Middle Class Working Families Task Force
Encyclopedia
The Middle Class Working Families Task Force (MCWFTF) is a United States Federal Government initiative, established in 2009 via presidential memorandum. It was one of the earliest innovations of the Obama-Biden administration. Jared Bernstein
was appointed the Executive Director, responsible for direct management of the project; while Vice-President Joseph Biden was appointed Chairman, with final oversight and responsibility for the work. The purpose of the task force is to empower
the American middle class
and to explore the vision and possibilities of green jobs. The Middle Class Working Families Task Force will be studying and recommending the most far-reaching and imaginative solutions to problems working families face; from the need for good jobs and the ability to keep their homes, to the availability of affordable health care and a quality education.
The major early initiatives of the task force are the expansion of education and training opportunities and raising the living standards
of middle-class working families in America. One other early focus of the task force is the expansion of "green job" opportunities as a vehicle to rebuild and strengthen the middle class and, at the same time, saving billions of dollars in energy costs. The reduction of the providing load on coal-fired power plants
(reducing air pollution
) and retro-fitting American homes and buildings to be fuel efficient
should extend substantial energy savings to the entire middle class.
Chairman Biden announced the MCTF on January 30th, 2009 from the White House
.
. The fourth was on May 26th, 2009 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
in Denver, CO.
(CEQ) will play the convening and coordinating role to get agencies the help they need to identify and advance policies that will facilitate the continued growth of the energy efficiency sector, powered by private dollars.
Also participating are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, the Treasury, the General Services Administration, as well as the Directors of the National Economic Council. From the White House, the participants are the Office of Energy, Climate and Change, the Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality.
The planned benefit of these partnerships are: the leveraging of resources to connect workers to green career pathways and sustainable employment; advancing existing and future training and education programs; and helping to ensure employers have access to a qualified workforce for the projected green economy of the 21st century.
Jared Bernstein
Jared Bernstein is an American economist who previously served as Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden in the Obama Administration. In early 2009 Bernstein was named Executive Director of the newly formed White House Middle Class Working Families Task Force. He...
was appointed the Executive Director, responsible for direct management of the project; while Vice-President Joseph Biden was appointed Chairman, with final oversight and responsibility for the work. The purpose of the task force is to empower
Empowerment
Empowerment refers to increasing the spiritual, political, social, racial, educational, gender or economic strength of individuals and communities...
the American middle class
American middle class
The American middle class is a social class in the United States. While the concept is typically ambiguous in popular opinion and common language use, contemporary social scientists have put forward several, more or less congruent, theories on the American middle class...
and to explore the vision and possibilities of green jobs. The Middle Class Working Families Task Force will be studying and recommending the most far-reaching and imaginative solutions to problems working families face; from the need for good jobs and the ability to keep their homes, to the availability of affordable health care and a quality education.
Goals and Objectives
The specific goals of the Task Force are: the expansion of education and life-long training opportunities, the improvement of work-family balance, the restoration of labor standards, the protection of middle-class and working-class family incomes, and the protection of retirement security.The major early initiatives of the task force are the expansion of education and training opportunities and raising the living standards
Standard of living
Standard of living is generally measured by standards such as real income per person and poverty rate. Other measures such as access and quality of health care, income growth inequality and educational standards are also used. Examples are access to certain goods , or measures of health such as...
of middle-class working families in America. One other early focus of the task force is the expansion of "green job" opportunities as a vehicle to rebuild and strengthen the middle class and, at the same time, saving billions of dollars in energy costs. The reduction of the providing load on coal-fired power plants
Coal power in the United States
Coal power in the United States accounts for 46% of the country's electricity production. Utilities buy more than 90 percent of the coal mined in the United States....
(reducing air pollution
Air pollution
Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or discomfort to humans or other living organisms, or cause damage to the natural environment or built environment, into the atmosphere....
) and retro-fitting American homes and buildings to be fuel efficient
Fuel efficiency
Fuel efficiency is a form of thermal efficiency, meaning the efficiency of a process that converts chemical potential energy contained in a carrier fuel into kinetic energy or work. Overall fuel efficiency may vary per device, which in turn may vary per application, and this spectrum of variance is...
should extend substantial energy savings to the entire middle class.
Transparent
The Task Force will operate in a transparent fashion, in an open, two-way dialogue directly with the American people or any interested party. Any materials from meetings or reports produced will be made available to the public.Chairman Biden announced the MCTF on January 30th, 2009 from the White House
White House
The White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
.
This Task Force will be an important vehicle to assess new and existing policies across the board and determine if they are helping or hurting the middle class. It is our charge to get the middle class – the backbone of this country – up and running again.
Initial meetings
While the task force has been working since January, 2009 to highlight policies and practices to help improve the standard of living of the US middle-class, its first official meeting was on February 27th, 2009 in Philadelphia at the University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
. The fourth was on May 26th, 2009 at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science
Denver Museum of Nature and Science
The Denver Museum of Nature & Science is a municipal natural history and science museum in Denver, Colorado. It is a resource for informal science education in the Rocky Mountain region. A variety of exhibitions, programs, and activities help museum visitors learn about the natural history of...
in Denver, CO.
Roster
- Joseph Biden.................Chairman
- Jared BernsteinJared BernsteinJared Bernstein is an American economist who previously served as Chief Economist and Economic Policy Adviser to Vice President Joseph Biden in the Obama Administration. In early 2009 Bernstein was named Executive Director of the newly formed White House Middle Class Working Families Task Force. He...
.........Executive Director - Hilda SolisHilda SolisHilda Lucia Solis is the 25th United States Secretary of Labor, serving in the Obama administration. She is a member of the Democratic Party and served in the United States House of Representatives from 2001 to 2009, representing the 31st and 32nd congressional districts of California that include...
................Department of Labor - Shaun DonovanShaun DonovanShaun L.S. Donovan is the United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, serving in the cabinet of President Barack Obama. Prior to this he headed the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development...
.........Department of Housing and Urban Development - Thomas VilsackTom VilsackThomas James "Tom" Vilsack is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and presently the U.S. Secretary of Agriculture. He served as the 40th Governor of the state of Iowa. He was first elected in 1998 and re-elected to a second four-year term in 2002...
........Department of Agriculture - Steven ChuSteven ChuSteven Chu is an American physicist and the 12th United States Secretary of Energy. Chu is known for his research at Bell Labs in cooling and trapping of atoms with laser light, which won him the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1997, along with his scientific colleagues Claude Cohen-Tannoudji and...
...............Department of Energy - Ron KirkRon KirkRonald "Ron" Kirk is the 16th United States Trade Representative, serving in the Obama administration. He served as mayor of Dallas, Texas from 1995 to 2002; he also ran for the United States Senate in 2002.-Early life and career:...
...................US Trade Representatives - Arne DuncanArne DuncanArne Duncan is an American education administrator and currently United States Secretary of Education. Duncan previously served as CEO of the Chicago Public Schools.-Early years and personal:...
.............Department of Education
Main participating departments & agencies
The White House Council on Environmental QualityCouncil on Environmental Quality
The Council on Environmental Quality is a division of the Executive Office of the President that coordinates federal environmental efforts in the United States and works closely with agencies and other White House offices in the development of environmental and energy policies and initiatives...
(CEQ) will play the convening and coordinating role to get agencies the help they need to identify and advance policies that will facilitate the continued growth of the energy efficiency sector, powered by private dollars.
Also participating are the Departments of Agriculture, Commerce, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, Labor, the Treasury, the General Services Administration, as well as the Directors of the National Economic Council. From the White House, the participants are the Office of Energy, Climate and Change, the Domestic Policy Council, the Office of Management and Budget and the Council on Environmental Quality.
The planned benefit of these partnerships are: the leveraging of resources to connect workers to green career pathways and sustainable employment; advancing existing and future training and education programs; and helping to ensure employers have access to a qualified workforce for the projected green economy of the 21st century.
green jobs
Green jobs, broadly defined as related to improving the environment, pay up to 20 percent more than other jobs, are more likely to be union jobs and are likelier to be held by men rather than women. The participation in the green job marketplace by minorities and city dwellers is considerably lower than in the standard marketplace.. Green jobs also are largely domestic jobs that cannot be shipped overseas.October, 2009
Vice President Biden unveiled Recovery Through Retrofit, a report that builds on the foundation laid in the Recovery Act to expand green job opportunities and boost energy savings by making homes more energy efficient.January 2010
The White House Task Force on the Middle Class announced several initiatives developed after a series of meetings during the past year with working families around the country and at the White House. The initiatives include:- increasing the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit for families making under $85,000 a year and a $1.6 billion increase in child care funding for families not yet a part of the middle class,
- limiting a graduate’s federal loan repayments to 10 percent of his or her income above a basic living allowance,
- initiating a system of workplace IRAs, requiring all employers to give the option for employees to enroll in a direct-deposit IRA,
- expanding tax credits to match retirement savings and enacting additional safeguards to protect retirement savings.
- expanding support for families balancing work with caring for elderly relatives.
April 2010
The MCWFTF held a meeting at the University of Milwuakee-Wisconsin's Luber School of Business on the topic on Wall Street reform.Announcements
Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced a user friendly FAFSA form that will make it easier to apply for financial aid. The FAFSA application will be streamlined with the IRS. The new version will increase access for hundreds of thousands of students who are eligible, but do not apply for aid. Simplifying the financial aid application is a policy that members of the Middle Class Task Force believe will help families benefit from important resources to cover the cost of college.External links
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/White-House-Enviro-Council-Accepts-Biden-Challenge-Help-Retrofit-America/
- http://www.whitehouse.gov/strongmiddleclass/