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October 2, 2024

The effect of taxes and transfers on low-earning workers’ income.

Despite misperceptions that the United States is limping through late-stage capitalism, American workers are more highly compensated than ever before—even the lowest earners. The 20th percentile earner—worse-off than 80 percent…

September 10, 2024

America is Still Working

Sometimes it seems like Americans can’t decide whether we work too much or too little. We hear that because of rising inequality and a lack of good jobs, workers must…

May 14, 2024

Understanding Trends in Worker Pay over the Past 50 years

Key Points Despite numerous claims to the contrary, the pay of American workers has tracked productivity trends—for at least 95 years. The pay of the median worker, however, after rising…

March 28, 2024

An Early Look at the Child Tax Credit Changes in the Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024

Abstract The Tax Relief for American Families and Workers Act of 2024, which the US House of Representatives passed on January 31, 2024, and the Senate is now considering, would…

May 3, 2023

The Mainline Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Social Capitalism

Download the Dataset When Alexis de Tocqueville penned his seminal Democracy in America lauding the strength of American communities, institutions, and associations, he noted the unique status of religion. Religion,…

December 14, 2022

Bringing Home the Bacon: Have Trends in Men’s Pay Weakened the Traditional Family?

Key Points Both the populist right and left claim that raising a family on one income has become harder and that men’s declining economic prospects are behind rising single parenthood….

July 2, 2021

Addressing the Shortcomings of the Supplemental Poverty Measure

Key Points The Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) partly improves on the Official Poverty Measure but still suffers from several shortcomings that limit its usefulness as an effective poverty measure. The…

June 10, 2021

Long Shadows: The Black-White Gap in Multigenerational Poverty

Key Points This report examines racial disparities in income mobility across three generations by drawing on data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. More than half a century since…