NDN Applauds Creation of White House Task Force on Middle Class Working Families

Today, NDN released the following statement:

NDN today applauded the White House for creating the new Task Force on Middle Class Working Families, the need for which was articulated in an op-ed by Vice President Biden. NDN looks forward to working with this team, which will be addressing one of the issues most central to the nation’s economic health.

"For many Americans, the current economic crisis began long before our financial markets weakened and the economy went into recession," said NDN President Simon Rosenberg. "In the years before the recession began, America was in recovery, but the income of a typical family dropped and wages stagnated. Never before had the incomes of Americans not risen during a sustained period of national economic growth. Coming to understand why this unprecedented economic event took place, and crafting a plan to not just create a new era of growth and prosperity, but one that is broad-based, where every day people can once again share in the growth, is one of the most important governing challenges facing America today.

"Making the struggle of every day people the central focus on our national debate has been of NDN's top priorities these last few years," added Rosenberg. "We welcome the Obama Administration's desire to take this issue head on and applaud them for the establishing this new Task Force on the Middle Class and for sending a clear signal of its importance by putting Vice President Biden in charge. We look forward to working with this new task force in these critical months and years ahead."

For more of NDN’s economic work on keeping the focus on every day people, please see:

• Politics and the Economic Crisis by Dr. Robert Shapiro, 1/9/2009

• A Stimulus for the Long Run by Simon Rosenberg and Dr. Robert Shapiro, 11/14/2008

• Keep People in Their Homes by Simon Rosenberg and Dr. Robert Shapiro, 9/23/2008

• Making the Struggle of Every Day People the Central Focus of the National Debate by Simon Rosenberg, 8/17/2008

• NDN Poll Memos: American Voters' Views on the Economy and Globalization
  -  Clamoring for Change, Persistent Pessimism, Democrats dominating on economic issues, 11/2/2007
  -  Americans’ Views of the Present and Future Economy: Anxiety and Opportunity, 11/6/2007

• Tapping the Resources of America's Community Colleges: A Modest Proposal to Provide Universal Access to Computer Training by Dr. Robert Shapiro, 7/26/2007

• The New Landscape of Globalization: The Real Foundations of American Prosperity in the 21st Century by Dr. Robert Shapiro, 6/20/2007

• A Laptop in Every Backpack by Simon Rosenberg and Alec Ross, 5/1/2007

• The Emerging Progressive Consensus on Wages by Simon Rosenberg and Dr. Robert Shapiro, 7/25/2006

• Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century: Crafting a Better CAFTA by Simon Rosenberg, Dr. Robert Shapiro, and Joe Garcia, 6/9/2005