If there’s anything Americans haven’t stopped talking about for years, it’s the economy. Two presidents, changes to the tax code, and even stimulus checks have done little to ease a growing sense of economic dread. A growing economic literature backs this up; for many ordinary people, the American Dream is no longer even within reach. […]
Tag: welfare
California: The Most Over-Hated State
When I first came to Berkeley, I was well aware of the Bay Area and its reputation. Friends and family, both in-state and out, hit me over the head with tales of crime, homelessness, poverty, and stuck-up tech CEOs. Although the last admonishment was warranted, as soon as I arrived Berkeley struck me with its […]
Rethinking Low Fertility
In 2022, Elon Musk made statements that shocked the Twitterverse that led to headlines like “Elon Musk thinks the population will collapse. Demographers say it’s not happening” and “Elon Musk says ‘population collapse’ is more dangerous than global warming. Experts say that won’t happen.” By now, Musk has taken these claims off X, formerly known […]
The Other War on Poverty
At the turn of the 17th century, under the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, England passed a sweeping slate of reforms aimed at alleviating poverty. Colloquially known as the Poor Laws, the legislation created a new position: overseer of the poor, two men — typically wealthy — from each parish in the nation who would […]
Social Security and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Outlook
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]Ironically, for the future of retirement, past will not be prologue. In the decades ahead, America will confront some long term trends — among them declining birth rates and life expectancy gains — and we will be forced to reform our essential welfare programs, including Social Security. Because these population trends were less stark in […]
The Recession of the Pink Tide
Empty shelves in Venezuela Lenin Moreno’s April victory in the Ecuadorian presidential election must have brought sighs of relief to socialists across the continent, who have been buffeted by scandals and electoral defeats in recent years. Still, it was a close fight. Guillermo Lasso, the conservative candidate and a former banker, was able to win […]
The Nordic Model: No Universal Holy Grail
Nordic countries have become somewhat of an international sensation. In the last decade, they seemed impervious to the economic and social woes that ossified economic growth in Europe and Asia and reflected extreme inequality in the United States. Many attribute their success to the “Nordic model,” a unique political and economic template that has raised […]
The Silent Plea of America’s New Mothers
In the U.S., the fight for women’s rights in the workplace has come a long way. In 1963, Congress passed the Equal Pay Act, protecting women’s rights to be paid equal wages as men. In 1978, the Pregnancy Discrimination Act was passed, banning workplace discrimination based on pregnancy. In 2015, King v. Burwell upheld the […]