Recommendations for the next administration and the 119th Congress
Social Mobility
A core promise of America is the ability of people to rise up from humble beginnings. The challenges faced by lower- and middle-income Americans today are multidisciplinary in nature, and require our renewed focus. Job and wage growth are essential; in particular, Americans need access to more blue-collar work and other jobs that don’t require a college degree. Our employment and welfare policies should encourage work, family formation, and income security. Paid family leave can help strengthen families at their times of need.
All Social Mobility
Modernizing America's identity infrastructure will ensure that hundreds of billions in federal benefits reach their intended recipients.
Even though work is the key to long-term self-sufficiency, the structure of many welfare programs discourages work in the immediate term and leaves families who respond to those incentives trapped in dependency.
Although the black-white income gap is shrinking among low-income Americans, disparities persist across several metrics
Most policymakers do not want social welfare programs to reduce work. Unfortunately, that is precisely what happens when recipients face so-called “benefit cliffs.”
One of their few areas of agreement is a policy that will almost certainly harm those who can least afford it
A hypothetical President Harris seems likely to do little more than double down on upholding the Biden administration’s policies
Identifying the several causes of homelessness and applying solutions that fit each one