January 9, 2024
The Success Sequence for Unmarried Mothers
As covered on these pages before, the success sequence—graduating high school, working full-time, and marrying before having children—has been proven to be an effective way for young people to avoid poverty. Research consistently finds that young people who follow these life steps have poverty rates dramatically below those who do not follow these steps. In a new study, I show that…
January 8, 2024
Dynamics of Families After a Nonmarital Birth
Abstract Despite known links between poverty rates and unmarried parenthood, we know little about how changes in family situations after a nonmarital birth affect poverty. This study explores Future of Families and Child Wellbeing Study data to document changes to the relationship status, employment status, and education level of a cohort of unmarried mothers who…
January 8, 2024
How to Actually Triumph over Poverty
On this day in 1964, President Lyndon B. Johnson declared an unconditional war on poverty in America during his State of the Union address. Six decades later, the nation has made tremendous strides, including a sizable reduction in the poverty rate as Americans enjoy an improved standard of living. Yet we have not won the war. Success…
December 8, 2023
Room for Compromise on the Hot Foods Act
Last month, members of the House of Representatives and Senate sent a letter encouraging Farm Bill negotiators to consider the Hot Foods Act. The legislation would allow recipients of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly food stamps) to use their benefits on hot prepared meals sold at grocery stores. Currently, the program restricts hot foods from purchase…
October 27, 2023
Food Insecurity in the US and Inflation
The US Department of Agriculture (USDA) has released its annual report on household food security—a survey that measures whether US households have “access at all times to enough food for an active, healthy lifestyle.” The report documented the largest yearly increase in food insecurity since the Great Recession—increasing from 10.2 to 12.8 percent of all US households…
October 17, 2023
Understanding Poverty Measurement
COSM scholars and AEI affiliates include some of the nation’s foremost experts on poverty measurement. On October 17, COSM gathered several of these scholars to provide a primer on opportunity in the United States. Angela Rachidi began by exploring the meaning of poverty, outlining the most fundamental decisions in measuring it and describing how different…
September 18, 2023
Overregulated Childcare: Wisconsin’s 2023-’25 Biennial Budget and the Path Ahead
Wisconsin’s legislative budget session ended in July 2023 with an increase in childcare funding in the 2023-’25 biennial budget. However, the final budget did not include $340 million requested by Gov. Tony Evers to continue a pandemic-era program offering direct operating assistance to Wisconsin childcare providers. Instead, Republican lawmakers added $42 million in childcare funding…
September 12, 2023
Measuring Poverty: The New Census Estimates and the Future of Poverty Measurement
Join AEI’s Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility for the release of the Census Bureau’s 2022 income and poverty estimates. AEI’s poverty experts will break down the numbers and discuss what they mean for the United States’ economic well-being. Then, they will discuss the state of poverty measurement and how it can be improved in…
August 9, 2023
The CTC Work Incentive Works
The expiration of the American Rescue Plan Act at the end of 2021 brought with it the end of the fully refundable Child Tax Credit (CTC). The CTC has since returned to its pre-pandemic form, phasing-in at 15 percent of earnings beyond $2,500, up to a maximum of $1,600 in a refundable CTC per child…
July 17, 2023
Testimony: The Child Tax Credit: 25 Years Later
Chairman Bennet, Ranking Member Thune, and subcommittee members, thank you for theopportunity to testify. My name is Angela Rachidi and I am a Senior Fellow on poverty andopportunity at the American Enterprise Institute. Before I joined AEI, I was a DeputyCommissioner for the New York City Department of Social Services, where for more than a…