This intuition made him apply to University of Arizona's law school. “Very soon I realized that the law is more effective in protecting individual rights than for group rights. For example, the Supreme Court's Brown v. Board of Education decision was meant to abolish segregation in schools. Despite this decision, there were many schools where segregation still existed. Such problems could perhaps be better addressed in the long run through the political process by changing views and, in turn, public policy,” says Kakani.
Kakani then headed to Harvard's Kennedy School of Government for a master's degree in public policy. “Not long after I began working on my master's thesis, which revolved around low-income programs of welfare and poverty, President Clinton signed the Welfare Reform bill of 1996. I was anxious what was happening in lives of people leaving welfare. I began monitoring whether they were getting health insurance and jobs that kept them above poverty. In the process I proposed various ways to create incentives for people to move out of poverty,” says Kakani, whose thesis was judged to be the “Best thesis in human services.”
Post-Harvard, he desired a job that would provide him an opportunity to work on poverty issues and the government's welfare policies. “I talked to some of my professors who directed me to the Office of Management and Budget in the White House, where regulations were being drafted on the recently enacted welfare reform bill. With their recommendations, I got in touch with the people in that office.”
The doors to the White House swung open for him in 1997. At the Office of Management and Budget, Kakani worked on programs related to the welfare of low-income people. “As an analyst, I came up with new policy proposals and worked with Federal agencies that were responsible for those programs that accounted for nearly $30 billion in Federal spending,” says Kakani. He went on to work as a Senior Advisor to the then Director of Management and Budget, Jacob Lew. Kakani's responsibilities ranged from advising the director on macro-economic and macro-budget issues to assisting him in his meetings with the members of the Congress, the Cabinet, and the President.
When the November 2000 elections fell in favor of the Republicans, Kakani had to move on. After four years in the White House, he had second thoughts about entering the private sector. Even as he was contemplating on this, Jacob Lew—his former boss at the White House—recommended him to New York State Senator Hillary Clinton. “You never know when an opportunity is going to come along. And working for someone like Senator Clinton, who cares so much for this country, is an exciting opportunity,” says Kakani.
As the legislative assistant, Kakani briefs Senator Clinton on tax, macro economic, and budget issues. “For example, last year, President Bush announced huge tax cuts. So what does it mean for the national debt? How does it affect Social Security? Is it a balanced approach to keep our economy going? It is my responsibility to analyze and brief her about these issues. Apart from this I need to come up with policy ideas, write speeches, and strategize policy in terms of how it will benefit New York.”
“Work hours are crazy. There is lot of work and little money. My classmates earn two to three times more than me,” says Kakani. However, he is passionate about his job. “Hillary Clinton is a smart, passionate and articulate person. In working for her I have had the opportunity to learn from a truly amazing person, and to meet some of the brilliant minds in the country and around the world,” says Kakani.
In the long-term he would like to stay connected to Democratic politics. “In the nearer future, I would like to join others doing venture capital work, who are focused on telecommunications and other infrastructure issues in developing areas in the U.S and in other countries. There is so much that telecom can do to connect people and bring economic growth,” says Kakani.
