For the Kids

The early education proposals of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama explained -- interestingly, they're not really the same, and even though the campaign's gone on forever they haven't been argued about, either.

Comments

I want to note that Clinton's Zero to Five plan was added well after Obama's plan. The website you link to points this out, but it is worth drawing attention to. When I looked at their proposals a couple of months ago, Obama's was much more fleshed out. Also, I want to point out that Obama's plan includes funding for afterschool programs and Clinton's does not appear to do so. I'll be interested in seeing how this website judges their proposals but my read on it is that Obama has a better grasp of the challenges facing working parents. It would be great if these issues were raised at the next debate.

Posted by Nell | April 10, 2008 10:23 PM

Interesting. Hillary's proposals seem more tangible & easier to grasp, and certainly the infusion of funds into early childhood programs would be welcome. But by sticking to the current roster of early childhood programs ("pre-K" in one bucket, "home visiting" in another, etc.) I think her approach could make it harder (certainly wouldn't make it easier) to break down barriers across those programs & help states to better leverage every dollar they're already spending.

I'm not intimately familiar w. the Early Learning Council in IL, but from what i have heard it's gradually making a significant impact. Obama's way is actually harder, will take more time & more sustained commitment by the states to make it work; but in the long run, i think it's a better approach.

How should Obama use relatively small policy differences like this? I think by connecting them to some of the other small differences. E.g. on health care reform, he's basically recognizing that cost / affordability is the thing that determines whether an individual mandate is feasible - so start with a focus on affordability & cost control, see how close that gets us to universal coverage, and if you learn that you really need one, you can do it later (on a more targeted bais, at a more affordable cost, with less dislocation, and with the evidence in hand that a mandate really is needed).

What has that got in common w/ the difference on early learning? A recognition that you don't make changes in a vacuum, that you have to account for the interdependencies.

Posted by TW | April 11, 2008 11:34 AM