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March 5, 2026
Summary and Analysis of the “Stop Unemployment Fraud Act”
…unemployment benefit spending in response to the Great Recession, the most serious economic crisis since the 1930s. It is critical that lawmakers recognize the program flaws and policy mistakes…
January 27, 2026
How to Prevent a Repeat of Massive Fraud and Abuse
…this system that can be targeted to improve administration. Current federal tax revenues—which are meant to support administrative costs, among other program purposes—are consistently greater than what lawmakers provide states…
December 23, 2025
The Policy Lessons from Minnesota’s Massive Welfare Fraud
…tax credits, extended, expanded, and far more widely available unemployment checks, and much more. Liberal lawmakers have introduced legislation to make permanent some of the now-expired pandemic expansions. No one…
December 2, 2025
What To Do About Benefit Cliffs?
…reforms that program administrators and policymakers can implement within the existing system to offer relief to families facing benefit cliffs. Often, that doesn’t require legislation, just administrative action by federal…
December 2, 2025
Stranded by the Safety Net: How to Fix the Benefit Cliff Problem
…for policymakers wanting to address benefit cliffs and reduce the associated work disincentives. Executive Summary The US safety net should help low-income families meet their immediate needs while supporting their…
November 10, 2025
The Welfare Program You Never Heard About During the Shutdown
…large part because it continued to pay full benefits as scheduled. The reasons why offer important policy lessons for how lawmakers could make food stamps and other benefit programs more…
October 21, 2025
Reliability of Government Data Often Requires Asterisks, a Hazard That Predates Liberal Gripes About Trump Manipulating Statistics
…that the Department of Labor had “improperly presented state-reported claims volumes as the number of individuals claiming benefits.” Some lawmakers went even further. In arguing for an enormous Democrat-drafted relief bill that…
September 23, 2025
Trump Halts ‘Food Insecurity’ Report — Because Democrats’ Doublespeak Is Falling Flat
…using “everyday language” like “the hungry” and “the homeless” to more effectively “fight for the poor.” Third Way hit the nail on the head. In recent decades, progressive policymakers have intentionally promoted neologisms like…
September 23, 2025
A Second Reconciliation Bill Should Focus On Reducing Deficits
…starting to bring deficits down. To do so, lawmakers should follow three principles: set a firm goal of cutting deficits, repeat what works, and avoid future budget-busting spending. First, lawmakers…
May 19, 2025
The Case for Shifting More Welfare Costs to States
…grim federal fiscal outlook suggests that, even if cost shifts are not enacted through this reconciliation legislation, in the long run federal policymakers will have no choice but to transition…