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June 26, 2024
American Workers Are Doing Great. They Could Be Doing Even Better.
Editor’s note: This is one of a pair of essays responding to the Economic Innovation Group’s report, “The American Worker: Toward a New Consensus”, by Adam Ozimek, John Lettieri, and…
February 6, 2024
Research by a Top Biden Administration Economist Reinforces the Importance of Work Incentives in the Child Tax Credit and the Safety Net
…since 1950.” (p. 4) Bastian cites the research of Schanzenbach and Strain (2020) to argue that a reasonable guess for the true employment effect of eliminating just the EITC would…
January 12, 2024
When It Comes to the State of the American Economy, Let’s Keep It Real
…increase from eight percent in 1960. Then there’s research by my AEI colleague Michael Strain that found income inequality across all households—after accounting for taxes and government transfers and estimated with a Gini…
December 18, 2023
The State of Democratic Capitalism: 2023
…is wrong. Their solutions won’t work. That economic reality will lead to a political course correction. The future for democratic capitalism is bright. Michael R. Strain holds the Arthur F….
December 14, 2023
The Myth of the 1%
The skewing of income toward the top 1% of earners has become a central issue in American politics, with both Republicans and Democrats proposing higher taxes on the rich. But…
October 30, 2023
Does Wage Theft Vary by Demographic Group? Evidence from Minimum Wage Increases
Using Current Population Survey data, we assess whether and to what extent the burden of wage theft — wage payments below the statutory minimum wage — falls disproportionately on various…
October 27, 2023
Food Insecurity in the US and Inflation
…2023 from a peak of 11.4 percent in August 2022. This should alleviate some of the strain on low-income households and allow food security rates to stabilize in 2023. …
October 17, 2023
What Poor Children Need
When it comes to helping poor children in America grow up to enjoy successful adult lives, progressives and conservatives each have half the truth on their side. There is strong…
December 15, 2022
The Myth of Income Stagnation
According to the conventional wisdom, income stagnation and inequality are large and growing threats to broad-based prosperity in the United States. Many economists, journalists, business leaders, and elected leaders (from both parties) believe that for a…
December 9, 2022
“Automatic Stimulus”: How It Would Have Increased the Record Unemployment Benefits Paid During the Great Recession and Pandemic
…replaced by permanent automatic stimulus policies. Applying that perspective, a recent “modernization” proposal by senior Sens. Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Michael Bennet (D-CO) would permanently revive federal unemployment benefit expansions…