the law. And yet as the recent arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates demonstrates, the issue remains far from settled. This fall Washington University in St. Louis will present "Ethnic Profiling: A Challenge to Democracy," a semester-long series exploring the history, impact and ethical issues surrounding ethnic profiling through lectures, readings, performances, panel discussions and other events.
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U.S. health care reform
Employer-based insurance is less extensive than believed, says health insurance expert
July 29,
2009 --
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| Bernstein |
"Private employment provides less health insurance than believed," says Merton C. Bernstein, a founding board member of the National Academy of Social Insurance and the Coles Professor of Law Emeritus at Washington University in St. Louis. Bernstein is available to discuss health insurance in the U.S.
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Economic racial divide in the U.S. — Are we over race?
Widening gap exists in key factors for economic well-being, according to new study
July 15,
2009 -- "With President Obama now approaching six months in office, some have suggested that we have gone beyond race as a major dividing line in society. Yet nothing could be further from the truth," says Mark R. Rank, Ph.D., professor of social work at Washington University in St. Louis. "One of the fundamental fault lines in American society continues to be the ongoing racial disparities in economic well-being." Using 30 years of data, Rank examined three key factors in attaining economic well-being: owning a home and building equity; attaining affluence and avoiding poverty; and possessing enough assets to survive economic turmoil, or a "rainy day fund." "The results indicate that within each area, the economic racial divide across the American life course is immense," Rank says.
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