Policy
23 posts in Policy · page 1 of 2. ← All posts
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Why Fewer People Are Out of the Workforce for Family
As prices rise again, the question is which households suffer.
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The Rhetoric of Austerity
In 1991, Albert Hirschman published The Rhetoric of Reaction, identifying three arguments that have been used to oppose social programs s...
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The Hiring Freeze and Who It Traps
The unemployment rate has risen to 4.4% — still low by historical standards, but up from 3.4% two years ago. Underneath that number, hiri...
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The Wrong Gift
Two Democratic senators recently introduced competing proposals to cut taxes for working Americans. Sen. Van Hollen’s Working Americans’ ...
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The Wage Data Went Dark at Exactly the Wrong Time
The government shutdown meant no October CPS was collected. Without it, the BLS couldn’t publish its Usual Weekly Earnings series for the...
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Economic Data Review: Q1 2026
The Federal Reserve begins its two-day meeting today and is widely expected to hold the federal funds rate at 3.50-3.75 percent. With abo...
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Who pays for raising the retirement age
Social Security’s cost is projected to rise from 5.3% of GDP today to about 6% by 2055, according to the 2025 Trustees Report. That is le...
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Defining Poverty Away
A recent piece from Seth Ackerman showed how the design of economic statistics changes the story they tell. At any point in time, US and ...
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To Speed Up Buses, Change the Streets
In June 2025, WMATA launched the Better Bus Network Redesign, the first overhaul of the DC region’s bus network in 50 years. The redesign...
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New Mexico’s Oil Boom Continues
New Mexico made news with the state’s impressive plan to offer universal child care. I wrote about this a couple years ago. At the time, ...
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Investing In America
The phrase “investing in America” may be associated with children, infrastructure, or alternatives to pollution. I tend to think about th...
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New Mexico’s Oil Boom
While the US invests in climate-related initiatives and alternatives to fossil fuels, domestic oil production is also at an all time high...