May 27, 2025
The Surprising Role of Large Developers in Solving the Housing Crunch
Against the odds—and conventional wisdom—the nation’s largest home builders have engineered a dramatic shift toward serving first-time homebuyers (FTBs). New data from the AEI Housing Center show that in 2024, 51.2% of all new construction sales by the top 20 builders went to FTBs, up significantly from just 38.6% in 2014. This shift has occurred…
May 23, 2025
How AI Will Harm Working-Class Families
Donald Trump rose to power in large part by appealing to working-class men. He was able to channel their frustration with trade deals and automation that destroyed working-class jobs, helped fuel thousands of deaths of despair, and powered a wave of anger in working-class communities across America. These economic shocks also proved devastating for all too many families in working-class communities across America. Job…
May 15, 2025
The Pandemic Is Over. It’s Time for Schools to Get the Message.
More than five years after the covid-19 pandemic began, the havoc it wreaked on American students and schools is alarmingly clear by nearly every measure. But there is one glaring exception: high school graduation rates. Even as test scores cratered, public school enrollments plummeted, and chronic absenteeism — the percentage of students missing at least one-tenth of the school…
May 14, 2025
Libraries Are Doing the Work—Let’s Fund Them Accordingly
Over the past few years, I’ve had the privilege of visiting libraries of all sizes—from quiet rural branches to vibrant urban hubs. Each one tells a story—not just through the books on its shelves, but through the people it brings together. Whether through informal social gatherings, intergenerational conversations, or access to essential services, libraries are…
May 13, 2025
Out of Work and On the Dole — Is Uncle Sam Contributing to Young Men’s Malaise?
American men are in trouble. From Richard Reeves’ “Of Boys and Men” to Nicholas Eberstadt’s “Men Without Work,” we have learned that men are opting out of our most important institutions — work, education and family — in record numbers. But what or who is to blame for this male malaise? Uncle Sam. This was Allysia Finley’s…
May 10, 2025
How Single Room Occupancies Could Be the Answer to NYC’s Housing Crisis
It was another local tragedy attracting passing notice before being overtaken for our attention by the latest stray bullet homicides and subway assaults. But those concerned with “affordable housing” have much to learn from the Easter morning deaths of three Queens residents and the displacement of perhaps a dozen others in a fire in an…
May 7, 2025
Republicans Unveil Plan to Rein in Student Debt and Waste in Higher Education
In a significant development for higher education policy, House Republicans have unveiled a sweeping proposal to reform student loans and financial aid through the federal budget reconciliation process. This effort, which complements President Trump’s recent executive order on accreditation reform, signals a renewed push to rethink how the federal government supports students and holds institutions accountable for…
May 7, 2025
Did ‘China Shock’ Throw Millions of Americans Out of Work?
In a Wall Street Journal op-ed Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent claimed that “3.7 million Americans lost their jobs” due to the “China Shock”—the increased import competition occurring after China was granted membership in the World Trade Organization. He cites research by David Autor, David Dorn, and Gordon Hanson, linking to two of their papers. But it appears…
May 5, 2025
What’s in House Republicans’ Student Loan Overhaul
House Republicans have introduced a comprehensive student loan overhaul as part of the broader budget reconciliation process. Known as the “Student Success and Taxpayer Savings Plan,” the package of reforms aims to save hundreds of billions of dollars through new student loan limits, changes to the repayment system, and policies to hold colleges accountable for their outcomes. If enacted,…
May 2, 2025
Without Qualified Workers, Our CHIPS Investments Could Be Money Down the Drain
Three years ago, the Biden administration, backed by big bipartisan majorities in Congress, launched the CHIPS and Science Act to revitalize domestic semiconductor manufacturing. After decades of outsourcing that reduced the U.S. production share of advanced chips from 37 percent to 10 percent, this “industrial policy” investment was justified as necessary for national security and as a measure to reinvigorate…