NDN: Week In Review

Getting the Economy Back on Track: A Stimulus for the Long Run and Keeping People in Their Homes - In President-elect Barack Obama’s last two weekly radio and YouTube addresses, he has discussed the causes and potential solutions to the nation's current economic crisis. Last week, Obama’s address made clear that any economic stimulus package he supports should be targeted both at creating jobs now and building the basis for future prosperity.

NDN has long supported a Stimulus for the Long Run. We have argued in support of a number of ideas that the President-elect has announced will play a prominent role in such a package, including many of those advocated by NDN's Green Project Director Michael Moynihan in Accelerating the Development of a 21st Century Economy: Investing in Clean Infrastructure. As this package begins to take shape, NDN President Simon Rosenberg offered More Ideas for the Stimulus: Free Computer Training for All Americans, Dr. Rob Shapiro, Director of NDN's Globalization Initiative, warned of The Politics of Trading Recession for Inflation, and Moynihan proposed an emergency board to allocate stimulus funds expeditiously.

This Saturday, Obama’s YouTube address focused on the foundation of the financial crisis: the massive deterioration of our nation's housing market. NDN has long argued that Washington needs to make it a top priority to keep people in their homes, and Obama spoke to this issue this weekend, announcing that he has directed his economic team to develop a plan that does just that and also announcing his new Secretary of Housing and Urban Development. For more on NDN’s long-standing effort to keep people in their homes, click here.

A New Coalition and a New Map - Last Friday, NDN held a special post-election forum with NDN President Simon Rosenberg, Vice President of NDN Hispanic Programs Andres Ramirez and new NDN Fellow Morley Winograd to discuss the new 21st century coalition and Electoral College map that President-elect Obama used to win, and the implications for the future of American politics. In particular, the presentations focused on the rise of Millennials and Hispanics and the impact of these ascendant demographic groups.

In his presentation (PowerPoint available in PDF format here), Morley explained why he believes we are at the start of a new cycle of American politics, with a new "civic" generation entering public life for the first time since the 1930s. He argued that young voters' overwhelming support for President-elect Obama was not a flash in the pan, but rather an indication of the generation's political and social attitudes and beliefs -- attidutes and beliefs that, among other things, make them much more likely to self-identify as Democrats than Republicans.

Andres then gave an excellent presentation (PDF available here) on the growing clout of Latino voters. Like Millennials, Hispanics significantly increased their turnout this election cycle, and voted in huge margins for President-elect Obama. Andres showed how the Latino vote was the decisive factor in four key swing states, and argued that Latinos are also poised to make other states (even Texas!) competetive in future elections.

Finally, Simon put this all in a larger context, explaining how these developments, culminating in this truly historic election, mark the end of the Southern Strategy as a way to win presidential elections. To see pictures from the event, click here.

New Tools Feature - In an October New Tools Feature, I discussed the possibility of President-elect Obama embracing or recreating tools like WhiteHouse2.org as a way to make government more interactive and participatory. This week, Obama's transition site, Change.gov, did just that by introducing its newest feature, a section called "Open for Questions." Built using the Google Moderator platform, Open for Questions allows users to sign in, submit their own questions, and vote on other people's questions. The top-rated ones will be answered by the transition team. Click here to learn more about why I think this feature has the potential to really shake up the debate and breathe some new life into the American political process.

New NDN Job Opening - NDN is seeking a CFO with four years to five years of experience in financial management to direct and oversee all financial activities of the organization, including preparation of current financial reports and forecasts for economic trends and future growth. For more details, visit our jobs page or contact jobs@ndn.org for more information.

NDN Seeking Winter and Spring Interns - NDN is looking for interns to join our staff this winter and spring. If you or someone you know is interested in working at NDN during this exciting time, please refer to the internships page on our Web site or contact jobs@ndn.org for more information.

Weekly Immigration Update - To find out what's new in the world of immigration reform, be sure to check out Zuraya Tapia-Alfaro's weekly immigration update. This week, she continues cataloguing the latest on the election in Minnesota and hate crimes, as well news surrounding the Committee on the Judiciary, a tough week for DHS due to programs caught midstream and controversy, demographic data, and the latest reports and new tools in the area of immigration.

From the NDN YouTube Archive - Per NDN’s recent recommendations on creating an economic stimulus that works for the long run, President-elect Barack Obama appears to be crafting a package that harnesses 21st century technology to upgrade America’s work force. Last year, Rob Shapiro released a proposal entitled Tapping the Resources of America's Community Colleges: A Modest Proposal to Provide Universal Access to Computer Training. This paper proposes a simple plan to utilize the thousands of computer labs at U.S. community colleges for continuing IT education and workforce training. As a U.S. Senator, Obama endorsed this plan, and NDN urges him to include it in the upcoming economic stimulus. U.S. Rep. John Larson, the newly elected Democratic Caucus Chairman, spoke last year about this proposal.

Odds and Ends - Be sure to read Sam duPont's daily roundup of political and economic news. Also, if you're still looking for holiday gifts, pick up a copy of Millennial Makeover -- named one of the top 10 books of the year by Pulitzer Prize-winning New York Times book critic Michiko Kakutani, it makes a great stocking-stuffer!