September 20, 2024
Don’t Believe the Doomsayers. The American Dream Is Still In Reach for Young People
The American dream is still alive and can be achieved in just one generation, even among the most economically disadvantaged young people. That finding is among the most promising takeaways from new research produced by Harvard University’s Raj Chetty and his collaborators. These analysts studied economic outcomes for 57 million children born between 1978 and 1992, whose…
September 19, 2024
Government benefit programs already do a lot to help low income families
Politicians, policy analysts, and advocates have proposed increasing the generosity of the Child Tax Credit (CTC), as a means of providing more resources to low-income families with children. Before deciding whether to expand the CTC and by how much, policymakers should be aware of existing tax and transfer policies that already provide a substantial amount…
September 17, 2024
The Future of Work
Since Generation Z has begun entering the workforce, debates swirl around whether young Americans are working too much or not enough. Following Scott Winship’s article in Fusion, Young Voices and Fusion Magazine will host a discussion Tuesday, September 17th to tease out the nuances and future possibilities of what work could—or should—look like for young…
September 17, 2024
The Blue State Family Exodus: Families Are Migrating to Red and Purple States
You would think that Minnesota is a mecca for families, judging by the adulatory press coverage that Democratic Gov. Tim Walz’s family policy record in the state has received from liberal professors and pundits. Celebrating the vice presidential nominee’s moves to expand the child tax credit for poor families, advance paid family leave, and provide…
September 17, 2024
Back to School: Shedding Light on Risks and Harm in the Private Student Lending and Servicing Market
At present there are more than 1.74 trillion dollars in student loans outstanding in the US economy. This is a massive amount of money that represents serious liabilities for millions of borrowers across the United States who are grappling with the process of repayment. This massive amount of outstanding debt also represents a tremendous liability…
September 16, 2024
A Pyrrhic Victory Against Student Loan Default
The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) has published a new report on federal student loan repayment, and the picture isn’t pretty. Six years after first entering repayment on their loans, over half of borrowers owe more than they did when they started repayment. This disappointing fact is partially the result of a program that, ironically, was meant to…
September 12, 2024
Surgeon general’s dour picture of parenthood misses the mark
Fifteen years ago, after we had adopted five children, I thought my wife and I were done having children. Boy, was I wrong. She got pregnant with twins in 2009 and, after the girls were born, I was shellshocked by the double dose of diapers, late nights and extra parenting demands — not to mention…
September 11, 2024
Doing Right by Kids: A Book Event
Event Summary On September 11, AEI’s Scott Winship gathered distinguished experts to launch the new edited volume Doing Right by Kids: Leveraging Social Capital and Innovation to Increase Opportunity, a call to increase opportunity and upward mobility for children from poor families. The first panel focused on the importance of place. Panelists discussed how to contextualize…
September 11, 2024
After Decades of Competitive Admissions, Getting into College Has Finally Become Easier
High school seniors fretting over whether they’ll receive a college acceptance letter can sleep a little easier. College admissions rates, which had been declining for decades, are now on the upswing. Indeed, most colleges now accept a greater share of their applicants today than they did twenty years ago. Until recently, rising admissions rates were far…
September 11, 2024
As America’s housing crisis intensifies, the American Housing and Economic Mobility Act of 2024 has emerged as a high-profile yet expensive solution.
The bill comes with a $500 billion price tag and endorsements from leading Democrats, including Vice President Kamala Harris. Moody’s, a major financial services company, has also blessed the act, predicting it will lower rents and significantly boost the supply of affordable housing. But before the country embraces this rosy outlook, it must confront a stark reality: Government interventions in housing…