2021 could see the largest public investment in U.S. infrastructure in more than half a century. We should be glad for that. Much of our nation’s physical infrastructure is badly in need of repair. A significant investment could also create millions of good jobs for people who have been unemployed or underemployed because of the economic fallout of COVID-19.  

I think there’s a natural tendency to think of infrastructure solely in terms of physical objects—highways, bridges, the electric grid, and other structures built with heavy machinery. That’s certainly one kind of infrastructure.

But there’s another sort of infrastructure in which the returns on investment are much higher. Here I’m talking about our nation’s human infrastructure—the skills and ingenuity of the workforce, which in turn depend on the health and education of our population.

The U.S. economist James Heckman won a Nobel Prize in 2000 for his pioneering work showing that investments in people during their early childhood yield lifelong returns: they ultimately are better educated and more productive on the job, and they are less likely to need government safety net programs. Talking about “investment” and “productivity” may sound as though we’re thinking of young children as commodities, but our use of these terms is quite limited; it is strictly in the context of comparing investments in human infrastructure and physical infrastructure.

The primary reason governments spend taxpayer money on infrastructure is to promote sustainable economic growth. In the 1950s, President Eisenhower didn’t call for massive investments in interstate highways so that Americans could appreciate the scenery as they drove by. His goals were to advance interstate commerce and improve national security.

The Biden-Harris administration’s plan for investing in human infrastructure through the American Jobs Act and the American Families Plan presents a unique opportunity to advance an infrastructure package for early childhood development. Let’s call it a 1,000 Days infrastructure plan.

Institute Insights readers probably recognize that I mean a specific 1,000 days—the “1,000 Days” that is the unique human nutrition window open between pregnancy and age 2. Readers may remember from Bread’s advocacy on global nutrition that the 1,000 Days is when good nutrition has greatest potential to improve the course of a person’s entire life. Bread has worked on issues around the 1,000 Days in other countries, but of course the United States also has many people in that window, and in this piece I’m talking specifically about a 1,000 Days infrastructure plan for the United States.

As an anti-hunger organization, Bread pays particular attention to nutrition. The U.S. nutrition program tailored to people in the 1,000 Days—it seems more natural to think of them as pregnant women, babies, and toddlers—is WIC. WIC does a pretty good job of reaching lower-income women and their babies with nutritional support, and it could be even better with a few specific policy changes. But the 1,000 Days infrastructure we need is much broader in scope than WIC.

Major weaknesses in other parts of the 1,000 Days infrastructure are not only causing the United States to miss out on much of the positive impact that could be made during this nutritional window of opportunity, but are also reducing the effectiveness of WIC.

WIC is associated with reduced rates of maternal and infant mortality. But U.S. maternal and infant death rates are higher than those of any other high-income country. Few health indicators speak to the need to center racial equity in the 1,000 Days infrastructure more starkly than those on maternal mortality. Black women are far more likely to die as a result of pregnancy and childbirth: their death rate is more than three times that of whites.

Health care is inseparable from all other parts of a 1,000 Days infrastructure. Without it, the entire edifice is weakened. Most families eligible for WIC are already receiving Medicaid. Better coordination between WIC and Medicaid would improve services in both. For example, both WIC and Medicaid provide support for breastfeeding, and they could coordinate more closely, drawing on WIC’s proven strength in culturally competent peer support.

The United States has much lower rates of breastfeeding than other high-income countries. This is one consequence of the fact that the United States is also the only high-income country that has no national paid leave policy.

Nearly one in four U.S. women return to their jobs within two weeks of giving birth, which makes it difficult or impossible to establish and continue breastfeeding. The Family and Medical Leave Act provides for 12 weeks of unpaid leave, but low-income women can ill afford to take time off without pay. Some employers voluntarily offer paid leave, but this almost always goes to higher-earning professionals rather than women who participate in WIC or Medicaid.

I hope you’re seeing how the pillars of a 1,000 Days infrastructure plan reinforce each other. This piece can only briefly mention a few components of a comprehensive 1,000 Days infrastructure plan. Suffice it to say there are many more.

In a recent blog post, I discussed the temporary expansion of the Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the American Rescue Plan. This expansion is expected to cut child poverty nearly in half. Poverty and food insecurity occur at higher rates in families with young children. Critics of the expansion contend, without evidence, that it will discourage parents, particularly mothers, from working. Low-income parents simply cannot afford not to work. What prevents parents, mostly mothers, from working—more than anything else—is  lack of affordable, accessible child care.

Bread President Rev. Eugene Cho and Blythe Thomas, Director of 1,000 Days, explain what a 1,000 Days infrastructure would accomplish in an op-ed published in The Hill.

WIC, Medicaid, paid leave, child care, and CTC expansion are some of the essential elements of a 1,000 Days infrastructure. Individually, each is vital to positive outcomes during the 1,000 Days; together and aligned, they are a transformational investment in the nation’s human infrastructure—our next generation.

Todd Post is senior researcher, writer, and editor with Bread for the World Institute.

The post The infrastructure plan our country needs appeared first on Bread for the World.

Mass incarceration hurts a person’s ability to get, and keep, a good-paying job.

Jobs are critically important to earn an income and provide for a family. Unfortunately, 70 percent of people returning from jail or prison report having a difficult, or impossible, time securing employment.

Employers can still legally discriminate against people with a record, making it harder to get a job paying above poverty-level wages and put food on the table.

But this harsh reality need not continue. To learn more about the impact of mass incarceration on jobs and hunger and what you can do to help, read Mass Incarceration: A Major Cause of Hunger.

91% of people returning from jail and prison face hunger

The post Mass Incarceration's Impact on Jobs and Hunger appeared first on Bread for the World.

If enacted, this legislation would raise the federal minimum wage this year and increase it annually until it reaches $15 an hour in 2024. Thereafter, the minimum wage will be adjusted each year to keep pace with inflation. This would lift wages for 41 million American workers and significantly decrease poverty and hunger in the United States.

At Bread for the World, we believe that the preferred way to end hunger is to ensure that everyone who wants a job can get one and that it pays a living wage. Wages have been stagnant for decades – meaning that workers are earning less, inequality is rising, and families can’t make ends meet.

The “Raise the Wage Act” would, for the first time ever, bring full-time minimum-wage earnings above the poverty line for a family of four. The Bible is clear, ‘The laborer deserves to be paid’ (1 Timothy 5:18).

We urge Republicans and Democrats in Congress to co-sponsor and pass this bill.

“The laborer deserves to be paid”

1 Timothy 5:18

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“Wages have been stagnant for decades – meaning that workers are earning less, inequality is rising, and families can’t make ends meet,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “Fortunately, Congress can take steps to improve job opportunities.”

The report’s recommendations include investing in the country’s infrastructure (with a focus on broadband access in rural communities and public transportation in cities); increasing the minimum wage; criminal justice reform that would mean fewer people in prison and more people in the job market; and immigration reform that would allow undocumented immigrants to move into better jobs and contribute more to our economy.

“The costs of low-paying jobs are all around us,” Beckmann said. “In health care costs, in safety-net programs, and in rising levels of concentrated poverty. People don’t want to live on handouts. What they want are good paying jobs with dignity.”

Investments in human infrastructure, especially early in life, through child nutrition and high-quality childcare, deliver some of the biggest returns of all.

“Extreme inequality in the distribution of income growth has increased inequality in political influence,” Beckmann said. “This fall’s elections give us an opportunity to choose political leaders who will improve job opportunity in America.”

“Some of the recommendations in this report already have bipartisan support and could become law in the next Congress,” Beckmann said.   

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By Marc Hopkins

On a Friday evening in spring, Catherine (last name held for privacy) and one of her “allies,” Linda  Berger, brewed herbal teas for postpartum mothers inside a two-story home in Lititz, a small town in Lancaster County, Pa. The pair meticulously labeled the brews and discussed the finer points of networking to help Catherine establish her fledging brand as a doula (birthing assistant) paired with the healing techniques of aromatherapy and herbalism.

Their meeting was more than a bonding session where friends catch up and trade ideas for additional income. Catherine, 32, is a wife and mother of three girls – ages 3, 9, and 12. Her family has struggled with poverty for the last 10 years. Berger has chosen to act as an intentional friend to Catherine as she tries to make life better for herself and her family. Catherine hopes their preparation will pay dividends during the upcoming “Beyond the Bump” baby expo, where Berger will help Catherine market her services to expectant mothers.

The six-month relationship didn’t develop by happenstance. Rather, it’s a result of the Atlas Initiative, a program created in 2013 to help impoverished residents in Lancaster County improve their lives.

Addressing poverty

Atlas is an example of multiple efforts to address poverty in the region under the Community Action Program of Lancaster County (CAP). The nonprofit also oversees domestic violence shelters, Head Start, and the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program.

Statewide in Pennsylvania, 1 in 9 households struggles to put food on the table, compared to 1 in 7 nationwide, and nearly 1.7 million people live in poverty, according to Bread for the World Institute. The paradox of Lancaster County is that it’s known for its productive farmsteads owned and run by self-sufficient Amish families, yet hunger and poverty still exist among many residents.

When clients like Catherine come to Atlas, they are immersed in a six-month training program using the textbook “Getting Ahead in a Just-Gettin’-By World” by Philip DeVol. The goal is to inspire analysis on how poverty affects them as individuals and its impact on the community at large. They are also tasked with assessing how their talents can help make them self-sufficient.

The Atlas staff was so impressed with Catherine’s grasp of the material that they picked her to share teaching responsibilities for a subsequent course. “I think one of the main reasons they let me teach is because I was so thorough going through the curriculum on my own,” Catherine said. “I did a lot of the research for the group so they knew they could count on me.”

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Coming together

For Catherine, one of the most meaningful experiences with Atlas has come through the pairing of “leaders,” people looking to get out of poverty, and “allies,” middle- to upper-class individuals such as lawyers, teachers, or retired professionals, who want to help others recast their financial picture.

“The allies help people troubleshoot,” said Michael McKenna, chief operations officer at CAP. “Often, people in poverty are driven by the crisis of the moment, which takes up all the bandwidth. Having a friend walk with you gives you perspective.”

Atlas operates from two locations: Lancaster City, where the poverty rate is 29 percent. The other site is in Lancaster County (Columbia Borough), which has a 19 percent poverty rate. Each time the program meets at either location, participants can always count on a free meal and childcare.

“We know that people in poverty usually struggle with those,” said Brittany Parsons, a coordinator for Atlas. “We realize that when kids are watched and bellies are full we can have honest conversations with adults about how they have been individually affected by poverty and how communities suffer when poverty exists,” she said.

The clients served by Atlas span from millennials to boomers, are mostly African-American and Latino, and are overwhelmingly female. Many are working on their GED.

Atlas helps just under 50 people a year. But there are limits on who is eligible for assistance. For example, people who are newly evicted or suffer from drug addiction aren’t considered good candidates. “Those basic levels of stability need to be in place before we can ask people to make long-term, abstract decisions to get out of poverty,” Parsons said.

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New beginnings

This is an exciting time for Catherine and her family. She’s enjoyed some early success in securing a client last year for her doula practice, and hopes the time and money she’s spending on the baby expo will give her the exposure she needs to grow her business.

Her ally, Berger, who works for a local funeral home, has confidence in her ability to succeed. “Today, I show up, and she’s got a checklist for everything that needs to be done for an event that’s one month away,” Berger said. “She’s a hard worker and detail-oriented. She’s got great ideas.”

Beyond the expo, Catherine and her husband, Efrain, 40, are at a crucial point in the fight to change their lives. They’re waiting to find out if they will receive a Habitat for Humanity house.  If they are chosen, Efrain is required to put in a number of hours in sweat equity on the home’s construction. If they aren’t selected, he will return to school for architectural technology.

Homeownership or additional job skills would shift this family’s financial outlook. They have been struggling since Efrain, who currently works in sales, lost his job as a graphic designer following a car accident in 2004. Catherine said after the birth of their second daughter, “everything began to tank.” Since then, he’s worked a series of odd jobs to keep things going.

Catherine is hopeful that her business will eventually take off and provide the family with much-needed income.

“I think the one benefit I got from Getting Ahead was motivation,” she said. “I learned to believe in myself more. Going back to school, that was a very big step. And now, starting my own business, that’s a huge step.”

Marc Hopkins is a writer living in Silver Spring, Md. 

1 in 9 households in Pennsylvania struggles to put food on the table and nearly 1.7 million people live in poverty.

Source: Bread for the World Institute

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Catherine is hopeful that her business will eventually take off and provide the family with much-needed income. “I think the one benefit I got from Getting Ahead was motivation,” she said. “I learned to believe in myself more.” Photo: Joseph Terranova for Bread for the World.

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The post Recasting Lives appeared first on Bread for the World.

“We thank President Obama for taking action to reduce the barriers to employment people face when returning from prison,” said Eric Mitchell, director of government relations at Bread for the World. “When people can’t work, they can’t eat. Right now, too many people aren’t hired because of a past criminal record. The president’s action is a major step that will improve people’s ability to access employment and put food on the table.”

Bread for the World believes that reforming our country’s mass incarceration policies and practices is crucial to ending hunger and poverty. Individuals leaving prison or with a criminal record are much more likely to experience poverty and food insecurity, partly because of the huge obstacles they encounter in finding work.

“This is one of many steps our elected leaders can take in reforming our criminal justice policies that will help alleviate hunger for people across this country,” Mitchell said. “But there is much more work to do.”

For example, Congress is currently considering the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act (S. 2123). The bipartisan bill reduces mandatory minimums for nonviolent drug offenses, includes prison reforms, promotes programming for individuals currently incarcerated, and gives judges more flexibility when handing down sentences.

“While this bill won’t solve all the problems with our current criminal justice system, it represents a critical first step,” Mitchell added. “Reforming our criminal justice system is essential to alleviating hunger and poverty in our country.”

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Nearly two hours. The Senate Finance Committee on July 21 spent nearly two hours talking about expired tax benefits. Many items came up during those two hours: biodiesel, conservation easements, stationary fuel cells, bonus depreciation, how much extending tax credits retroactively actually incentivizes behavior, and the need to make many of these tax credits permanent.

What didn’t come up? The two tax credits that prevent more people from falling into poverty than any other program in the United States, outside of Social Security. The only two tax credits that specifically benefit low-income working families. The two tax credits that have been proven to get more parents into the workforce, improve test scores among children, and help families move into the middle class.

What tax credits didn’t come up in those two hours? The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Just like the other tax breaks discussed during the committee’s markup of a bill to extend certain expired tax provisions, Congress must act to prevent key provisions of the EITC and CTC from expiring. Just like some of the other tax breaks discussed during the markup, these credits — with their recent improvements — should be made permanent.

True, these improvements don’t expire until 2017, but senators repeatedly spoke up about how certain credits should become permanent. They talked eloquently about how businesses need certainty. But no one said a peep about making the current EITC and CTC benefits permanent. No one talked about certainty for low-income working families, struggling to put food on the table and making ends meet.

Unlike the other tax credits that were discussed, the EITC and CTC don’t affect foreign pensions. They don’t affect fisheries in the American Samoa. And they don’t reward companies for capital investment.

Many of the tax benefits in the markup bill are good.  But this is about priorities. And as long as we’re talking about prioritizing bonus depreciation for capital investment, then we also should prioritize preventing 16.4 million people, including 7.7 million children, from falling into or deeper into poverty. We should prioritize preventing 50 million Americans from losing some or all of their EITC or CTC. This is what will happen if Congress fails to continue the EITC and CTC improvements.

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), a real EITC and CTC champion (and Bread for the World Lobby Day award recipient), got called away during the bill’s markup. He planned to introduce an amendment to make the 2009 EITC and CTC improvements permanent. But with his absence, no other senator raised the subject.

Are you outraged over the silence around the EITC and CTC? Then take a moment to email your senators.

Take Action on this Issue      Learn more

Amelia Kegan is deputy director of government relations at Bread for the World.

Photo: Heather Rude-Turner, reading to her son Isaac, depends on the Earned Income Tax Credit to help support her family. Laura Elizabeth Pohl/Bread for the World.

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This is the first 10-year reauthorization of AGOA since it was first enacted in 2000. African leaders, U.S. businesses, and civil society all supported the extension. Bread for the World has consistently advocated for this bill since 1998.

“This helps to strengthen U.S.-Africa trade opportunities, and encourages job creation both in Africa and in the United States,” said David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.

AGOA remains the most important legislation that defines trade relationships between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa. Since it went into effect in 2000, exports under AGOA increased more than 500 percent, from $8.15 billion in 2001 to $53.8 billion in 2011. However, 95 percent of the total goods traded under AGOA was in the form of oil, gas, and minerals over that decade.

“It is essential that our trade policies and agreements contribute to the efforts to reduce hunger and poverty”, Beckmann said.

In addition to the 10-year extension, the bill includes a provision that will strengthen the trade capacity of smallholder women farmers, giving them better access to markets. “Closing the gender gap and investing in small-scale farmers are crucial elements to reaching our goal of ending hunger around the world by 2030,” Beckmann added.

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The bipartisan bill allows those convicted of nonviolent crimes to ask the courts to seal their criminal records. They could then present themselves, according to the legal system, as lacking a criminal background. These measures would improve their chances of getting a job and, in turn, reduce the threat of hunger or recidivism.

“The REDEEM Act is a crucial step in allowing formerly incarcerated people the opportunity to rebuild their lives,” said Eric Mitchell, Bread’s director of government relations. “People who have spent time in prison are more likely to face unemployment and often face discrimination. They are thus less likely to have the resources to their families”.

Previously incarcerated people tend to earn less than average wages due, in large part, to their criminal history. Studies show that a prison record cuts wages for workers by 11 percent, cuts annual employment by nine weeks, and reduces yearly earnings by 40 percent.

Current laws permanently ban people with felony drug convictions from participating in such programs as the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly called food stamps). Although some states have limited these bans, the REDEEM Act will lift these bans.

“We pray that our leaders would treat those who have served their time in prison as they would like to be treated, to give them the opportunities they would want in order to rebuild their lives,” said Mitchell. “The REDEEM Act provides a pathway to alleviate and eventually end hunger for some of the most vulnerable in our society.”

Senators Rand Paul (R-Ky.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) introduced the bill in the Senate early this week.

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This report identifies challenges for small immigrant entrepreneurs and promising practices to better support them in three case study sites: Miami, Florida; Des Moines, Iowa; and Salt Lake City, Utah. President Obama’s November 2014 executive action granting deferred deportation and work permits to millions of unauthorized immigrants offers a unique opportunity to expand the power of immigrant small entrepreneurship to boost local economic growth. But to realize this potential, immigrants need better access to finance, culturally relevant business training, and a path to permanent legalization.

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“As African-Americans, we still suffer from some of the highest rates of hunger and poverty in the country despite the growth of our country’s economy since 2008,” said Eric Mitchell, director of government relations at Bread for the World. “The lack of jobs that pay fair wages is preventing people of color from moving out of poverty and the recession.”

The median income for African-Americans in 2013 (latest available data) was $24,864, significantly lower than the median for all Americans. Poverty affected nearly three out of ten African-Americans or nearly twice the average rate for the general population. The same rates hold in terms of their ability to feed their families.

The problem is worsened by the effects of mass incarceration; currently the United States holds the highest number of people in prison in the world. “Incarceration for non-violent criminal offenses aggravates the situation for black people in America since these laws, time and again, put people of color behind bars at a higher rate than white people for the same offense,” said Mitchell.

African-Americans constitute nearly half of the total 2.3 million prison population in the country. Once a person has a criminal record, the act of providing for one’s self and family becomes exponentially harder. Many states deny returning citizens access to such programs as SNAP, even while they look for work. For those who are lucky to land a job, their yearly earnings are reduced by as much as 40 percent. “The best way to combat hunger and poverty in the African-American community is through jobs that pay fair wages, strong safety-net programs, and by ensuring laws are in place to protect people and not further marginalize them from society,” Mitchell added.

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The Corrections Oversight, Recidivism Reduction, and Elimination Costs for Taxpayers in Our National System (Corrections) Act aims to reduce the prison population and offer a better integration process for returning citizens through the use of existing programs such as recidivism reduction, risk-based time credits, and drug treatment and mental health services.

“We agree with the senators that when inmates are better prepared to re-enter communities, they are less likely to commit crimes after they are released. This is an important step in addressing the mass incarceration problem that perpetuates cycle of hunger and poverty,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World.

The legislation, sponsored by Sens. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) and John Cornyn (R-TX), would allow for certain low-risk offenders with exemplary behavior to spend the end of their earned-time credit under community supervision. Other provisions encourage those in prison to participate in recidivism reduction programs and other activities, like prison jobs, which can lead to the awarding of earned credit.

Still, many states still enforce life-time bans on non-violent drug offenders for safety-net programs, such as SNAP, (formerly food stamps) and Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), programs that are vital to many returning citizens as they look for work and try to rebuild their lives. Part of Bread’s work includes getting these bans lifted and ensuring people who qualify for these vital programs have access to them.

“While this bill is a good step, Congress must also address the larger issue of sentencing reform,” Beckmann said. “In addition to ensuring that prisoners have access to the skills they need to properly re-enter society, we must reexamine lengthy and inflexible mandatory sentences imposed on low-level, non-violent offenders, and implement alternatives to imprisonment where appropriate.”

The federal prison population has increased from approximately 25,000 in 1980 to nearly 216,000 today.

“African Americans and Hispanics are disproportionately incarcerated and tend to receive longer sentences than white defendants convicted of the same crime. A reform of our prison system must be guided by our moral obligation to truly give those who want a second chance an opportunity to succeed.” Beckmann added.

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“The president’s focus on helping families feel secure in a time of change, and in ensuring everyone has an opportunity for success are keys to ending hunger,” said Rev. David Beckmann, president of Bread for the World. “President Obama said it best that childcare is ‘not a woman’s issue but an economic priority for all of us’.”

The 2015 state of the union address comes at a time when 49 million Americans are at risk of hunger. Communities of color continue to suffer disproportionately with 27.1 percent of African-Americans and 25.6 percent of Hispanics living in poverty.

“With 16 million children not knowing if they will go to bed hungry, our top priority with this new Congress is to ensure that our nation’s child nutrition programs are reauthorized,” said Beckmann. “Improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) need to be made permanent. They reward work and supplement wages, and the 2009 improvements alone are preventing 8 million kids from falling into or deeper into poverty.”

Internationally, poverty-focused development assistance (PFDA) is going to be funded at a slightly higher level than in the FY 2015 budget, largely in part due to emergency funds to fight Ebola in West Africa. During this speech, President Obama stated that rolling back Ebola in West Africa is an opportunity to invest in development and eradicate extreme poverty.

“We know we can work together with the president and the new Congress to eliminate the gender gap, invest in our children, and ensure U.S. foreign assistance helps our brothers and sisters around the world,” said Beckmann. “We must take this opportunity of a new Congress and the improved state of the union to make ending hunger a national priority.”

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Making jobs a priority would enable President Obama and Congress to reduce hunger in America by 25 percent by 2017.

In addition to investing in good jobs as a way of ending hunger, the Hunger Report calls for an end to the political brinkmanship that led to the sequester and other budget cuts. 

Other recommendations focus on investing in people, strengthening the safety net, and encouraging community anti-hunger partnerships.

The post Ending Hunger in America | The 2014 Hunger Report appeared first on Bread for the World.

Immigrants — including lower-skilled immigrants — help generate jobs and economic growth for U.S.-born workers. Immigrants are a disproportionate number of our country’s entrepreneurs. This is particularly true in Rust Belt cities, where immigrants are more likely to be entrepreneurs than they are in more traditional immigrant gateways. But to make their full potential economic impact in the Rust Belt, unauthorized immigrants need a path to citizenship.

The post A Tale of Two Cities (and a Town): Immigrants in the Rust Belt appeared first on Bread for the World.

In addition to the flow of money back to Central America, in recent years the number of immigrants returning from the United States to their home countries has increased. During fiscal year 2011, the United States deported a record 396,906 unauthorized immigrants, including more than 76,000 Central Americans. Central American governments are unprepared for these returned migrants. Many deportees end up re-migrating to the United States because of the lack of opportunities in their native countries.

The post Exchanging People for Money: Remittances and Repatriation in Central America appeared first on Bread for the World.

In spite of the role they play in U.S. agriculture, unauthorized immigrant farm workers labor under increasingly hostile conditions. The Agricultural Job Opportunity, B enefits and Security bill (AgJOBS)  as developed by farmers and farmworker advocates to regularize the status of workers in the agriculture sector. Public concern about unauthorized immigration has held up prospects of enacting the bill into law. Farm workers should be legalized so they can work without fear of deportation and so that farmers have access to workers they need. Immigrant agricultural workers can also support human capital renewal on farms struggling to recruit the next generation of farm operators. Rural communities in Mexico — where immigrant farm workers originate — should be integrated into a U.S. agricultural guest worker program that benefits U.S. and Mexican farmers.

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The U.S. government identifies Latin America as the primary source (80 percent) of unauthorized immigration, but its responses internally, at the border, and through its foreign assistance to migrantsending countries is focused on enforcement. 

Border enforcement fails to impact the causes of unauthorized migration in Latin America and U.S. foreign assistance to Latin America typically doesn’t take into account its impact on migration pressures. U.S. policy toward migrant-sending countries in Latin America mirrors its enforcement-focused domestic policy. Assistance to Mexico is dominated by the Mérida Initiative, which emphasizes aid to Mexico’s security agencies. 

This report analyzes a project in rural Mexico that was designed with an awareness of the connections between development and migration. The project is analyzed in this report to inspire discussion and action linking development and the reduction of migration pressures. 

Projects that make these connections deserve increased attention in order to broaden the immigration policy discourse to include options for reducing poverty and migration pressures at the source.

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The report stresses the mutual benefits of economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Today, no country’s future is secure unless all countries reduce dependence on fossil fuels and increase use of clean energy. Economic growth and reducing greenhouse gas emissions not only can occur simultaneously, they can reinforce each other, in much the same way that green jobs in the United States can provide productive employment and promote energy efficiency and economic growth. 

The bottom line for gauging the success of the economic recovery is whether there is a significant reduction in the number of hungry and poor people in the United States and around the world. This report is intended to challenge all of us to think creatively and constructively about how economic recovery, climate change, and poverty can be addressed together — for the benefit of us all.

The post A Just and Sustainable Recovery | The 2010 Hunger Report appeared first on Bread for the World.