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February 13, 2023

The Eerie Familiarity of California’s Boom-Bust Cycle

Those trying to ride a corporate unicorn to a major IPO should consider the lessons of their nineteenth-century forebears. On January 24, 1848, James Wilson Marshall, a carpenter from New Jersey who had taken up residence near Sutter’s Fort in northeast California, was attempting to establish a timber mill to feed burgeoning construction in nearby…

By Brent Orrell

February 8, 2023

Where the Tech Layoffs Are Hitting Hardest

Companies are cutting programmers, human resources, and DEI staffers. The hiring burst of 517,000 new jobs in January ran contrary to the conventional economic wisdom, namely that the Federal Reserve’s war on inflation is slowing interest-rate sensitive sectors like finance and technology and presaging a broader slowdown. Tech and finance did, indeed, show some losses—just not enough to…

By Brent Orrell

February 2, 2023

Prioritizing Money Over Marriage, Today’s Parents Are Making a Big Mistake

As parents of teens, we have kids who are beginning to think about their adult future—including college, career and family. One recent conversation Alysse had with her 17-year-old daughter is indicative of the pressure many young people feel to prioritize career and income. “Why do I have to choose a career path right now?” her daughter…

By W. Bradford Wilcox | Alysse Elhage

February 1, 2023

The Change in Poverty from 1995 to 2016 Among Single‐​Parent Families

Whether poverty has risen or fallen over time is a key barometer of societal progress. Between 1970 and 2020, the official poverty rate in the United States fell by just 1.2 percentage points (9.5 percent), suggesting limited economic gains for the disadvantaged despite large investments in anti‐​poverty programs. In contrast, several recent studies have found much…

By Kevin Corinth | Bruce D. Meyer | Derek Wu

January 24, 2023

“Gig,” Contract, and Nontraditional Workers

A recurring theme of the Workforce Futures Initiative has been how little we know about the evolving needs of workers and businesses or even how the nation’s spatially and numerically vast labor market actually operates. This is especially true when we consider the “gig” or contract worker economy, which has grown dramatically in the past…

By Brent Orrell

January 19, 2023

Labor Unions and the “Double-Helix” of America’s Workforce Development Future

The role of labor unions in the future of American workforce development depends largely on how we conceive of the needs and demands facing workers and the economy. Traditionally, we’ve thought of workforce development in terms of formal, technical skill development and the so-called “skills gap,” the difference between the credentials and skills our training…

By Brent Orrell

January 7, 2023

Personal Responsibility, Not Victimhood, Is the Path to Success

There are too many barriers that stand in the way of the American dream for black and Hispanic young adults — from failing schools to unsafe streets. Unfortunately, Covid made these barriers worse, as wrong-headed lockdown policies in many of our public schools deepened learning gaps between white children and black and Hispanic children, and spiraling crime rates…

By W. Bradford Wilcox | Wendy Wang

January 5, 2023

Defending the American Dream with Michael Strain

Our interview this week is with the American Enterprise Institute’s Michael Strain. Michael is the author of The American Dream Is Not Dead: (But Populism Could Kill It), and we talk about how real blue-collar wages in America have not been stagnant for decades, despite what you might have heard.

By Michael R. Strain

January 5, 2023

Faith After the Pandemic: How COVID-19 Changed American Religion

Key Points Read the PDF. Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic touched nearly every aspect of American life. Schools, offices, grocery stores, and churches faced daunting challenges in the early days of the pandemic in their efforts to operate while keeping their employees, members, and the broader community safe. For churches and religious organi­zations, concerns over COVID-19…

By Daniel A. Cox | Jennifer Benz | Lindsey Witt-Swanson

January 3, 2023

Systemic Disadvantage

The term “systemic racism” freezes social, political, and policy conversation. As soon as the words are uttered, contending parties retreat to their respective corners to engage in a mutual misunderstanding guaranteed to produce anguish and anger on both sides. In a way, the resulting stasis serves the interests of both sides: Progressives are relieved of…

By Brent Orrell