January 23, 2013Op-ed

Huffington Post: Invest In What Works

by Robert E. Slavin

Federal/ Economic/Education/ 2013/

Amidst all the hue and cry about the fiscal cliff and the debt limit, a voice of reason made a plea so reasonable and nonpartisan that it was of course ignored.

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA), in the December 20th Congressional Record, wrote a plea for investing taxpayer dollars in what works. “…we have a responsibility to our taxpayers to improve outcomes for young people and their families by driving Federal funds more efficiently toward evidence-based, results-oriented solutions.”

On a particularly encouraging note, Senator Landrieu noted that a bipartisan consensus is growing in support of programs such as Investing in Innovation (i3) and the Social Innovation Fund (SIF), which support scaling up of proven programs in education and social services, respectively.

There is never a good time to waste taxpayers’ money, but in a time of fiscal belt-tightening, the need to focus resources on approaches proven to work is particularly compelling. What taxpayers want is better schools and more effective social services, not just more spending.