"... knowing how much of a burden [child care] is — it rivals mortgage & rent payments — to take away a lever that exists for affordability & offer no alternatives puts families who are already struggling in a really difficult spot." - @kcpeeks.bsky.social www.the74million.org/zero2eight/f...

"Increasing the total discretionary funding to $17.66 billion would expand subsidy access to 870,000+ additional children... who have never been able to fully utilize the program as the result of decades of insufficient funding." www.clasp.org/publications...

As moms are driving the growth in America's labor market, it's time for major investments in early childcare.

Head Start is a remarkable program, with outsized benefits, considering its limited $$$. Rural communities depend on it, but in our research on deserts, we found that ~1/2 have no access at all. A rule change cutting ed wages will make that crisis worse: www.americanprogress.org/article/amer...

Today, the Trump admin released a prelim change to Head Start that undermines a commitment to improve wages. It all but guarantees these educators will live in poverty - or be forced to leave the field, worsening already dire shortages. Listen for yourself: www.americanprogress.org/article/we-a...

The Trump admin today finalized a change to the federal child care subsidy program that risks further destabilizing programs & making care more costly for already-struggling families. Kids deserve a strong start in life, not a bet against their futures. Learn more (s/o @kcpeeks.bsky.social):

Women have made up the majority of nonfarm employed since February this year and since the pandemic mothers have been driving LFPR trends. Check out @kennedyandara.bsky.social and my new analysis: www.americanprogress.org/article/wome...

Happy International Workers’ Day! Labor struggles span a 100+ years - feeling especially crucial today amidst AI advancement, massive wealth inequality, political & economic volatility, & renewed barriers to democratic participation & representation. I'm so proud to be a union member & advocate.

Our own @aaronsojourner.org and @gabriellepepin.bsky.social contributed to this new work published by @americanprogress.bsky.social. Its a fascinating report and well worth your time. Be sure to give it a read. #econsky

46% of kids under 6 live in a licensed child care desert. That’s modest progress from the 51% in 2018, but millions of families are still without access. Explore the deserts in your community with our new map 📍 https://www.americanprogress.org/feature/child-care-deserts/

Child care is notoriously unaffordable. But parents also know that even if they can afford a program: sometimes it’s not possible to find one. Is your community a child care desert?

Justice Kagan: "I dissent. The Voting Rights Act is—or, now more accurately, was—'one of the most consequential, efficacious, and amply justified exercises of federal legislative power in our Nation's history.'

Check out @americanprogress.bsky.social updated Child Care Deserts report. Nearly 50% of children <6 still lack access to child care. Lots of great data in this report + a cool interactive to see if you live in a child care desert. Kudos to @haileygibbs.bsky.social @kcpeeks.bsky.social and team!

To power this, @gabriellepepin.bsky.social, Asst. Prof. Katharine Sadowski at Stanford, Won Lee at First 5 CA, & I collaborated with Dr. Gibbs to collect & harmonize provider data from state & fed sources & to compute measures. Great to see the @americanprogress.bsky.social team bring it to life!

A labor of love, w/ too many people to thank for their partnership & brilliance. New analysis: 👉 46% of kids < 6 still live in a licensed child care desert 👉 70% of kids in remote rural areas affected 👉 ~50% rural low-income families lack Head Start access www.americanprogress.org/article/amer...

S/o @olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social for this spectacular piece. www.bostonreview.net/articles/a-y...

In July, Trump enacted the largest cuts to food assistance in US history. Then he indefinitely cancelled the survey that measures hunger in America. Meanwhile, official data show the number of people who receive food assistance in America plummeting. Reminder: OBBBA took food from hungry children

"Between the megabill’s July 2025 enactment and December 2025 (the last month with data on all states), SNAP participation is down about 2.5 million people... and we expect that trend to continue." www.cbpp.org/research/foo...

My most liberal idpol radlib take is that I think it's pretty bad that right wing forces are actively intervening on behalf of the Klan with the full weight of the state legal apparatus

@haymarketbooks.org and I proudly present: Read Theory www.haymarketbooks.org/books/1867-e...

Mamdani: When I ran for mayor, I said I was going to tax the rich 
Well, today we're taxing the rich...

Federal child care policy has moved — slowly, imperfectly — toward stronger affordability protections for families. The copayment cap was one of those hard-won guardrails. Now, the Trump admin wants to overturn it. From yours truly & @kcpeeks.bsky.social: www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

Check out the latest from @profcew.bsky.social and me on the latest #JobsDay numbers. While the headline data is positive, the underlying data show persistent weakening in the labor market. #Econsky www.americanprogress.org/article/vola...

Postcard my wife’s grandma (who was an early childhood educator) sent in 1983!

Trump's tariffs are a hefty tax on small businesses, with the average small-business importer paying $306k in additional tariffs since March 2025. And in 15 states, that average is even higher. www.americanprogress.org/article/in-t...

New analysis highlights the failures of Trump's tariffs: ❌ Blue-collar jobs are down in almost every state ❌ Manufacturing job loss is equivalent to the closure of 2,800 average-size factories nationwide ❌The trade deficit hit historical highs in 2025 www.americanprogress.org/article/one-...

"When every interaction with the government begins with suspicion — when benefits arrive late, disappear without warning or require endless proof — people learn that institutions are not there to help them. They disengage. They stop applying." thehill.com/opinion/fina...

New jobs day analysis from @saraestep.bsky.social and me on the latest labor market data and how Trump's immigration policies are not delivering for native-born workers and hurting the overall health of the labor market #numbersday #econsky ⇣ www.americanprogress.org/article/immi...

“If you’re looking at trying to reduce the cost to families, the solution lies in how you’re going to subsidize it — there’s not much to do to run down the cost of child care,” - @haileygibbs.bsky.social @americanprogress.bsky.social #FundChildCare www.nytimes.com/2026/03/05/u...

"The policies of the Trump administration double down on the worst policy decisions of this period and will make typical families reliably poorer in the future, even if an outright recession or spiking inflation does not happen." www.epi.org/publication/...

The President boasts of "no tax on tips", but this expires in 2028. He boasts of "no tax on overtime," but it is taxed, and the break expires in 2028. He boasts of "no tax on social security," but it is taxed, and his break expires in 2028. He also passed tax cuts for the rich. They're permanent.

So roughly still 6X pre-surge, down from 16X, and planning for 3X long run.

Watch live: The @workingfamilies.org State of the Union Response, delivered by @summerlee.bsky.social:

What wasn't talked about: RFK Jr. dismantling public health, cutting medical research, letting diseases run rampant and making us all sicker. Get the facts on Trump, RFK Jr & public health w/ @beckyrparks.bsky.social @protectourcare.org: youtube.com/live/nwpGblE... #StateOfTheUnion #SOTU2026

so in conclusion, the state of the union is actually very bad because a man who tried to end democracy is using the government to personally enrich himself and his buddies while executing citizens and noncitizens alike

AN HOUR AND FORTY-SEVEN MINUTES that we'll never get back in our lives

How much is he getting for it?

suuuuper rapey language that just really set the tone for the night, you know?

Trump has the gall to call out others on corruption — and says he will be waging a so-called “war on fraud.” That’s the height of irony & absurdity, as Trump is overseeing the biggest corruption scams in US history, with unprecedented conflicts of interest. #SOTU @americanprogress.bsky.social

this is a strangely... graphic?... speech? like I'm being read the script to a B-rated wartime drama

trump, whose government killed protesters and then slandered them as domestic terrorists, is talking about how bad it is to kill protesters

Trump spinning the jobs numbers in SOTU. In fact, 2025 was the *worst* year for job creation outside of recent recessions in the past 20 years.

imagine being like "euh politics aren't really my thing" when brain rot personified is the head of state

The SAVE Act is a *voter suppression bill* that would create new barriers for married women, rural voters, and people without a passport for voting. We should be making it easier, not harder, for people to make their voices heard at the polls. www.americanprogress.org/article/the-...

here's a graph. it's just not possible to replace income taxes with tariffs. if you tried, the government would be out like $2 trillion per year lol