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January 21, 2026

Funding the Administration of Unemployment Benefits: Overview and Reforms to Improve Efficiency and Program Integrity

Executive Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic exposed significant flaws in the nation’s unemployment insurance (UI) system, which resulted in the improper payment of at least $191 billion—and potentially upwards of $400…

December 2, 2025

Stranded by the Safety Net: How to Fix the Benefit Cliff Problem

Key Points The safety net for low-income families aims to offer temporary and targeted assistance so that, among other things, work-capable individuals and families can achieve their economic goals. Too…

January 30, 2025

Eliminating the Benefit Cliff and Achieving Savings for Taxpayers: A Reform Proposal for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Key Points The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is one of the nation’s largest safety-net programs for low-income households in the US, distributing over $94 billion in food benefits in…

October 30, 2024

A Reform Framework for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

Key Points The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) needs reform to remain an effective safety-net program that decreases food insecurity and supports self-reliance through employment and good health. SNAP policy…

October 23, 2024

Work Requirement Waivers Increased FoodShare Caseloads and Costs in Wisconsin

Employment plays a crucial role in helping families escape poverty and move up the income ladder. The Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program, created through welfare reform in 1996, showed…

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…

April 29, 2024

Measuring What Matters: Context and Recommendations to Improve Reporting on Unemployment Insurance

Key Points This report explores the unemployment insurance system’s current data and performance management practices, including features designed to inform policymakers and the public about deficiencies in the administration of…

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…

January 12, 2024

Small-Dollar Demonstration Projects Can’t Hide That a National Guaranteed Income Program Would Cost Trillions

Abstract While some have declared that short-term guaranteed income demonstrations (patterned on universal basic income schemes) are working almost universally, such cheerleading misses a major drawback: the enormous costs that…