For Immediate Release: August 31, 1998

Programs Cost Taxpayers More Than $50 Billion Annually

San Francisco, CA -- A new study by the Pacific Research Institute (PRI) finds no correlation between the 150 federal programs targeted specifically at children – and the $50 billion annually spent on these programs – and children’s well-being.

"Children’s issues have deservedly gained national prominence and become the centerpiece of legislative agendas across the country," said Naomi Lopez, director of PRI’s new two-year Project on Children and author of The State of Children. "However, much of the public debate surrounding children’s issues has focused on sentiment rather than logic. The billions spent annually on children’s programs have done little more than encroach on the lives of children and their families."

Analyzing U.S. government statistics on poverty, infant mortality and life expectancy, health care, and educational attainment, the study found the greatest improvements in children’s well-being occurred early in the century, well before large-scale government expenditures in this area.

In addition, the study revealed the following:

• Poverty

• Most of the increases in life expectancy and reductions in infant mortality occurred before the government began the Medicaid program and before it began spending public funds on prenatal care. Rather, they were directly related to earlier improvements in basic hygiene, including water purification, efficient sewage disposal, and improved food hygiene.

• Free government health care programs have reduced the number of privately insured children but have not reduced the overall rate of uninsured. In addition, so-called "free" health care has caused a dramatic overuse of medical services.

• Educational attainment

The study’s appendix identifies more than 150 federal programs targeted specifically at children. According to Lopez, some of the most expensive and least effective include KidCare, the WIC Program, the National School Lunch Program, the Job Training Partnership Act, Title I Grants to Local Educational Agencies, Child Support Enforcement funds, and the Child Care Mandatory and Matching Funds of the Child Care and Development Fund.

Lopez recommends that before the government increases its expenditures on government programs or adds any additional programs, the public should be made aware of and debate the proper role of government in the lives of our nation’s children.

"If debate occurs, I have no doubt that parents across America will express their interest in having greater control over their children’s lives. The American people know the financial burden these enormously expensive programs will place on future generations," said Ms. Lopez.

The State of Children is the first in a series of PRI research studies that will analyze the effectiveness of existing children’s programs, highlight innovations in this area, and propose new solutions to childhood and family problems.

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The Pacific Research Institute for Public Policy is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion of the principles of individual freedom and personal responsibility. The Institute believes these principles are best encouraged through policies that emphasize a free economy, private initiative, and limited government. By focusing on public policy issues such as health care, welfare, education, and the environment, the Institute strives to foster a better understanding of the principles of a free society among leaders in government, academia, the media, and the business community.