The rise in U.S. income inequality and the decline of the American middle class have skewed public policy toward the wishes of the rich and contributed to underinvestment in higher education.
State governments have a tremendous responsibility to help restore the promise of the American Dream, and can be part of the solution to rebuild a strong and growing middle class.
Studies show that providing legal status to undocumented immigrants will increase wages for American workers.
Basic math shows that President Obama’s proposed minimum-wage increase would have very little impact on U.S. businesses.
Increasing the minimum wage for all workers—particularly women who are the majority of low-paid workers—will markedly improve life for struggling American families.
We should adopt policies that help workers freely choose whether to organize if we want to strengthen organized labor and create a vibrant middle class.
Right-to-work laws weaken unions, lower middle-class income, and don’t reduce unemployment.
Charts
High levels of income inequality are strongly related to low levels of economic mobility and opportunity, as these graphs clearly show.
A series of graphs shows that high income inequality in the United States is strongly related to increased pessimism among Americans.
Strengthening organized labor is one of the most important steps to help rebuild our middle class.
Increased union membership is associated with higher income mobility, greater upward mobility, and lower downward mobility.
By advancing the interests of the middle class in the workplace and in our democracy, unions help build and strengthen the middle class.
Charts
In five charts, David Madland and Nick Bunker show that the middle class faces a number of economic challenges.
Recent studies show that increasing the minimum wage even during hard times is good policy, providing higher pay but no loss of jobs, say T. William Lester, David Madland, and Nick Bunker.
Boosting the minimum wage will be a particular boon to women and people of color, who make up a disproportionate share of minimum wage earners, argue David Madland and Nick Bunker.