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December 1, 2023

Making the Child Tax Credit “Fully Refundable” Converts It into Welfare Checks

…According to press reports, policymakers are apparently negotiating a possible year-end tax package that would temporarily expand the Child Tax Credit (CTC) and revive certain business tax breaks….The CTC expansion reportedly includes full…

November 30, 2023

A Valuable New Perspective on America’s War on Poverty

…This relative measure adjusts yearly thresholds in line with median income changes. “The dramatic reduction in poverty by 2019 based on President Johnson’s absolute 1960s standards suggests that policymakers might…

October 31, 2023

Lawmakers Continue Trying to Revive Pandemic-Style Benefits

…[is] it’s an opportunity to do things that you think you could not do before.” Lawmakers applied Rahm’s rule liberally during the pandemic, providing record stimulus checks, massively expanding unemployment benefits, and far…

October 26, 2023

New Report Sheds Light on Expansive Biden Student Loan Forgiveness Scheme

…many students to take on student debt, policymakers must ensure the program is administered in an efficient and fair manner.”  Expanded eligibility for aid must be accompanied by new constraints…

October 20, 2023

Value Needs to be the Next Buzzword in Higher Education

For a long time, advocates and policymakers in the higher education space were fixated on improving “access” to higher education. As a society, we recognized that higher education was a…

October 12, 2023

Now the Administration Is Legislating on Welfare, Too

…treads much of the same legislative ground as recent congressional reauthorization proposals. That should trouble members of Congress in both parties who value their institutional role as lawmakers—not administration regulation-followers….

October 2, 2023

Shopping for Colleges Just Got a Little Easier for Some Students

Shopping for college can be a nightmare. As the market for consumer products has gotten easier, more transparent, and faster than ever before (read: Amazon), the market for college degrees…

September 26, 2023

The Gas Tax Should Not Be Eliminated

…for road use. If lawmakers eliminate these taxes, the price of driving would fall, leading to more cars and trucks using the same roads. Increased driving would increase the externalities…

September 18, 2023

Students’ Lack of Basic Knowledge of US History and Civics Remains a National Embarrassment

…83 correct. We launched a pledge effort aimed at educators, politicians, and policy-makers called “Challenge 2026” that would make passing the citizenship test a national high school graduation requirement by…

September 5, 2023

Trump’s Tariffs Won’t Address the Trade Deficit

…lawmakers should avoid that. But lawmakers could increase national saving by either encouraging private saving or reducing the federal budget deficit. The critics are right: Tariffs are a bad idea….