COSM’s commentary page is home to timely analysis of pressing topics.
Since its origin in the 1970s, the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) has been the premier federal program promoting and rewarding work by low-income adults. As displayed below, taxpayers have devoted rapidly growing resources to the EITC since the 1980s. Overall, between 1975 and 2022, the EITC cost taxpayers a…
August 3, 2023 | By Matt Weidinger
Introduction While one of the main purposes of the U.S. safety net is to help individuals vulnerable to poverty provide for their basic needs and avoid hardship, there exists an important additional purpose: for individuals and families to escape dependence and achieve self-sufficiency. Unfortunately, most safety net programs do not…
July 17, 2023 | By Leslie Ford
May 1, 2026 | Kevin Corinth
Overview The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) posted a notice of proposed rulemaking on March 2, 2026 (Docket No. FR-6520-P-01), entitled, “Establishing Flexibility for Implementation of Work Requirements and Term Limits,” hereafter the “Proposed Rule.” The Proposed Rule would allow, but not require, eligible Public Housing...
April 30, 2026 | Scott Winship
In a recent with Stephen Rose, I argued that the narrative of a “shrinking middle class” was based on a kernel of truth, but one that undermines economic pessimism. We showed that while 36 percent of families were part of what we called the “core middle class” in 1979, the share...
April 29, 2026 | Angela Rachidi
Abstract The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has grown substantially since the turn of the century, providing food assistance to more than 40 million individuals per month in recent years. Using data from the SNAP Quality Control dataset, I analyzed changes in SNAP households and participants from fiscal year (FY)...
April 28, 2026 | Angela Rachidi
The number of people receiving food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has declined in recent months, with suggestions that declines are due to the Republican-backed reconciliation bill passed in July 2025. The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA or P.L. 119-21) made several changes to SNAP, including...