FP-3-7

8/05

Public Policy Resources

 

 

Prepared by:

Sue E. Williams

Extension Specialist/Professor

RenŽe A. Daugherty

Extension Specialist/Associate Professor

 

The National Issues Forums has released two new deliberation guides. These guides are available to conduct public deliberative forums on two very serious public policy issues facing our state and nation. Extension educators can convene forums to hear what citizens in their counties or area think on these topics. To obtain issue books contact the National Issues Forums web site. www.nifi.org. To obtain a list of moderators and recorders prepared to conduct deliberative forums in your area refer to the Oklahoma Partnership for Public Deliberation web site, www.OKdeliberates.org.  A summary of the deliberative guides follows:

 

The Social Security Struggle:  Fixing the Retirement System

With the retirement of the first baby boomers just a few years away, fundamental differences remain about how Social Security can be sustained and how it might be changed. It is a national discussion that we cannot afford to put off any longer. The three approaches presented in the discussion guide are:

Approach One--Reinventing Social Security:  The care for personal accounts.

Approach Two--Reaffirming Social Security Promise:  A measure of protection.

Approach Three--Revising Social Security:  Rewriting the contract for a new generation.

 

Making Ends Meet:  Is There a Way to Help Working Americans?

Today millions of Americans are struggling to stay economically afloat. Many of them are working full-time, but they cannot make their paychecks stretch to pay the bills for basic necessities. What has become of the American Dream that if you work hard and play by the rules, you will prosper?  This issue book presents three perspectives on the question of what can be done to ease the financial problems that plague both the working poor and many middle-class families.

Approach One--Stress Personal Responsibility.

Approach Two--Improve Employment Opportunities.

Approach Three--Rethink the Safety Net.