Paid Parental Leave Should Not Exclude Any Parents. Period.
Minnesota just passed a paid parental leave program. But the plan has no minimum benefit and entirely excludes all new parents who did not earn $3,500 in the 12 months leading up to birth.
197 Articles by: Matt Bruenig
Matt Bruenig is the founder of People’s Policy Project.
As We Fight for a Bigger Welfare State, We Should Avoid the Ghent System
Many Nordic countries use the “Ghent” unemployment system, where unions rather than the state administer benefits. Some on the Left have applauded this approach — but leftists in the US would do well to avoid it.
What Makes a Consumption Tax Regressive?
It’s complicated.
Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar’s End Child Poverty Act Is a Political and Policy Home Run
US reps. Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar just introduced the End Child Poverty Act, which would set up a universal child benefit. It’s a major improvement on previous proposals to help poor and working-class families — and would instantly slash child poverty.
The Solution to AI-Driven Job Displacement Is a Robust Welfare State
The idea that AI will wipe out all our jobs is generating lots of apocalyptic headlines these days. It’s no surprise why: in a society without an egalitarian welfare state and pro-worker policies, labor reallocation can be a disaster.
Universal Free School Lunch Is an Absolute No-Brainer
Public school in the US is already provided universally, free of charge. There’s no reason we shouldn’t provide free lunch to every child at school as well.
It’s Still Incredibly Common for Americans to Be Uninsured
The typical measure of Americans without health insurance underreports how many people are going without coverage. Examining how many people go without insurance in a given year reveals that over 20 percent of Americans have gone uninsured in recent years.
The “Equality vs. Equity” Distinction Doesn’t Explain What Matters for Social Justice
The nonprofit jargon of “equity” isn’t helping us tackle basic questions of how to live in a better, more equal society.
Every State-Level Parental Leave Program in the US Is Horrendous
Thanks to exclusionary work history requirements, the 12 state parental leave programs in the US make one in three women ineligible for benefits on average. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Passing Universal Pregnancy Coverage Is a No-Brainer
The US health care system forces new parents to pay thousands of dollars simply to have their child delivered into the world. That’s absurd. We could easily make childbirth free for all.
New York’s New Child Tax Credit Proposal Is a Means-Tested Disaster
A laudable effort to consolidate tax credits in New York State is hampered by policymakers’ obsession with means testing.
In Just One Year, Starbucks Workers Have Won 267 Union Elections
A year ago today, Starbucks workers in Buffalo, New York, voted to unionize. Since then the campaign has exploded nationwide, with an impressive 267 Starbucks locations now unionized.
The Child Tax Credit Can Be a Poverty-Fighting Machine
The Child Tax Credit expansion last year lifted several million children out of poverty, before Democrats failed to extend it. Now Congress is debating the policy again — and this time they have the chance to ensure even more children receive the benefit.
Even After Dobbs, Abortions Still Haven’t Plummeted
The Supreme Court ruling overturning Roe v. Wade was a blow to reproductive rights. But fortunately, new data suggest that most of those seeking abortions still seem to be getting them.
Universal Benefits Are Actually Cheaper Than Means-Tested Ones
The argument that means-tested welfare programs reduce inequality and poverty more than non-means-tested programs is based on an accounting trick. Universal benefits are the best and cheapest way to alleviate poverty.
“Raising the Retirement Age” for Social Security Just Means Cutting Benefits
GOP leaders say they want to raise the Social Security retirement age. That’s just a deceptive way of saying they want to cut benefits — punishing nonwealthy Americans while leaving untouched the massive government spending on tax shelters for the rich.
Yes, the US Still Has a Child Poverty Problem
The New York Times released a big story this week declaring that child poverty has plummeted over the last thirty years. But their numbers are misleading: unlike social democratic countries, the US is still plagued by sky-high child poverty.
Build Back Better Wasn’t So Great
Moderates claim that Biden’s BBB failed because it simply “went too far.” The truth is that even if it had passed, it would have excluded scores of working families.
The Starbucks Union Drive Is Slowing Down but Still Moving Forward
A year ago, nobody would have expected that thousands of US Starbucks workers would unionize. But they have. The pace of Starbucks workers’ victories slowed slightly last month, but the union is still rolling on.
Joe Biden Has Barely Expanded the Welfare State
Remember all that talk of Joe Biden being the next FDR? Going into the midterms, the most he’s going to deliver is one minor tweak to the welfare state — hardly the sweeping measures to help workers and the poor that we were promised.