June 5, 2025
More Evidence of How Housing Regulation Is Bad for Housing
The American Dream’s geographic escape hatch is slamming shut. New research reveals that once-affordable sunbelt cities like Phoenix, Dallas, and Miami now mirror the restrictive housing markets of San Francisco and New York. The implications for economic dynamism are profound and worrisome. For decades, America’s housing market operated on a simple safety valve principle: When…
June 5, 2025
Degrees of Risk: STEM Is Bearing Less Fruit
When I began my work at AEI seven years ago, my first report was entitled, STEM Without Fruit: How Noncognitive Skills Improve Workforce Outcomes. The underlying thesis of that report was that we had gone too far in promoting education, training, and credentials—including college degrees—that focused on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), when employers were…
May 29, 2025
How Non-disabled Medicaid Recipients Without Children Spend Their Time
The reconciliation bill passed by the United States House of Representatives imposes community engagement requirements for childless non-disabled Medicaid recipients age 19–64, starting in 2027. The requirement can be met by spending 80 hours in at least some months either working, going to school, participating in a work program, or doing community service. In a…
May 29, 2025
AI Has Invaded the Classroom—Here’s How We Catch Up
Artificial intelligence has quietly entered the nation’s classrooms. Teachers and administrators are scrambling to catch up. On April 23, the White House announced the Advancing Artificial Intelligence Education for American Youth Executive Order, creating a federal taskforce chaired by the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, the Department of Education, and other agencies. The goal:…
May 29, 2025
Veteran Transition Services: Getting More Bang for the Buck
We recently released a new report examining the persistent challenges facing veteran transition services and outlining a path forward to improve how these programs are delivered, monitored, and evaluated. The report emphasizes the need for targeted, customized support—especially for enlisted service members who often face the greatest difficulty reentering civilian life. These are matters of fairness and…
May 28, 2025
An Evaluation of Approaches to Cut and Reform SNAP
House Republicans narrowly passed their version of President Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” last week, and the legislation contains major changes to SNAP, including expanded work requirements, reduced federal and state exemptions and shifting more of the costs to states. Changes are likely as the Senate takes up the bill, and Kevin Corinth, senior fellow and deputy…
May 22, 2025
Those College Grad, Knowledge Economy Blues (And What to Do About Them)
In a recent Atlantic Magazine article about how college graduates are faring in the labor market, columnist Derek Thompson highlights new data to the contest over whether the costs of a bachelor’s degree outweigh its benefits. Relying on analysis from the Federal Reserve, Thompson notes that the unemployment rate for graduates with four-year degrees is slightly higher than those with…
May 13, 2025
Common-Sense SNAP Reforms Included in House Agriculture Reconciliation Proposal
The House Agriculture committee released budget reconciliation text this week and scheduled a full committee markup. As part of the budget framework passed earlier this year, the Agriculture Committee was tasked with identifying cuts of $230 billion over 10 years. Nutrition programs account for the bulk of spending under the committee’s jurisdiction, with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)…
May 12, 2025
To Improve Student Outcomes, Focus On Classroom Practice, Not Policy
Last week, I had the privilege of delivering keynote remarks at Marquette University Law School’s Lubar Center for a conference focused on redirecting K-12 education reform toward classroom teaching. Inspired by my recent Marquette Today piece, the event—hosted in collaboration with the College of Education—brought together educators, researchers, and policymakers to discuss how improving classroom practice…
May 7, 2025
Colleges Must Help Return Student Borrowers to Repayment
The four-year pause on student loan payments has left behind an alarming fallout: Millions of student borrowers, having disengaged from the student loan system, are not making payments on their debts. Now, the Education Department is asking for help from colleges to get borrowers paying their loans again. On Monday, the Department issued a Dear Colleague Letter to…