Strategic Directions for Gettysburg College, June 2007

Gettysburg is a college deeply rooted in the American experience. It was born of democratic values, strong optimism, and the firm conviction that only a liberal arts education fully awakens and prepares people to live purposeful lives as citizen leaders. Our founders were champions of freedom and liberty, progressive thinkers, and staunch believers in the power of the liberal arts to prepare leaders to meet the challenges of our young nation. Those beliefs were tested on the fields that surround our campus where a century and a half ago men gave their lives in a battle that defined our nation’s future and left an indelible imprint on its collective memory. We are but a short walk from where President Abraham Lincoln delivered his Gettysburg Address, the most eloquent expression of freedom and liberty ever spoken. The fields of Gettysburg also served as the training ground for a young West Point cadet who walked the battlefield and studied the tactical maneuvers of the generals of the Union and Confederate forces. Dwight D. Eisenhower would emerge as the general many claim most responsible for the victory of the Allied Forces in Europe in World War II in a campaign that would triumph over new threats to liberty and freedom—not just for our nation—but for the world. His vision went beyond national service to embrace a broader definition of engagement in public life. We celebrate that vision in our Eisenhower Institute housed in an elegant pillared building that served as home to Captain Eisenhower and his young family when he returned to Gettysburg in 1918 to command Camp Colt. [excerpt

Strategic Directions for Gettysburg College Update, February 2011

Much has changed since the Strategic Directions for Gettysburg were articulated in 2007. We have had transition in the leadership of the College in key positions including the president, the provost, and the vice president for development, alumni and parent relations. The economy has shifted seismically and in ways we certainly would not have predicted in 2007. Demographic projections related to the diversity of high school students and their geographic distributions have become a reality. The emergence of online learning opportunities and for-profit education, together with a high unemployment rate and significant increases in student financial need, have created a context that requires us to explain the value of a liberal arts residential education and justify its cost. [excerpt

Barriers to Higher Education

[Excerpt] In this report, we focus on the pathway to higher education, scanning existing research for evidence of any barriers that block families and their children from achieving their educational goals. We are interested here in what barriers still exist and how they vary by factors like income and family background. Essentially, we want to gauge the extent to which a child’s merit—his or her academic ability, separate from family income, wealth, or background—is truly a determining factor in helping him or her get into, and graduate from, a good school in order to tap into the advantages that a college education provides in today’s economy. Why does this matter? Because a clear pathway to a college education is a clear pathway into the middle class. We don’t intend to imply that post-high school education or training is a cure-all to any economic problem one may face. In the current recession, for example, we’ve seen the unemployment rates of college grads double—folks of all skill levels have faced tough times. But we do know that absent some degree of postsecondary education, thriving in today’s competitive, global economy becomes much more difficult

Green Jobs Update

[Excerpt] It was no accident that the first Middle Class Task Force was on green jobs. Our focus on clean energy and energy efficiency jobs for the middle class occurs at the intersection of two of the Obama Administration’s most important policy initiatives: creating good jobs and protecting the environment

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: Helping Middle-Class Families

[Excerpt] The ARRA helps struggling families in a variety of ways. First, by creating and saving jobs — 3.5 million by the end of next year, according to estimates by the Council of Economic Advisers — the ARRA gives a crucial boost to family incomes, which we quantify below. Second, the ARRA creates and expands a number of provisions that raise family income, directly and indirectly. Tax cuts and programs targeted both at middle- and lower-income families give a direct boost to after-tax income. Expansions to safety net programs, like the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps), help lower-income, vulnerable families deal with hardships. And expansions to unemployment insurance and healthcare programs in the ARRA help families across the income spectrum who are suffering from the loss of jobs, health coverage, and income. In this staff report to the Middle Class Taskforce, we examine the impact of these various parts of the ARRA on the incomes of different types of families at different parts in the income scale. Some of our key findings are: • Jobs created by the ARRA are predicted to lower the unemployment rate by almost two percentage points. We expect this change to increase average middle-class incomes by over $1,300, or 2.3• Depending on family type and circumstances, the tax benefits from the ARRA provisions can add$2,000 or more to after-tax family income. • Combining job and tax effects, the ARRA will lift incomes by around $3,000 for many middle-class families, significantly offsetting their income losses over the recession. • For middle-class families hit with spells of unemployment, tax credits and safety net expansion in the ARRA, combined with existing unemployment insurance programs, can replace much of the income loss that occurs when a wage-earner in the family loses his or her job. Our staff report begins with a historical look at middle-class incomes, focusing on the income/productivity split that has become so pronounced and problematic in recent years. Next, we discuss the boost to family incomes provided by reduced unemployment, and we provide an estimate of this effect for different types of families. Finally, we look at other ways the ARRA lifts incomes, through the tax and safety net systems

Annual Report of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class

[Excerpt] The White House Task Force on the Middle Class, chaired by Vice President Joe Biden, was created by President Obama a little more than one year ago, shortly after the Administration took office. The mission of the Task Force, as stated in the Executive Order that created it, is to work with our member agencies and councils to ensure that the economic challenges facing the American middle class, challenges that predate the recession that was deepening as the Task Force was formed, always remain front and center in the work of the Administration. Over the past year, this has been our singular focus. Of course, in the context of the deepest recession since the Great Depression, the Administration’s first priority for the middle class has been restoring job growth by stabilizing an economy that was in freefall. This economic contraction has dealt a serious blow to middle-class families, with staggering losses to their jobs, their savings, and the value of their homes. The Vice President, in his role as the Administration’s chief overseer of the Recovery Act, has played a critical role in this central part of our economic agenda. And of course, the President’s health care reform agenda targets one of the most important—and too often most precarious—aspects of middle-class life. But at the same time, the Task Force has worked to address some of the longer term challenges facing the middle class: balancing work and family responsibilities, college access and affordability, and retirement security. And while restarting the engine of job creation is the Administration’s highest priority, the Task Force is working to ensure that the jobs that are created as the economy begins to recover are good jobs. This report details our activities in pursuing policy solutions to these challenges over the past year. The report also highlights some of the key Administration initiatives supported by the Task Force, many of which are part of the President’s Fiscal Year 2011 Budget

Why Middle Class Americans Need Health Reform

[Excerpt] Middle class Americans across the country are demanding health reform. Businesses and families are struggling under the increasing financial burden of rising health care costs, and even middle class Americans with health insurance are struggling as their out of pocket health care costs continue to rise. Some employers are facing a decision between scaling back on coverage and laying off workers, and many—especially small businesses—are dropping coverage altogether. Middle class families often find themselves without adequate protection against a major illness and have difficulty obtaining the care they need, and an increasing number are now uninsured. Even among those able to get insurance through their job, middle class Americans are less likely to have a choice in their plan or provider compared to higher-income workers. This report highlights the struggles that middle class Americans face in the current health care system. By examining cost, coverage, access, and choice, this report shows how the current system has failed the middle class and why we must enact health reform this year

Recovery Through Retrofit

[Excerpt] Making American homes and buildings more energy efficient presents an unprecedented opportunity for communities throughout the country. The Recovery Through Retrofit Report builds on investments made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act) to expand the home energy efficiency and retrofit market. Home retrofits can potentially help people earn money, as home retrofit workers, while also helping them save money, by lowering their utility bills. By encouraging nationwide weatherization of homes, workers of all skill levels will be trained, engaged, and will participate in ramping up a national home retrofit market. There are almost 130 million homes in this country. Combined, they generate more than 20 percent of our nation\u27s carbon dioxide emissions, making them a significant contributor to global climate change. Existing techniques and technologies in energy efficiency retrofitting can reduce home energy use by up to 40 percent per home and lower associated greenhouse gas emissions by up to 160 million metric tons annually by the year 2020. Furthermore, home energy efficiency retrofits have the potential to reduce home energy bills by $21 billion annually, paying for themselves over time. By implementing Recovery Through Retrofit’s recommendations, the Federal Government will lay the groundwork for a self-sustaining home energy efficiency retrofit industry. This Report provides a roadmap of how the Federal Government can use existing authorities and funds to unlock private capital and mobilize our communities

Subsidized Jobs: Helping Americans Get Back To Work

[Excerpt] The Middle Class Task Force has always been careful to include those who aspire to rise into the middle class as an important target of our efforts. Upward mobility for families who work hard and play by the rules is a fundamental American value, and part of our mandate is to promote such mobility for less-advantaged families. Of course, how these families fare is in large part dependent on the jobs available to their working members. In this case, the fact that unemployment has been particularly elevated for low-income households means that as usual, the recent recession has been hardest on the least well off. One program from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that has been particularly effective at reaching these workers is the subsidized jobs program included in the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. This program is helping tens of thousands of low-income families get back to work in what, even with recent gains, remains a tough job market. It is helping employers by offsetting the costs of hiring. And it is helping communities by putting more money in the pockets of folks who will spend their paychecks, creating ripple or multiplier effects leading to more economic activity and jobs. In the interest of building on the nascent jobs recovery in progress, extending this program, which sunsets at the end of this September, is an Obama Administration priority. As more states stand up these efficient programs to the benefit of workers, employers, and their communities, we encourage Congress to act quickly and take advantage of the positive momentum behind this subsidized jobs program