How about double pay for moms returning to work?

Holy Moly, this is so cool!

Kimberly Berg, Cohort J

Here's an article shared by Kimberly Berg, of Cohort J, about an Australian company that has instituted a policy offering double pay to women returning from maternity leave for their first six weeks back.

Australian Company Rewards Returning Moms

This is an AWESOME fresh new example of what caring economics looks like in the business world to share with people you talk with.

Thanks Kimberly!

Hi everyone,

Molly Freeman shared with us this excellent pair of reports from the Center for American Progress that make the economic case for Paid Family Leave and Caregiving Credits, and include a set of proposals for policy changes that are needed to support caregivers.


The Effects of Paid Family and Medical Leave on Employment Stability and Economic Security:  More and More Workers Need Time Off to Care for a Loved One http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/paid_family_leave.html



Protecting Workers and Their Families with Paid Family Leave and Caregiving Credits:  Why Social Security Should Guard Against 21st Century Economic Insecurities  http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2012/04/gender_equity.html


See what you think!

- Sara

Need Practicum Photos, Please Help if You Can!

Dear Conversation Leaders,

Some wonderful videographers are making a short Caring Economy video for the Caring Economy Campaign, and would love to include images from your practicum presentations, or of other activities you've done since being certified.

I've shared with them all the pictures I have on file, but they need large, high-resolution images of about 1MB in size.

If you have a picture of a Caring Economy conversation you've led - preferably showing people engaging with something visibly related to the program (seeing slides, or holding up handouts) - and you can save it as a large, high resolution file, please send it to me at your earliest convenience at sasaltee@gmail.com.

Thanks so much - I know we will all benefit from access to a short video that quickly and poignantly introduces what the Caring Economy Campaign is all about!

Best to each and all,
Sara

Molly Freeman responds to recent Money magazine article

Caring Economics Leadership Program graduates are on a roll!

Molly Freeman of Cohort D submitted this engaging response to a recent article in Money magazine that focused strictly on the earnings potential or "return on investment" of today's college degrees.  To read the article, click here: College costs: Time to rethink

Her response (username "EmFreem"):  Your Econ 101 Chart illustrates our national disconnect of corporate sustainability from sustainability for the community and environment.  Petroleum spills, exposure to hazardous materials, and disastrous accidents extract huge costs to people, communities and the environment.  Investments in human capacity building are the best ways to build the national economy and quality of life for individuals. Early childhood care and education build competent individuals capable of sustaining themselves and their communities.... a huge resource for innovation and economic well-being. How ironic that in your attempt to lead people to higher wage occupations you actually confirm how current social policy is leading people to short-sighted personal goals, self-destructive to themselves and national security.  In a more sustainable economy your Chart could read:

Early Childhood education - $120,000
K12 education - $120,000
Physicians/Nurses/Counselors/Psychologists - $120,000-100,000
Math/Computer Science - $100,000
Pharmaceutical Sciences- $90,000
Petroleum Engineering - $40,000

Great work, Molly!  Keep the momentum building, everyone!

"Can you imagine living in a world where there is equal opportunity and a sustainable standard of living for all, and the contributions of all human beings are valued?  A world where the needs of humanity and the needs of Mother Earth are considered as vitally important factors in any successful undertaking?  ...where traditionally 'female' work is valued as much as 'male' work?  Where giving and nurturing (by both men and women) are considered to be imperative to the common good?"


Michele Reese of Cohort E sure can!  Congratulations to Micki for her recently published article regarding Caring Economics in The Front Street Journal, Reading Area Community College's student newspaper!  To view the full-length article, click here (see page 5).  Way to go, Micki, for publishing this excellent piece!


We love to hear about all that you are doing to spread the message of Caring Economics, so please keep your stories coming!  Updates may be submitted to sharonrose.cps@gmail.com.

Caring Economics at the Sorbonne

Eve Purdew of Cohort B recently submitted an update on her integration of Caring Economics into her courses at the Sorbonne in France, so we thought we'd share.  Please continue to send us news and updates of all you are doing.  We love to hear about and share the many ways certified Caring Economics Conversation Leaders are spreading the word of Caring around the globe!

Eve writes:  "I am doing a program which covers Happiness, going on to Caring Economics and then finishing up with violence against women.  We are starting to 'Change the Conversation on Happiness' -- happiness brings success but success does not bring happiness.  They have been doing a few exercises to experience happiness.  This week we will be going on to 'Change the Conversation on Economics' and learning about Caring Economics.

I wanted to give them some solid foundations thinking that if they can realize how they can be happy, that we can bring happiness into the workspace and that happy and caring people are not violent to others.  Last week (third week in), nine of my students (out of 130) said that they had done the exercises and shared with the classes that they were stunned by the results.  Hopefully that figure will now rise.  I will keep you informed.

The aim is that they are to create reports on the three subjects and how they are interwoven.  They are to interview companies, friends, family and ask questions during political meeting (there is a Presidential election in France this year).  Any suggestions gratefully received.

I was thrilled see and watch Riane's talk on TED -- watching this will be the homework for my students next week.

I have been sharing preliminary results of my classes with the other language teachers, some of whom are saying that they will definitely touch on these subjects this semester."

Thanks so much for all you are doing in France, Eve!  This is very exciting news!  And to everyone reading this -- we'd love to hear about all you are doing and I'm sure Eve would love to hear your comments and suggestions.  Please contact sharonrose.cps@gmail.com if you would like Eve's contact information.

New Op-Ed on Social Wealth by Riane

Hi Everyone -

Please check out this great Op-Ed piece by Riane tied to President Obama's State of the Union Address - and share with your networks!

http://www.blogher.com/state-union-our-real-social-wealth

Cheers,
Sara

"The Economic Idiocy of Economists" by Mark Weisbrot

Also of interest to Caring Economists:  Mark Weisbrot's Op-Ed piece reporting on the American Economic Association's annual meeting in Chicago, January 5-8, 2012.  Dr. Weisbrot Co-Founded and Co-Directs, with Dean Baker, the Centre for Economic Policy and Research based in Washington, DC.

His article first appeared in The Guardian on January 10, with reprints in several national news outlets.  His position was perhaps summed up best as this: "The United States pays about twice as much per person for health care as other high-income countries -- and still leaves 50 million people uninsured.  This is a result of a dysfunctional health care system that has had health care prices rising much faster than those of other high-income countries for decades.  What the budget hawks are basically telling us is that we must assume that insurance and pharmaceutical companies will have a veto over the provisions of health care reform for decades to come.  And that therefore we must find other ways to make up for these excessive costs, including cutting Social Security and other government spending, and pushing us into higher rates of poverty and inequality than we already have."  Click here to access the full piece: The Economic Idiocy of Economists

Nancy Folbre on Women, Work and Welfare

Nancy Folbre, economics professor at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, is a frequent contributor to Economix, a New York Times daily blog.  Two recent posts are noteworthy for their relevance to Caring Economics.

In the first, Folbre observes that income inequality along gender lines has persisted over the past 20 years despite gains for women in other areas of social and political life.  Additionally, class disparities among working women as a whole have intensified, with highly educated women enjoying improved access to employment benefits such as paid leave and flexible work arrangements, while women in low-skilled, low-income jobs have seen their benefits shrink:  Feminism's Uneven Success

The second provides an analysis of the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) program. TANF was created to provide temporary relief during hard economic times.  Unlike other social programs such as food stamps, TANF has been unresponsive to the prolonged unemployment that has characterized the current recession.  Folbre argues that the past social welfare reforms of the mid-1990s are long overdue for new, basic reforms that would bring America's social policies closer to those adopted by the rest of the industrialized world:  Welfare Reform Revisited

Thanks for helping us spread the word!

Hi Everyone,

We so appreciate your help with getting the word out about our program!  Here is a new flyer you can share and forward to others - all the better if you can accompany it with a personal note sharing your experience.

If you would like a .pdf version of the flyer to email out, send me an email:  contact@sarasaltee.com

Wishing you all a very happy and real-wealthy new year!

Cheers,
Sara