Research Roundup

According to a new Center on Budget & Policy Priorities report, new requirements to prove citizenship to obtain Medicaid coverage are denying medical coverage to white and African American children at a far higher rate than Hispanic children.  Because low-income individuals must produce a passport or birth certificate, naturalization document, or similar documentation to prove they are U.S. citizens when they apply for Medicaid, the program meant to target undocumented immigrants is instead harming citizens.

Two new studies document the progressive views of younger adults, promising a more progressive future for the country. The New Politics Institute released "The Progressive Politics of the Millennial Generation", which sketches a portrait of Americans born after 1978, as a 50-million voting block in 2008 that is civic-minded, politically-engaged and concerned about economic inequality, has a desire for a multilateral foreign policy, and holds a strong belief in government. Similarly, a New York Times/CBS/MTV poll finds young people more in favor of government-run health care, more open immigration, and legalization of gay marriage.

Countering the myth that American public opinion is conservative, the Campaign for America's Future and Media Matters have released The Progressive Majority, a major review of public polling research that demonstrates that Americans actually show robust support for progressive policies, from increasing spending on public services to strengthening unions to increasing taxes on the wealthy to opposing restrictions on abortion rights. The report supplies ammunition for anyone needing to counter the false conventional wisdom that the American people don't hold progressive values.