Making Ends Meet: A NIFI Public Forum
Event Details
FOLLOW-UP to the March 23rd Deliberations! Come to Prosser to
Join Us via Livestream for A Public Voice 2016!
Making Ends Meet, the NIFI issue guide on economic security,
opportunity, and inequality, was published in December 2015. As of March 31, there have been more than 175
in-person and online forums on this issue. Prosser hosted
deliberations on March 23, 2016. On
the closely related issue of Health Care Costs, NIFI also had nearly 100 forums
in 2015-2016. Those numbers are, quite simply, amazing-- proof that the
NIF network is vibrant and ready to engage on timely issues! These individual forums are impressive on their own, but we
know that part of the impetus for participating in NIF is the chance to
contribute to a larger national conversation. Kettering has been analyzing
forum transcripts, moderator responses, participant questionnaires and online
forum data as it's come in, and we're now ready to offer some early insights
into the national thinking on these two issues. NIFI will be doing this reporting to policymakers in
Washington DC at the National Press Club, Thursday, May 5 from 10 am - 12:30 pm
EDT.
Please join us at Prosser Public Library to view the event. The Library will be livestreaming the entire event so you
can hear the NIFI report, and they want to hear from you! They will be
live-Tweeting the entire meeting, and want you to add to the conversation-- to
let them know if the themes they heard were present in the forum at Prosser on
March 23, if there was anything unique that needs to be added, and any
questions you might have for elected officials.
For many Americans, the recovery from the
2007 recession, a recovery that officially began in 2009, feels very remote, or
nonexistent. Even as the stock market surges and millions of jobs have been
created, they see a very different picture. Many Americans still believe in the
basic notion that anyone who works hard should be able to support a family and
get ahead. What can we do to make that happen?
At Tonight's Public Forum, three options will be deliberated by participants:
Create New Opportunities
Strengthen the Safety Net
Reduce Inequality
Deliberations will be led by Bernie Stein, a moderator for over 10 years for the National Issues Forum Institute an offshoot of the Kettering Foundation. NIFI developed the background materials and format for this public forum. Based in Dayton, Ohio, the National Issues Forums Institute (NIFI), is a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that serves to promote public deliberation and coordinate the activities of the National Issues Forums network.
The forum is limited to 15 participants, who upon registration will receive a 20 page "Issues Guide" to prepare for the discussion.
