In 2021, The Hamilton Project did a deep dive into social insurance programs in the United States. New analysis from The Hamilton Project, authored by Robert (Bob) Greenstein, further explores how program design, such as whether programs are targeted or universal, matters for the long-term success of social insurance programs. 

On Tuesday, June 28, 2022, The Hamilton Project at the Brookings Institution will host a webcast exploring lessons for strengthening social insurance programs. The webcast will feature welcoming remarks from Hamilton Project director Wendy Edelberg and framing discussion with Bob Greenstein of The Hamilton Project and The Brookings Institution and E.J. Dionne Jr. of The Brookings Institution.

The webcast will also include a roundtable discussion with Indivar Dutta-Gupta (Center for Law and Social Policy), Bradley Hardy (Georgetown University), Melissa Kearney (University of Maryland), and Wendell Primus (Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives). The discussion will be moderated by Isabel V. Sawhill (The Brookings Institution). 

The webcast event coincides with the release of a new paper by Bob Greenstein that examines various dimensions of social programs and what influences a program’s ability to endure. This paper builds on previous Hamilton Project work that explores how the social insurance system is organized, how eligibility is determined and who benefits, and how the benefits and services are delivered. It looks at how the system reduces poverty and inequality by exploring 40 years of political attitudes about and the availability and impacts of the programs.

For updates on the event, follow @HamiltonProj and join the conversation on Twitter using #SocialSafetyNet to ask questions or email info@hamiltonproject.org.
 

2:00 p.m. Welcome

Wendy Edelberg
Director, The Hamilton Project, Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution

2:05 p.m. Framing remarks

E.J. Dionne Jr.
W. Averell Harriman Chair, Senior Fellow, Governance Studies, The Brookings Institution

Robert Greenstein
Visiting Fellow, The Hamilton Project, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution

2:30 p.m. Roundtable discussion: Lessons learned from past work, and how to best design social programs

Indivar Dutta-Gupta
Executive Director, Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Bradley Hardy
Associate Professor, McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution

Melissa Kearney
Neil Moskowitz Professor of Economics, Department of Economics, University of Maryland; Nonresident Senior Fellow, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution

Wendell E. Primus
Senior Policy Advisor, Office of the Speaker of the House of Representatives

Moderator: Isabel V. Sawhill
Senior Fellow, Center on Children and Families, Future of the Middle Class Initiative, Economic Studies, The Brookings Institution

3:15 p.m. Webcast adjourns