#ICYMI: Our top stories of the week ✅ @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social interviews @saalevine.bsky.social about responsive gov't ✅ Public options are key to a democratic economy ✅ “Liberation Day” reveals the risks of inflationary tariff policy More in the #RooseveltRundown ⬇️ https://bit.ly/4crCibe

Building a robust social safety net, including public childcare, requires universality and free access at the point of use. We must move beyond what @lukef.bsky.social calls the “neoliberal obsession with complex and federated means-testing that creates the opportunity for corporate capture.”

The U.S.’s privatized, patchwork childcare system isn’t inevitable. It’s the result of political choices, rooted in austerity and fiscal conservatism, dating back to the 1970s. More from our Fellow @jessicacalarco.com ⬇️

Thrilled to have this paper out in the world. We can't restore democracy without restoring faith in its ability to deliver for people. Public options are part of the toolkit we need to do that.

We can remember at least one time when the United States did take care of daycare; it was during a time of war. 🤔 #FDR

Our democracy is at a crossroads, and the old policy playbook—tax credits, privatization, vouchers—is failing us. It’s like using a hammer to drive a screw. To build a #GoodLife for all Americans, we need more than market-focused fixes. We need public goods and services. 🧵

"Even Franklin D. Roosevelt, who confronted a Supreme Court dead set against his New Deal, disguised his court-packing plan in the language of improving efficiency, whereas Trump all but brazenly admitted his attacks were retaliatory." inthesetimes.com/article/trum...

Tomorrow marks one year since this administration’s tariff frenzy began. What started with declaring trade “emergencies” culminated in the Supreme Court striking down the tariffs as unconstitutional. All the while, families paid the price and manufacturers got no real path to reshoring jobs ⬇️

In NYC, lobbyists are taking a backseat as leaders hear directly from renters and workers—and use those stories to crack down on corporate abuse. Our CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social spoke with @hellodcwp.bsky.social Commissioner Samuel Levine on flipping who government listens to.

Our Director of Corporate Power and Financial Regulation @bradlipton.bsky.social on why tying the housing market to the value of crypto assets will do more harm than good 🧵

Last week, minutes before the President announced a pause on Iran strikes, traders made huge bets on oil and stock futures and reportedly pocketed tens of millions. If insiders act on private information, that’s not only cause for legal concern but proof markets are tilted against everyone else.

This piece from @noamscheiber.bsky.social gets at a deeper frustration in this economy. Young people were told that college would be a path to stability. Reality? Too many ended up with debt, housing costs out of reach, and a labor market that no longer lives up to that expectation. 🧵

A great post on tax policy from Roosevelt pres @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/beyond-...

A Senate inquiry launched yesterday will examine the largest for-profit childcare chains and their private equity owners. PE-backed care has consistently meant higher costs for families and lower wages for workers. Care should be a public responsibility, not a tradable asset for investors.

Recent Senate proposals for middle-class tax cuts respond to real pain. But as our CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social writes, they “don’t fundamentally interrupt wealth concentration or provide long-term relief.” We can’t hollow out our tax base if we want to fund robust, lasting public goods.

Your grocery bill should not be based on the personal data companies collect about you. Large retailers claim digital price labels reduce costs, but they can also enable surveillance pricing that charges people more.

CRFB is searching for Social Security solvency in the wrong place. The problem isn’t retirees getting too much—it’s unchecked income inequality starving the system of revenue. Capping benefits isn’t reform; it’s a distraction from the real solution.

Every new media merger gets sold as a win for jobs, audiences, and journalism. What follows instead is layoffs, debt, and a weaker press. That’s not a bug, it’s the system decades of market-first media policy has created. 🎯 from @karlbode.com—and more from us on our nation's journalism crisis ⬇️

#ICYMI: Our top stories of the week ✅ Our tax code is the foundation of democratic governance ✅ The DPA should be used for clean energy abundance ✅ A bleak future of AI gig work More in the #RooseveltRundown ⬇️

I whole-heartedly endorse this piece by our president, @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social Chock full of @jdcmedlock.bsky.social thought if I do say so myself rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/beyond-...

NEW from @mikemadowitz.bsky.social: many expect a healthy March jobs report, but inflation could tell a different story. In February, energy costs actually kept overall inflation in check. Now, gas prices are up 33% in one month. “Rarely has it been easier to predict the abrupt end of a trend.” ⬇️

Rapid AI investment adds serious risk to an economy exposed to global supply-chain and geopolitical shocks. “There’s reason to think we’re seeing some of the same 2008 dynamics now,” says @bradlipton.bsky.social. Working families shouldn’t have to socialize the losses of another financial crisis.

Every new media merger gets sold as a win for jobs, audiences, and journalism. What follows instead is layoffs, debt, and a weaker press. That’s not a bug, it’s the system decades of market-first media policy has created. 🎯 from @karlbode.com—and more from us on our nation's journalism crisis ⬇️

#EqualPayDay is a reminder that the gender wage gap is not an accident. It is a policy choice, embedded in the rules of our economy. More than a century ago, Eleanor Roosevelt was already advocating for “equal pay for equal work.” That fight continues today. time.com/4295760/elea...

In a moment where it’s so clear that so much is broken, we have to get down to the studs on what our public institutions and policy are for. That’s true for taxes. This is a shared social project to fund our public goods, create broad social insurance, and rebalance power in our economy.

Amazing to me how sticky this reactionary argument is. Just like with public schools, not all childcare is equal. Those of us who believe in public schools think investing in improved quality is the answer, not dissolving the system & replacing it with vouchers. www.bloomberg.com/opinion/arti...

Recent Senate proposals for middle-class tax cuts respond to real pain. But as our CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social writes, they “don’t fundamentally interrupt wealth concentration or provide long-term relief.” We can’t hollow out our tax base if we want to fund robust, lasting public goods.

CRFB is searching for Social Security solvency in the wrong place. The problem isn’t retirees getting too much—it’s unchecked income inequality starving the system of revenue. Capping benefits isn’t reform; it’s a distraction from the real solution.

Your grocery bill should not be based on the personal data companies collect about you. Large retailers claim digital price labels reduce costs, but they can also enable surveillance pricing that charges people more.

NEW from me and @joeldodge07.bsky.social for @rooseveltinstitute.org / Vanderbilt Policy Accelerator: Trump is using the Defense Production Act to promote fossil fuel of a major donor. We show how it could instead be used to promote clean energy Abundance. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

NEW 📰 from @toddntucker.com and @joeldodge07.bsky.social: The Defense Production Act is one of the government’s most powerful tools. Trump just used it to promote fossil fuels, but policymakers could do the same to drive clean energy abundance. Read here: https://bit.ly/4uQwMGt

I vividly remember sitting through a House Financial services meeting last year where a Congressman stated that "America was fine before the creation of the CFPB." Amazing how quickly some people forget the pain of the past. And you know the old saying about those who can't remember the past....

A Senate inquiry launched yesterday will examine the largest for-profit childcare chains and their private equity owners. PE-backed care has consistently meant higher costs for families and lower wages for workers. Care should be a public responsibility, not a tradable asset for investors.

A new phase of gig work is taking shape. Workers are paid cents to film themselves doing everyday tasks, like laundry or cooking, not for customers but to train AI systems that could one day replace them. Without worker input, this low-paid, closely surveilled model could be the future of AI work.

#ICYMI: Our top stories of the week ✅ Our economy doesn’t have room to absorb the upcoming oil shocks ✅ We need to reimagine the social safety net ✅ @mayor.nyc.gov + @warren.senate.gov#ICYMIback universal childcare More in the #RooseveltRundown ⬇️ https://bit.ly/40Ipdnq

Workers and households are seeing the effects of weak job gains, sluggish activity, and in recent weeks, rising energy prices. Our Principal Economist, @mikemadowitz.bsky.social, is out with his new monthly explainer on why there’s little room for new shocks ⬇️

I'm so heartened & fired up that this piece from @mayor.nyc.gov & @warren.senate.gov on childcare is so aligned w/ @rooseveltinstitute.org 's research on how to build a public childcare system; from childcare as public infrastructure, to investing in childcare workers. tinyurl.com/4v3h2kk3

Childcare is a major strain on working families, making universal childcare one of the highest-return investments governments can make. @mayor.nyc.gov + @warren.senate.gov make that case in @usatoday.com: ~$20K back per child, higher workforce participation, and returns up to $13 per $1 invested.

Excited to announce the launch of my fellow, Jamie Keene's new report! The Social Security Act represent a template for a strong welfare state, one that continued to expand in scope until Reaganism upended the progress we had made. The work is not yet done. Keene explains how to get back on track.

The US “social safety net” wasn’t designed just as emergency aid. Under FDR’s New Deal, it was a power-balancing project meant to give ordinary people the economic freedom needed for democracy to function. Our new paper from Jamie Keene explains why we’ve lost that vision and how to rebuild it. 🧵

This is a jaw-dropping story of how big money financializes our economy at the working class’s expense. But it’s also a story of resistance. @amondry.bsky.social’s reporting for nonprofit @outliermedia.org on RealT sparked the city of Detroit’s lawsuit—and drew him the ire of the company’s CEO ⬇️

The administration is weighing a nearly $1B payout to cancel offshore wind projects that could power over a million homes. Once again, it is intervening in the economy not strategically, but through one-off corporate payouts that sideline the public interest in favor of its own political goals.

Check out the @wired.com spotlight on the devastating effects of the private equity firm turning Detroit housing into crypto tokens for distant investors. We talked to the folks in Detroit fighting this fight on behalf of their residents.

1/ For people who saw the *second* district court ruling about the CFPB last week, let me do a quick explainer on what happened, because it’s all getting pretty confusing! 🧵 thehill.com/regulation/c...

Must-read @wired.com reporting on RealToken—a crypto-driven, PE landlord that bought hundreds of Detroit homes and promised investor returns, but left tenants with fires, flooded basements, and broken plumbing. We’ve been working with Detroit tenants to show the cost of financialized housing 🧵 ⬇️

New in @fortune.com: your electricity bill isn’t rising for the reasons politicians say. Our Fellow @joshuamacey.bsky.social shows what’s behind skyrocketing prices—surging demand, massive grid spending, and a system that lets monopoly utilities profit from overspending. fortune.com/2026/03/17/e...

Accelerating wealth inequality is as much a political problem as an economic one. Nowhere is that more blatant than California, where billionaires are spending tens of millions and propping up Super PACs to block a 5% wealth tax. Extreme wealth = extreme influence over our politics.

The DOJ moved to settle its antitrust case with Live Nation/Ticketmaster while a jury was in court and states were ready to fight. The deal would let the company keep its stranglehold on nearly every major US concert venue. The administration's actions will keep ticket costs high for Americans.

Monopoly power enables corporate abuse of consumers. In the case of Live Nation, they're literally bragging about it.

Social Security's shortfall isn’t about demographics, as some would have you believe. The real issue is decades of rising income inequality, compounded by policy choices that have shrunk the share of wages that are taxed to pay for the program.