June 10, 2026
New York Families Are Doing Better Than You’ve Heard
Is the middle class in danger? On social media and in the news, Americans regularly…
June 8, 2026
What Liberals Get Wrong About the Middle Class
It’s a common refrain: The middle class is hollowing out; Americans overall are increasingly falling…
June 3, 2026
Stranded by the Safety Net: Addressing Benefit Cliffs to Assist Families and Businesses
Chairman Ernst, Ranking Member Markey, and members of the Small Business Committee. Thank you for…
June 3, 2026
Poverty and Dependency in the United States, 1939–2023
In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson declared the War on Poverty. This set in motion the…
May 27, 2026
Congress Shouldn’t Create Another Newborn Benefit
A bipartisan group of lawmakers recently introduced the Supporting Newborn Parents Act of 2026, which would…
May 20, 2026
Bill Would Require States to Use Future Federal Funds to Repay Unemployment Loans First
Yesterday Rep. Vince Fong (R-CA) introduced H.R. 8892, the “Creating Accountability in Loan (CAL) Repayment…
May 15, 2026
When Washington Picks Up the States’ Tab, Waste and Fraud Follow
Congress has caught on that how welfare and related programs are funded, and who does the spending,…
May 15, 2026
Dem Policymakers Plan to Exploit AI Job Fears to Push the ‘Perfect Recipe for Fraud’
Behind the scenes in Washington, many policymakers are planning for an economic disruption: potential job…
April 30, 2026
Chicago’s “Disappearing Middle Class” Can Be Found in Its Proliferating Upper Middle-Class Neighborhoods
In a recent report with Stephen Rose, I argued that the narrative of a “shrinking middle…
April 28, 2026
Understanding the Recent Declines in SNAP Participation
The number of people receiving food assistance through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) has…