• In the throes of the coronavirus pandemic, US policymakers came together across both sides of the aisle and provided the American people with nearly $1 trillion in direct cash payments to help them make it through the emergency. Along with the expanded Child Tax Credit, these payments dramatically reduced poverty, stabilizing families and our economy during a time of unprecedented turbulence.

    January 31, 2024

  • Financing, Implementation & Policy Models
    Taxation of Capital Income Is Not Race Neutral

    The Internal Revenue Code generally does not refer to race or ethnicity, but federal income taxes may contribute to racial disparities when factors that affect tax liabilities are associated with race. Historically, it has been difficult to assess those effects because of the absence of data linking tax liabilities to race and ethnicity.

    September 28, 2023

  • Housing credit inflows are a substantial contributor to economic opportunity and vitality in a community. Due to historic inequities in housing policy and lending practices, mortgage capital can often be scarce in neighborhoods whose residents predominantly belong to racial and ethnic minority groups.

    August 31, 2023

  • Baby bonds are publicly funded child trust accounts that target children from low-wealth or low-income families. When the children reach adulthood, they can use the funds for wealth-building activities such as purchasing a home or starting a small business.

    August 28, 2023

  • Person-centered contraceptive access promotes reproductive autonomy, sexual wellbeing, menstrual regulation, and other preventive health measures. However, contraceptive access varies by social and geographic position, reflecting patterns in the US contraceptive access policy climate. State-level contraceptive access policies can enable access to family planning care, particularly for systemically marginalized and less socioeconomically advantaged groups, or conversely, may disproportionately disadvantage such communities.

    June 1, 2022

  • Getty Images

    As currently defined by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), Affirmatively Furthering Fair Housing (AFFH), part of the Fair Housing Act, has four goals: “a) addressing significant disparities in housing needs and in access to opportunity, b) replacing segregated living patterns with truly integrated and balanced living patterns, c) transforming racially and ethnica

    May 24, 2022

  • Opportunity Zones (OZ) were implemented by the federal government and some state and local governments in 2017 to attract new investments to distressed communities in urban and rural areas in the United States. The program offers tax incentives to private businesses for investing in OZ designated neighborhoods.

    April 1, 2022

  • For decades, Medicaid has provided virtually no-cost coverage to millions of Americans priced out of the private insurance market. Still, state legislators, policy analysts, and the popular press continue to question Medicaid’s value, particularly in relation to private coverage. Twelve states have not expanded Medicaid coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) framework despite the offer of federal funding to cover 90 percent of the costs associated with the additional enrollees.

    March 28, 2022

  • Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock

    February is a time to reflect on and honor contributions made by African Americans. It’s also a time to discuss the critical work we, as a society, should be doing year-round to address structural racism and its effect on Black communities.

    February 21, 2022

  • The US is experiencing a housing affordability crisis. Families that lack access to safe, affordable and stable housing face increased risk of eviction, especially in cities, where the rent burden is most severe. Research suggests that evictions worsen material hardship, can force families into lower-quality housing in more disadvantaged neighborhoods, and erode mental health.

    January 6, 2022

  • Twelve-Year Trends in US State-Level Contraceptive Access Policies

    Unfettered access to contraception is a critical component of reproductive autonomy. Allowing people to control choices related to their own childbearing and to independently plan their families results in improved economic, social, and health outcomes for people capable of pregnancy and their families, such as improved mental health and well-being, increased educational attainment and workforce participation, and financial stability.

    December 15, 2021