Michal Grinstein-Weiss, associate director of the Center for Social Development, was a speaker in Tel Aviv at the conference “Making Finance Great Again,” which explored how the Trump administration may affect Israel and the global economy in finance, health care and more. 
A leading event for policymakers and economic officials in Israel, the March 21 conference by the influential financial media outlet TheMarker drew about 1,000 people and featured prominent government leaders, including Israel Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon.
Grinstein-Weiss, a professor of social work at the Brown School at Washington University in St. Louis, is involved in shaping evidence-informed policies in both the U.S. and Israel, including the Savings for Every Child law.
During the conference, she hosted a “fireside chat” with J. Mark Iwry, senior advisor to the secretary of the U.S. Treasury during the Obama administration and bipartisan presidential advisor who was also a key architect of the Affordable Care Act. They discussed U.S. economic and health care policies and potential changes with the Trump administration.
“Our discussion offered some perspective on and speculation about how proposed policies will affect America, Israel and the global economy,” Grinstein-Weiss said. “We joined other leaders in exploring how some of the proposed actions may impact economic development, inequality, and commerce.”
Iwry was a member of the expert delegation who traveled to Israel in 2010 with Grinstein-Weiss to introduce the idea that became the Savings for Every Child law to the then-minister of social affairs.
Implemented in 2017, the new law builds on Israel’s child allowance infrastructure to provide a system for families to open a long-term savings account with a monthly deposit for their children from the government.