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June 22, 2023

The Cost of Thriving Has Fallen: Correcting and Rejecting the American Compass Cost-of-Thriving Index

AbstractThe Cost-of-Thriving Index (COTI), developed by American Compass Executive Director Oren Cass, asks whether families can afford a middle-class lifestyle. It compares the costs of five goods and services to the income of a typical full-time male earner. Cass concludes that the cost of thriving has increased dramatically, from 40 weeks of work in 1985…

June 21, 2023

The Bad Math Behind Economic Doomerism

It’s a big week for American Compass, a think tank founded in 2020 that fancies itself as the “pre-eminent alternative to the Old Right’s market fundamentalism.” On the heels of its new policy book, Rebuilding American Capitalism, it hosts an event on Capitol Hill today with multiple Republican senators. It’s the latest sign of the intellectual confusion afflicting…

June 20, 2023

College isn’t just about career or credentials — it’s also about friends, formation, and, if you’re lucky, marriage

A few weeks ago, my college friends and I all got together for the weekend. We are seven guys in our mid-40s who have been friends for about 25 years. We drank beer and flavored seltzer and spoke about marriage, parenthood, artificial intelligence, Moby Dick, Homer, and faith, along with reminiscing about college days. It was a truly glorious weekend, and…

June 20, 2023

Down Through the Ages

How much do we have in common with our children and grandchildren? Less than our parents had in common with us—or at least that’s the theory animating Jean M. Twenge’s new book, Generations. Twenge, a psychologist at San Diego State University, is most widely known for iGen, which chronicled how the rise of the smartphone should be…

June 16, 2023

Marriage Is Still the Best Way to Bond a Father to His Children

Editor’s Note: The following essay is an edited transcript of AEI senior fellow Ian Rowe’s opening remarks at “A Debate on Fatherhood,” hosted by the National Marriage Project at UVA and the American Enterprise Institute on April 25, 2023. The event, which was moderated by IFS senior fellow Brad Wilcox, featured a discussion between Richard Reeves and Ian Rowe on the question:…

June 16, 2023

The Missing Context Behind “Cuts” in Fast-Growing Welfare Programs

Official Washington just completed a heated debate on the debt limit, punctuated by intense partisan differences over strengthening work requirements for key welfare programs. On one side stood House Republicans, who on April 26 approved legislation that would have strengthened work requirements for able-bodied adults without dependents (dubbed “ABAWDs”) collecting major welfare benefits like food stamps and…

June 15, 2023

The Conservative Case for SNAP Restrictions

Conservatives believe in individual freedom, free enterprise, and limited government. This is why conservatives often bridle against the government restricting individual choice—even when it comes to the use of public benefits. After all, being free to make decisions for yourself and your family is fundamental to conservative thought. So, why should policymakers consider placing restrictions on what…

June 15, 2023

Testimony on Anti-Poverty and Family Support Provisions in the Tax Code

Introduction Chairman Wyden, Ranking Member Crapo, and distinguished members of Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify. My name is Bruce D. Meyer, and I am the McCormick Foundation Professor of Public Policy at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy. I have spent forty years researching the effects of government programs…

June 15, 2023

Our Children Need to Be Involved in Religious Institutions

Last weekend, I celebrated the wedding of a long-time friend in Baltimore. Nearly a half dozen couples who were instrumental in my life were in attendance but I didn’t appreciate their true impact on me until last week. The couples were all members of my childhood synagogue, Congregation Beth T’fillah of Overbrook Park, a house…

June 15, 2023

Instead of ‘Late Capitalism,’ Maybe the US Economy Is Still in ‘Early Capitalism’

So how is the twilight of capitalism working out for you? What, you didn’t realize that you were living through “late capitalism”? Before I go on, let me first explain that term. The phrase dates back to the early 20th century — yup, we’ve apparently been in LC for a long time — when Werner…