The affordability crisis is solvable — it just takes political will, explains ESP Executive Director Taylor Jo Isenberg in @damemagazine.bsky.social.

Junk fees are on their way out in Illinois. You’ve probably come across these deceptive fees before. A “convenience fee” on your concert ticket. A “processing fee” on your hotel booking. A charge that appears at checkout that was never on the price tag.🧵⬇️

1/ Policy is downstream of culture. That's something I've believed for a long time — and sitting down with comedian, director, and Emmy and Peabody winner @wkamaubell.bsky.social at Guaranteed Income Now in Austin, TX last week, he gave me a sharper way to say it:

“We need to progress beyond analysis paralysis on whether AI comes for jobs & start to pursue 'no regret' policies that not only prepare Americans for a potential AI transition, but respond to the affordability crisis and instability already facing millions of Americans."

The Federal Reserve's independence is "a fiscal concern just as much as a democratic one," ESP's @mtkonczal.bsky.social told a House Oversight Committee roundtable on federal spending and the national debt today.

🚨HAPPENING NOW: ESP's Senior Director of Policy and Research @mtkonczal.bsky.social is at a House Oversight Committee roundtable, sharing recommendations on federal spending and the national debt. Watch here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xcrh...

#B&PCOutandAbout Tracy and Leila made their way out to Austin for #GINow! Surrounded by amazing partners like @economicsecurityproject.org, Community Change Action, + UpTogether, they celebrated cash wins, sharpened strategy, and connected with people to move #guaranteedincome from pilot to policy 💙

Chanelle Brown is a mother of two, pregnant with her third child, and a POWER-PAC Illinois parent leader with Community Organizing and Family Issues (COFI). And like forty percent of mothers who give birth in Illinois, she relies on Medicaid.🧵⬇️

1/ $160 and 9 hours. That’s what filing taxes costs the average American, not in taxes, in fees to private companies that have spent decades lobbying to keep the system complicated. 🧵⬇️ 🔗 economicsecurityproject.org/resource/the...

What do we owe the people whose work built the AI technology that’s transforming our economy? A new paper from ESP fellow Rayan Semery-Palumbo makes the case for Recovered Wages. That is, repayment for people’s contributions to society.

Inflation is making people nervous. ESP's @mtkonczal.bsky.social explains how rising costs are driving US consumer sentiment to record lows.

This week, ESP co-founder @nataliefoster.bsky.social delivered the keynote at the Michigan League for Public Policy's 2026 forum, with a clear-eyed argument: economic security and democracy are inseparable. Thanks to MLPP for convening this convo, and to all the other panelists who participated.

We need better, affordable healthcare for all. Instead, working families are getting stuck with higher costs + coverage losses. As the healthcare crisis continues to escalate, it's time to speak out against the #healthcareheist.

Huge congrats to FedScoop's Matt Bracken, whose profile of the ESP's Future of Tax Filing Fellows just earned a regional silver Azbee Award from ASBPE. 🏆

California leaders can set an agenda that includes requiring data centers to pay 100% of the infrastructure costs to serve them, as we detail in a recent memo written w/ @economicsecurityproject.org. Don’t have time to read the full memo? Here’s the TL;DR: techequity.us/2026/04/07/a...

We're thrilled to welcome Maggie-Leigh O'Neill as our newest childcare fellow! 🎉 She brings two decades of experience analyzing federal, state, and local policies and will co-author a policy and research brief on innovative solutions to advance universal public childcare during her time with ESP.

"Moms could tremendously benefit from [receiving cash] and take some of the burden off." That’s doula Raeshanda Payne reacting to Illinois’s NEST program, which would provide cash to expectant moms and newborns. Hear the full conversation for @wbez.org's "In the Loop" with host Sasha-Ann Simons.

Your energy bills keep going up, just like Earth’s temperature. What if we could make progress on both problems at once? 1/ #EarthDay

"Overall, it locks Democrats in and keeps locking them in further from being able to fund a government that can do all of the things that need to be done.” As lawmakers float tax proposals aimed at the middle class, ESP's @mtkonczal.bsky.social spoke w/@nytimes.com about what's really at stake.

ESP’s Director of Cash Initiatives, Shafeka Hashash, in @crainschicago.bsky.social: “It’s clear how cash has really bridged this bipartisan line. It’s so popular that everyone wants to jump on board.” 👇

Our new memo with @economicsecurityproject.org breaks down AI’s role in California’s affordability crisis and what we can do about it. Don’t have time to read the full memo? Here’s the TL;DR: techequity.us/2026/04/07/a...

ESP’s Becky Chao in today’s edition of Politico’s California Decoded newsletter (@politico.com):

Mayor Mamdani just announced plans to open a city-owned grocery store in East Harlem. 🛒 It’s a powerful step toward making life more affordable for New Yorkers. Cities like St. Paul, Atlanta and Venice, IL, are experimenting with #publicgrocery stores and and we are excited for its promise.

For too many families, the moment a child is born is also the moment financial pressure peaks. Income drops. Costs rise. What should be a time of bonding becomes a time of stress and uncertainty. 🧵

Excited for this report by my colleague Becky Chao to be out, on where to focus during the AI transition: social insurance, workers, competition, and prices. And also how: center immediate no-regret reforms, and then expand as we see what the full impact will be. Check it out!

In @nytimes.com, @hillaryclinton.bsky.social centers the affordability crisis and calls on policymakers to lead. We know what works: direct cash and tax credits like the #CTC and #EITC that put real cash back in people's pockets. The tools exist; it's time to scale them.

1/ Today, we released a new policy brief, "Ideas for Shared Economic Prosperity in the AI Transition," outlining concrete ideas for policymakers, researchers, and advocates to consider as we build toward an AI-powered economy that benefits us all. Let’s break down a few of them 🧵

In a new @nytimes.com op-ed, ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social breaks down how we can redirect FHLB lending towards multifamily construction, produce 200K new units a year, and get more Americans into homes – without any cost to taxpayers. Read more: www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/o...

We teamed up with @economicsecurityproject.org to write "AI & Affordability in California," in which we look at how algorithmic rent-fixing, data center energy costs, and surveillance pricing are driving up costs for Californians—and the policy solutions that can help. techequity.us/2026/04/01/a...

Why does it seem like our day-to-day tech is actually getting… shittier? Cory Doctorow calls this phenomenon enshittification, and tech firms are doing it because they can—because we didn’t stop them. @eff.org @economicsecurityproject.org @consumercal.bsky.social

The next generation of California leaders will take office at the dawn of a new technological age. From jobs to justice, AI is transforming society, and its use is already creating profound consequences for us all. techequity.us/2026/01/21/5...

Did you know hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits go unclaimed every year? Tax credits like the #CTC + #EITC put thousands back into families’ pockets, yet too many never receive what they qualify for. In LA County alone, nearly $500 million is left on the table each year. 1/

1) When we outsource what makes us human—our ability to think, learn, and love—to technology, that’s a political, economic, and spiritual collapse waiting to happen. @nataliefoster.bsky.social @economicsecurityproject.org

Why did tech firms "enshittify" their products? Because they can. We joined @techequity.bsky.social, @consumercal.bsky.social & @eff.org to talk with @doctorow.pluralistic.net on how market consolidation drives enshittification — making platforms worse for everyone but shareholders.

Today in SF: “AI Economy: who wins, who loses, and who decides” Inspiring chat between @chrismurphyct.bsky.social and @catherinebracy.com hosted by @techequity.bsky.social and @nataliefoster.bsky.social @economicsecurityproject.org Nice to hear a politician openly argue for breaking up big tech

Do you know how much the wage gap costs women every year? Nearly $14K. Enough to cover 3 months of groceries, 3 months of childcare, and 3 months of gas. And for Black, Latina, and Native American women, the gap is even bigger. #EqualPayDay

1/ Today is the 16th anniversary of the #AffordableCareAct, but instead of celebrating progress, millions of Americans are feeling the squeeze.

ESP’s @mtkonczal.bsky.social joined The Majority Report to unpack why economic frustration remains high, even as unemployment stays low, inflation cools, and wages rise. 🔗 www.youtube.com/live/nxYhhO_...

“Wealthy people should pay a fairer share than they are paying now.” On @nytimes.com, @govpritzker.illinois.gov makes the case for tax fairness. In IL, that includes strengthening proven tools like the #ChildTaxCredit and #EarnedIncomeTaxCredit that put money directly back into people’s pockets.

In her closing remarks on the Open to Debate stage, Dr. Rumman Chowdhury, who debated alongside @c-hughes.bsky.social, makes the case for a better future of work—one where technology helps enable a more dignified future, where people have choice and upward mobility. www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lij...

Grocery prices keep climbing — and when private stores shut their doors, communities are left with fewer options at even higher costs. Join ESIL’s Erion Malasi @localprogress.bsky.social on March 19 to explore what public grocery models could look like. Register: us06web.zoom.us/meeting/regi...

ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social argues that as AI transforms the economy, the real question isn’t whether work will become obsolete — but whether we build policies that expand choice, opportunity, and dignity for all workers. The full Open to Debate discussion: www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lij...

"The more time that we spend focused on the siren song of a jobless, workless future is less time that we focus on the practical project of figuring out how to smooth the transition for the workers who will need our help the most." ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social on the Open to Debate stage.

What do the rich owe the rest of us? Join us at UC Berkeley on March 10 (4:00–5:30pm) for a conversation on taxation, inequality, and democracy featuring Brian Galle, Ray Madoff, Emmanuel Saez, and Vanessa Williamson, moderated by Aaron Horvath. More details and registration here:

ESP’s Mary Durden recently traveled to Colombia and India as part of a delegation organized by Dalberg and the Institute of International Education, sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, to learn how governments and communities in the Global South are reimagining care as a public good.

💡 A fresh brief from @economicsecurityproject.org shows what the evidence is actually telling us about guaranteed income (GI) and work — and it debunks common myths with real data from California’s pilots: economicsecurityproject.org/resource/gua...

Why does your savings account pay you almost nothing in interest, but your bank quietly earns billions from the Fed? ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social + Josh Younger argue in a new report that this isn't neutral 'central bank plumbing', it's a hidden subsidy to big banks, funded by taxpayers.

We’re hiring! 🚀 Join the Economic Security Illinois team as our Illinois Coalition & Campaigns Senior Manager and help turn bold ideas into real policy wins. Apply at economicsecurityproject.org/careers/

Grocery budgets are tighter. Health costs are rising. Families are scrambling. All to fund tax breaks for the rich and corporations. Tune in NOW to hear from working folks across the country break down the REAL state of the union. 🔗 www.youtube.com/@familiesove...

Today, 4 companies — Amazon, Netflix, Disney, and Max — control nearly 80% of the streaming market. And when that few players control that much of a market, they don't have to compete for your dollar anymore. They just raise prices. See how we got here and what it'll take to fix it 🧵👇🏼