All Research
Blog Post
Welfare Reform 30 Years Later: How Has Government Assistance Changed?
…with such a broad reach on a bipartisan basis. The 30-year anniversary is a good time to reflect on how government-provided cash assistance for low-income families has changed since August…
Report
Rings to Roofs, Part I: One Million Homes Through Marriage
…Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) construction. In subsidy-equivalent terms, Rings to Roofs produces a value of roughly $2,700 per marriage annually (vouchers), or a one-time federal $30,000 cost (LIHTC). Marriage differs…
Op-Ed
The Path Ahead for Welfare Reform
…other safety net programs, notwithstanding some recent success in extending work requirements to Medicaid and food assistance. It’s time for a new round of welfare reforms that build upon the…
Op-Ed
Status Defines Friendship for Too Many Americans
…over time, through institutions and shared settings. For many men, unstable work — transient gig jobs, uncontrollable schedules — allows only for the creation of tenuous, easily breakable ties. A…
Commentary
How Fixing SNAP’s Payment Error Rate Formula Would Change State Cost Shares
For the first time in the history of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), starting in FY2028 states will be liable for a share of SNAP benefit costs. Each state’s…
Op-Ed
The Ongoing Battle to Defend Welfare Reform
Welfare reform replaced Aid to Families with Dependent Children (AFDC) with Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) 30 years ago this month. At the time, opponents warned that child poverty would…
Blog
The Misleading Narrative About the ‘Hollowing Out’ of the Middle Class
…set of thresholds that change over time as the cost-of-living increases but otherwise don’t change. If you have two and a half times the federal poverty guideline in 2025 or…
Op-Ed
New York’s ACS Is Failing Children and Kids Are Dying—Why Is Hochul Getting in the Way of Reforms That Would Save Lives?
…give the boys seizure medication to treat their epilepsy), it is time for the public to demand transparency from the agency responsible for protecting abused and neglected children. Governor Hochul…
Op-Ed
Thirty Years Later, Welfare Reform Is Still a Model That Works
…long-term dependence, and for good reason. Counting repeat spells, the average lifetime stay for families on AFDC was a shocking 13 years. The new TANF program set time limits on welfare…
Article
The American Dream Lives in Suburbia
…and office buildings more. But realistically, Mom & Dad are going to drive to work and the supermarket most of the time, and so the most important thing on walkability…
Blog
Rethinking Predatory Student Lending
…practices in this new emerging market. But know that, at the same time, the elimination of Grad PLUS may create an environment with less predatory behavior than the regime we’ve…
Report
Comment on CMS-2454-IFC: Clarifying “Household” for the SNAP Exclusion from the Medicaid Community Engagement Requirement
…by performing at least 80 hours of paid employment, job training, or community service, maintaining enrollment in an educational program at least half time, or by earning at least $580…