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March 10, 2026

Don’t Tax the Public Housing Poor Like They’re Rich

The Department of Housing and Urban Development has proposed the most dramatic low-income housing policy change in decades, potentially affecting the more than 5 million tenants in public and voucher-subsidized housing. The new proposed regulation, announced on March 6, would permit local housing authorities to adopt both time limits and work requirements for these tenants, who are among…

By Howard Husock

March 5, 2026

Summary and Analysis of the “Stop Unemployment Fraud Act”

Background This week, senior House and Senate Members are introducing legislation designed to prevent a repeat of runaway fraud and abuse that afflicted unemployment benefit programs during the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors of the legislation are Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-PA), a senior member of the House Ways and Means Committee, and Sen. James Lankford (R-OK),…

By Matt Weidinger

March 5, 2026

States Can Strengthen Families and Fight Welfare Dependence and Fraud

For six decades, Washington has waged a War on Poverty with ever‑increasing sums of money. According to the House Budget Committee, federal means‑tested welfare spending now exceeds $1 trillion a year, with more than $12 trillion projected over the next decade. When counted as income for recipients, all that spending has reduced poverty, even as it has left growing…

By Matt Weidinger | John Engler

February 25, 2026

On the Federal Deficit, Picking the Low-Hanging Fruit Won’t Be Enough

If you look closely, you can see some progress on cutting federal spending. At least that’s the conclusion of the respected Kim Strassel, writing recently in the Wall Street Journal before the Congressional Budget Office released its broad budget and economic forecast for the coming decade.  Strassel compared the past two fiscal years and found that “overall discretionary spending is down by $1 billion.”…

By Matt Weidinger

February 13, 2026

What Harvard’s Raj Chetty Overlooks About Upward Mobility

The Harvard economist Raj Chetty, justly famous for his studies of the factors that enable upward mobility in America, is back with a new analysis that has attracted wide attention. Thanks to access to the individual tax records of a million former public housing residents whom his Opportunity Insights team tracked, he determined that a move from “the projects” to a…

By Howard Husock

February 10, 2026

Trump Houses Are a Good Idea—If

Facing public concern about high home purchase prices, the Trump Administration is said to be considering the idea of “Trump Houses,” starter homes to be built privately but with some sort of federal backing to encourage the private investors. Potential buyers would start off as renters and make the transition to owners after three years….

By Howard Husock

January 27, 2026

How to Prevent a Repeat of Massive Fraud and Abuse

Welfare fraud scandals in Minnesota have focused the nation’s attention on benefit abuse, and the US Department of Labor recently detailed a team there to investigate whether unemployment insurance (UI) benefits have been ripped off. There’s a good chance the answer is yes, and that some of the blame resides with how we pay for…

By Matt Weidinger

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 billion—in taxpayer funds. The direct causes of those extensive losses included the poor design of temporary federal benefit programs, which opened the door to abuse,…

By Matt Weidinger

December 29, 2025

To restore hope for families in poverty, let states lead on welfare reform

The holiday season offers a renewed sense of hope for many American families. But for those stuck in poverty, that hope can be short-lived. One of the most perplexing aspects of America’s social welfare system is that it works against two critical factors for families wanting to escape poverty: work and marriage. With help from…

By Angela Rachidi | Nic Dunn

December 23, 2025

The Policy Lessons from Minnesota’s Massive Welfare Fraud

Numerous reviewers have spotlighted shocking welfare fraud perpetrated by members of the Somali community in Minnesota. Writing in the Wall Street Journal, Kim Strassel (“The Lesson of Minnesota’s Fraud”) recently described how “Somali fraudsters bilked taxpayers out of more than $1 billion” while arguing the policy lessons extend well beyond Minnesota’s border. She’s right about…

By Matt Weidinger