The Virginia Supreme Court made headlines last month for screwing over our democracy—but screwing over working people and defending entrenched power is nothing new for them. @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social and I wrote about it for @ballsandstrikes.org. ballsandstrikes.org/guest-essay/...

The disillusioned - everybody who’s been left behind by our current systems - are what we got into this work for. The good news? They still think government has a major role to play in making life better. The challenge: Let’s earn back their trust by delivering for working people.

So many of us are focused on authoritarian push back. But saying no isn’t enough. What would it look like if we made sure government worked for people, that it had the tools to drive the economy toward the common good and deliver the building blocks of a good life to working people? Check it out.

Sharp piece from @joeldodge07.bsky.social making the case for “public factories” as a response to monopoly power. When a few firms control production, supply gets squeezed, prices rise, and markets alone cannot correct themselves. But building out public industrial capacity can.

Great conversation between @sjshancoxli.liberalcurrents.com and our CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social on why progressives should be in favor of a strong tax base to support a strong social democracy, rather than chase austerity or tax-cut politics that ultimately hollow out public capacity. 🎙️⬇️

NEW 📣: Applications are open for our #GoodLife Residents Program on housing policy! Led by @resnikoff.bsky.social, the cohort will develop bold policy ideas to expand housing supply and address the real constraints on building, from costs to materials to financing. Learn more and apply by June 1 ⬇️

I got the chance to talk to some extraordinary leaders in Atlanta a few weeks ago - people who are fighting for everyone to be able to live a good life, not just the few, against significant odds. In MLK’s hometown, it was inspiring to see the radical fighting spirit alive and well.

This week is “Stop the Healthcare Heist Week of Action,” a direct response to a crisis of healthcare affordability amid cuts to Medicaid and ACA marketplace coverage. With 1.2 million already forced off their health insurance, we’re seeing the blueprint for a massive medical debt trap. 🧵

Shrinking local Social Security service is forcing people in some parts of the country to drive more than 2 hours just to reach an office. And the benefits they rely on feel less secure than ever. People are paying for this administration’s “downsizing” of Social Security with their time and money.

Delighted to see @mbmaxwell.bsky.social and Workshop out with a new substack, full throatedly making the case that there are two sides of the affordability coin. We can’t forget about wages and worker power. open.substack.com/pub/workshop...

The billionaire money fighting California’s proposed wealth tax shows how fast extreme wealth translates into outsized political power in this country. Great piece from the incomparable @rbreich.bsky.social, citing our research on how billionaire political influence has surged post-Citizens United.

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The @nytimes wanted to talk about why blue states are losing population to red states. Besides getting the story wrong, the question misses the point: We should be asking what kind of policy and governance can deliver on the lives people want to lead?

I’ve been doing a lot “around town” these days, but I’m most excited to be in Atlanta next week with GA Tech students and others talking about how we build a people powered future together.

It sure sounds like New York is building the kind of people powered policymaking @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social wrote about here: democracyjournal.org/magazine/78/... !!

Great work by @rooseveltinstitute.org @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Great questions here: "I saw a chart yesterday about the labor market and thought distinctly, “It doesn’t matter if we are in a recession or not, damage is done.” It made me wonder about the power that the word “recession” has." open.substack.com/pub/kedsecon...

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

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.

1/ An alliance between Trump and the crypto industry means that people will soon be able to use crypto instead of cash for mortgage down payments. This threatens to inject a *lot* of volatility into the housing market. And just remember who is on the hook for that…🧵 www.coinbase.com/blog/coinbas...

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

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.

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.

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.

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

Super thoughtful piece by @jamellebouie.net about recent tax proposals to exempt the middle class. Well meaning, but stuck in a neoliberal frame about the purpose of taxes that we'll have to move beyond in order to enable everyone to live a #GoodLife. 1/3 www.youtube.com/watch?v=MXZv...

The DOJ's actions in the LN/Ticketmaster are outrageous. First, behavioral remedies (i.e. settlements) are, in most instances, designed to fail; we have to get at the heart of the structural problem - the monopoly power this company wields. 1/2

This is a huge oil shock and we’re, once again, seeing appropriate levels of panic, and some policy response. The world is losing ~14 million barrels of oil per day in the short term—that’s very hard to make up. Here’s what else I’m seeing 10 days into this 🧵

Who profits from a supersized ICE? @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social, @bedoyausa.bsky.social and @ksabeelrahman.bsky.social break down how corporations benefit from a massively expanded detention and deportation apparatus. 🎥 Watch the video: www.firesidestacks.com/p/how-compan... #FiresideStacks🔥

The @federalreserve.gov just granted a crypto company—Kraken—access to its public payment services for the first time. More evidence that crypto’s success is not as an *alternative* to the existing financial system but to capture the existing payment infrastructure. www.wsj.com/finance/regu...

@mayor.nyc.gov is an inspiration of progressive governance: Big ideas that truly reshape economic power in favor of people, and government that delivers. Can't wait to see what NYC builds next.

Talk is cheap - and we’ve seen this admin do a lot of talking. When I see them go after a company using monopsony power to squeeze workers even though it’s politically costly for them because it’s the right thing to do, then maybe I’ll start paying attention.

At tonight’s SOTU, Trump will toss out cherry-picked numbers. But they miss the point. The real question is simple: are working people better off than a year ago? On what shapes daily life—prices, paychecks, and job security—the answer is no. 🧵

At #SOTU, the president touted big numbers—but for most Americans, the real economy is still falling short. Delivering a #GoodLife requires public power that actually changes the rules, invests at scale, and is enforced—not just announced. Our CSO Allison Zelman breaks it down ⬇️

@wsj.com is the leading voice for business interests, but lately even it can’t deny how unequal our economy is. Corporate profits and billionaire wealth are soaring while millions struggle to afford basics. This is no longer activist rhetoric—it’s the market verdict on a system tilted to capital.

There’s a huge gap between the populist rhetoric and the oligarchic reality. @rooseveltinstitute.org did a split screen on the world this admin is creating vs the one we could have if we used public power for good. What would the SOTU be like if policy were aimed at creating a #GoodLife for people?

Ideas don’t implement themselves: Change starts by investing in people. Proud to launch Roosevelt Society’s DC Mid-Career Community last night — supporting leaders mid-way into their careers who are ready to shape what comes next. Thanks Ambassador Katherine Tai, for the inspiring conversation!

Social insurance isn't just a safety net, it's a core part of the social contract - what holds together the uneasy alliance of an economic system that creates winners and losers with a political system in which everyone has to be empowered enough to meaningfully participate.

@robertpjones.bsky.social speaking truth. Our research shows an explosion of spending that distorts policy outcomes regardless of party affiliation. There is a bipartisan drift toward serving the top rather than the people.

President and CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social talks with @bedoyausa.bsky.social and @ksabeelrahman.bsky.social about Trump 2.0’s deportation regime, protests from Minnesota and beyond, and how ICE ballooned into an $85B agency. Who profits from the detention boom? #FiresideStacks🔥 Listen here:

Who knew this could get worse. Sorry dad.

Plenty of CFPB news in the past year. I get it if people have lost the plot. But @reporterev.bsky.social's scoop today about the “slashing” of CFPB bank exams, which is *arguably the biggest thing the agency does,* is worth paying attention to 🧵 bit.ly/4k7X3uN1/8

Let's be clear: The nomination of Kevin Warsh to lead the Fed threatens harm to American workers and families. The subdued market reaction isn’t an endorsement—w/o a majority of FOMC votes, he'd be unlikely to shift policy significantly. bit.ly/49PZleT My take 👇

Little known fact: One of the first things Francis Perkins did was defund and restructure immigration enforcement to dismantle a goon squad and rebuild a system of humane immigration processing.

ICE isn’t just brutal. It’s also big business. From 2008 to 2021 ICE spent *$1.2 billion* on geolocation tracking, $561M on data analysis, $252M on government databases, and $97M on data brokers. Most of that went to companies who will lobby for this system to stay in place.

Affordability is at the center of people’s needs and today's politics. Our President & CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social highlights @mayor.nyc.gov as an exemplar for tackling care, housing, and wages by listening and using a people-first approach to policymaking. https://bit.ly/4t2IZXO

"Another vibe shift is underway—the vibes are still bad, but they’re starting to come from a weak job market more than high inflation." Some insights on how workers are doing...1/

New from me: A brief for @rooseveltinstitute.org on the logic of YIMBY policymaking and its applicability to other domains. What principles underlying the YIMBY agenda are transferrable to thinking about energy, healthcare, and other areas? Short 🧵 to follow. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

This is what an economy set up for extraction rather than for people looks like. What are the places and spaces that make for a #GoodLife? And how do we write rules that incentivize markets to create them, rather than extract from all of us? That's the work.

MIT found that 95% of AI pilots fail. Deployment with no plan - and no consultation with the workers who know the jobs - isn't good for anyone. Here's a feel good story about how unions can stand up for worker voice, and ultimately, for a better product and greater productivity for everyone.