February 14, 2025
Poverty During the Pandemic and the Role of Government Transfers
The COVID-19 pandemic prompted unprecedented policy interventions in the US that provided nearly $3 trillion to support struggling families. This column examines the short-term effects of these interventions on child poverty and finds quite different trends for income poverty and consumption poverty. While disposable income poverty declined dramatically in 2021, consumption poverty fell more gradually,…
February 11, 2025
AI and the Future of Work Looks Bright
One of the hottest guessing games in workforce development is figuring out how generative artificial intelligence will affect jobs and how to prepare students and workers for an AI-infused economy. The future of work looks bright, but the full potential of AI to increase productivity and raise wages and incomes will only be realized if…
February 10, 2025
For Better: Four Proven Ways To A Strong And Stable Marriage
Introduction “Marriage is a path to misery and a transition of loss marked by giving up and missing out.” This is the message that, surprisingly enough, is emanating from both leftwing journalists like Amy Shearn, who tells us in The New York Times that “Married motherhood in America… is a game no one wins,” and rightwing online influencers…
February 7, 2025
Follow Elon Musk’s USAID Model to Free Tenants from Public-Housing Hell
The willingness of Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency to take on sacred cows is stunning Washington, as tenets long unquestioned suddenly fall like idols destroyed by Abraham. The same creative destruction should be focused on a bad idea that has harmed cities and fostered dependency for nearly a century: public housing. Instead of tinkering…
February 7, 2025
Low-Performing Students Fall Farther Behind the Pack
On January 29, the National Assessment of Education Progress, NAEP, released results from its 2024 assessment. This latest installment of the self-styled “Nation’s Report Card” makes depressing reading. Indeed, if it weren’t for bad news, there would be hardly any news at all. The previous 2022 NAEP results were bad—but they could be blamed on…
February 6, 2025
The Trump Administration is Already Proving to be Family Friendly
The first Trump administration did not do a lot to advance the family policy ball. Sure, they doubled the Child Tax Credit to $2,000 in 2017. Otherwise, Trump 1.0 didn’t score many wins on the family field. But there are growing signs the second Trump administration will move much more aggressively to make America more family friendly….
February 6, 2025
The 10th Annual American Family Survey: Opportunities and Obstacles to a Broad-Based Political Coalition for Families
Event Summary On February 6, Chris Karpowitz and Jeremy Pope of the Center for the Study of Elections and Democracy presented research findings from the 10th annual American Family Survey. Dr. Karpowitz examined how families across the political spectrum behave in similar manners. Whether Democrat or Republican, parents take pride in raising children. The survey…
February 6, 2025
High Costs, Uneven Value: Repairing The Federal Role in Postsecondary Education
The higher education system suffers from many problems, including excessive costs,low completion rates, uneven financial value for students, and high rates of student loannonpayment. Federal government policies unintentionally exacerbate many of these issues,as taxpayers’ considerable investment in higher education comes with few quality controlsor accountability to ensure that colleges and universities are delivering on their…
February 4, 2025
The Family First Act Would Expand Net Income Tax Refunds to Higher Income Families
Some pro-family conservatives are rallying around Rep. Blake Moore’s (R-UT) Family First Act. Relative to a clean extension of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the bill would cost an additional $575 billion over the next decade in order to increase the generosity of tax breaks targeted at families with children. The bill would lead over half of tax filers…
February 4, 2025
Snip, Snip: Spending Cuts Are Coming
Republicans’ agenda of cutting taxes and increasing spending on their policy priorities depends significantly on identifying productive spending reductions. But just cutting spending will not be enough. Republicans must also explain how their tax and spending cuts will result in better outcomes for all Americans. The federal debt has exploded to $36 trillion and annual…