With #ACA subsidies now expired and healthcare costs surging, many LGBTQ+ people and women are being forced into impossible choices: draining savings, delaying retirement, taking second jobs, or risking going uninsured altogether. @19thnews.org highlights a few of their stories ⬇️

1/ California leads the nation with 60+ #guaranteedincome pilots, and the data is clear: cash doesn't discourage work, it enables it. Participants got full-time jobs at DOUBLE the rate of control groups. 🧵⬇️

Teri Olle, VP at Economic Security California, underscores the urgent stakes of AI policy, asking who gets to decide what this technology means for people, and who it will serve. ✍️ @nathanheller.bsky.social in the @newyorker.com 🔗 www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...

1/ If the economy is “doing well,” why are so many people still struggling? ESP’s @mtkonczal.bsky.social joins The Jacob Shapiro Podcast to explain why topline economic indicators like cooling inflation or GDP often miss how people actually experience the economy. 🧵

When wholesale power prices spike like this, utility companies don’t absorb the cost. It gets passed on to consumers. That means even higher electricity bills for families and small businesses during extreme weather events.👇

President Trump’s sudden turn to affordability policies reflects a growing recognition that the admin's economic message isn’t landing. “They’re scrambling to find things to do," explains ESP's @mtkonczal.bsky.social. https://bit.ly/3YXHQmE

📅 Tax season opens TODAY!! 🧵Big wins don’t happen overnight. They’re built through years of organizing, coalition‑building, and centering the needs of families. ⬇️

Cancer patients forced to change doctors mid-treatment. Parents skipping birthday parties. Small business owners closing their doors. That’s the reality people shared in a @nytimes.com piece on rising #healthcare costs due to the expiration of #ACA subsidies.

President Trump's OBBBA slashed $1T from healthcare to fund tax breaks for billionaires. His new healthcare "plan" continues the attack on working families by letting premiums skyrocket while stripping protections from people. Americans need economic relief—not empty promises.

Congrats to ESP’s @harishipatel.bsky.social on his appointment to Illinois’ Employment Security Advisory Board by @govpritzker.illinois.gov. He'll work alongside labor, community, business, and policy leaders to make unemployment insurance more inclusive and responsive for workers and families.

One point I think is important is that even if SCOTUS and Republican Senators hold the line on Fed independence, Unitary Executive powers means Trump can de facto do monetary policy. e.g., he'll likely have control over bank regs and thus financial market conditions, an important monetary conduit.

ESP’s @mtkonczal.bsky.social explains why President Trump’s escalating attacks on the Federal Reserve are about far more than interest rates or building renovations. They’re a test of whether economic decisions will be made in the public interest—or dictated by presidential pressure.

America now has a $200B investment bank that deploys public capital abroad. In a new @foreignpolicy.com article, @c-hughes.bsky.social explains how it can shape global markets and why, without strong guardrails, the Trump admin could misuse it to benefit private actors and weaken institutions.

#AB325 and #SB53 are officially CALIFORNIA LAW. As of Jan 1, CA has strengthened protections against algorithmic price-fixing, authorized #CalCompute to broaden access to #AI infrastructure, and put transparency and safety rules in place. This is what standing up for a fair economy looks like. 1/

The state of California is facing a mixed financial outlook at a moment when families are already struggling with rising costs. But we've proven what's possible when government takes bold action— and we need to bring that same courage to how we build an economy that works for everyone. 1/

Yesterday, something remarkable happened in the House of Representatives. 17 Congressional Republicans broke ranks with their leadership to join Democrats to extend #AffordableCareAct tax credits for 3 years. Months ago, this outcome seemed impossible. 1/

Big News for New York Families. 👏 Governor Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani just announced a free childcare program for 2-year-olds in NYC and a plan to expand universal Pre-K statewide. 1/

1/ 🚗Come on the Road to Affordability with us! Over the past few months, we traveled across Illinois to hear how the #affordability crisis is impacting people’s lives — from the fairgrounds of Springfield to a community center in Chicago, to a powerful example of what’s possible in Venice. 🧵

ESP’s Director of Policy & Research, Becky Chao, joins @liberalcurrents.com to talk about our #Affordability Framework—a tool for understanding why life has become so unaffordable. 🎧 Listen here: youtu.be/Dguyt1nbY5M 📖 Learn more about our Framework: economicsecurityproject.org/resource/aff...

📣 We’re hiring a Senior Program & Research Manager, Cash Initiatives. If you enjoy turning strategy into action, synthesizing complex research, and working alongside policy leaders to advance economic justice — this role is for you. 💰 $96,000–$119,000 🔗 economicsecurityproject.org/careers

Welcome, Loyal Terry, to the team as our new Legislative Advocate! He comes to us from Asm Aguiar-Curry's office, where he staffed AB 325 — legislation ESCAA co-sponsored to ban algorithmic price-fixing. He'll drive our leg agenda in Sacramento on GI, responsible AI, and curbing corporate power.

Paul Wieland just wanted to use his garage door on his own terms. What he ran into was a much bigger fight — a monopoly on repair and use, as companies use software, servers, and subscriptions to change how products work after purchase. #RightToRepair

Public options work. LA’s fee-free banking has helped 38,000 families. North Dakota’s public bank has reinvested $1B back into the state. Illinois deserves the same chance—to keep dollars in workers’ pockets and reinvest in our communities. ESIL Director Sarah Saheb lays out how 👇

ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social breaks down why Trump Accounts won’t fix widening wealth + income inequality. Families need equitable, well-designed cash policies paired with real investment in the foundations of a good life—not surface-level fixes.

“What’s being sold isn’t empowerment. It’s an illusion.” In @forbes.com, ESP board member Aisha Nyandoro unpacks how 50-year mortgages trap Black families in interest-heavy debt while draining the wealth homeownership should create.

“In a recent paper for the ESP, Becky Chao and Mike Konczal document that Americans generally become parents when their earnings have yet to achieve mid-career levels” — leaving young families financially squeezed. Tax credits like the #CTC & #EITC can help address this structural gap.

Rich people are spending. Everyone else is cutting corners. Scoville Fellow '10 Taylor Jo Isenberg of the @economicsecurityproject.org comments in @usatoday.com . www.usatoday.com/story/money/...

The richest 10 Americans made $698B last year alone. @oxfamamerica.bsky.social's new report lays out how we got here and how we can reverse course and build an economy that works for everyone. www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/rese...

NEW: Economic Security Project Executive Director Taylor Jo Isenberg comments on historic numbers from Moody's in @usatoday.com. A near-majority of consumer spending in the U.S. economy now comes from the top 10% of earners—highlighting the daily precarity the other 90% face.

Prices are still rising. Families are still struggling. And the policies coming out of the White House are making it worse. “Mr. Trump has pursued policies, starting with tariffs, that are making the problem worse by making life in America less affordable.”

Cook County just made history. With its 2026 budget, the County becomes the first in the nation to make #guaranteedincome permanent, putting money directly back into families’ pockets. ESIL is proud to partner on this nation-leading effort.

Meta’s acquisitions of Instagram and WhatsApp helped define today’s social media landscape—and this decision shows how difficult it is to unwind consolidation years later. 1/ 🔗 www.businessinsider.com/meta-wins-ft...

BIG news: A federal lawsuit says construction equipment companies used shared software to fix prices nationwide – and it points to California’s AB 325 as the GOLD STANDARD for stopping it. 1/

“It’s typically not a goal of policymakers to pass on mortgage debt to a borrowers’ children.” - @mtkonczal.bsky.social on the 50-year mortgage in the @apnews.com.

On @cnbc.com's Squawk Box, ESP Board Chair and Co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social describes the industrial policy we need: “Give an institution a clear mission, and work with Congress to streamline that, rather than just do one deal here or there because your buddy called you up.”

President Trump’s economy runs on deals, not strategy—ad hoc bargains that expand presidential power without building public capacity.

“The bottom line here is that the gov't built something that people liked, but that doing so upset the private industry...so now the Trump admin is bending to the power and influence of that industry at the expense of the American people,” explains ESP's Adam Ruben.

A new Treasury report confirms it: the Trump admin has officially killed the IRS #DirectFile tool—free, fast, and loved by taxpayers—handing a massive win to billion-dollar tax prep companies at the expense of the American people. Read more 👇

The votes are in and the result is clear: it’s time to make life affordable for everyone. From New York to Virginia, voters elected leaders who took the rising cost of living seriously and offered concrete solutions rooted in the realities of their communities. 1/

Child care is a key driver of the affordability crisis squeezing families nationwide. We applaud New Yorkers United for Child Care & United Neighborhood Houses for their #2CareForAll Blueprint—a roadmap to universal, public childcare that builds on NYC’s progress and shows what’s possible.

As the federal government rolls back enforcement of the Fair Housing Act, attempts to deregulate AI (even threatening state laws), and lays off thousands of federal workers, it’s important to stay grounded in our vision of an equitable tech economy. In 2025, that’s exactly what we did.

Congressional Republicans’ cuts to ACA subsidies and Medicaid will make healthcare more expensive for 22M Americans. ESP’s @mtkonczal.bsky.social broke down what’s at stake on CSPAN. WATCH 👇

1/💬 In a New York Times op-ed, ESP President Natalie Foster called out Congressional Republicans’ healthcare plan for what it is: a raw deal for Gen Z and working Americans.🧵

Today @economicsecurityproject.org released its Affordability Framework by Becky Chao and myself. As affordability remains central to economic debates, it's helpful to step back to see the key drivers of the crisis and build a theory of the case. /1 economicsecurityproject.org/resource/aff...

1/ Most people are not judging the state of the economy by GDP—they’re judging it by the cost of their weekly groceries or rent. We’re living through an affordability crisis, and today, we’re releasing a framework to help make sense of this reality + chart a different path forward.

1/ Starting Jan 1, insulin will be available for just $11 a pen in CA – a game changer for people with diabetes who now spend an average of $169 a month on insulin, thanks to #CalRx. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

Nearly 2M Californians could see their healthcare costs double, and 400K families could lose coverage as ACA tax credits expire. It’s a blow to working families stretched thin and a consequence of this summer’s tax law that prioritized tax breaks for the wealthy over healthcare affordability.

Join Civic Health Alliance and Doctors for America for a special webinar: “Storytellers for Resistance: Healthcare Advocacy Post H.R.1" Register at tinyurl.com/59y6y64f We hope to see you there! @drsforamerica.bsky.social @economicsecurityproject.org @healthcarevoices.org

Cook County is making history. President Toni Preckwinkle’s 2026 budget makes the nation’s largest #guaranteedincome program permanent — putting $ directly in the pockets of working families. ESIL is proud to partner on this nation-leading effort. 🔗 economicsecurityproject.org/news/cook-co...

Michigan just showed what it looks like to invest in families. A $270M state budget boost will expand #RxKids tenfold, reaching 30K babies a year👏👏👏 🔗 www.michiganpublic.org/health/2025-...