Building an Economy for All

Economic growth must be built on the foundation of a strong and secure middle class so that all Americans benefit from growth.

A child holds hands with her father and mother, January 12, 2020. (Getty/The Washington Post/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

What We're Doing

Investing in a stronger and more equitable economy

We must continue to invest in research, technology, and innovation in a manner that ensures participation and benefits communities that are too often left behind. Only through such an approach can the United States remain at the cutting edge in an increasingly competitive global market.

Strengthening worker power and economic mobility

We need to increase wages, reduce poverty among working families, increase worker power, and create pathways to economic mobility for all.

Raising the floor for basic living standards

Working toward a stronger and more equitable economy for everyone involves rebuilding, expanding, and strengthening America’s social safety net to make it more comprehensive in eligibility and services as well as more flexible in how it can be accessed and used.

Creating a new social compact with business

A new social compact with business includes a regulatory vision that better aligns investors, companies, and the public interest on critical matters such as climate, workers’ rights, and equality.

By the numbers

134K

An estimated 134,000 families are pushed into poverty each year by child care expenses.

CAP, “Child Care Expenses Push an Estimated 134,000 Families Into Poverty Each Year” (2024).

85%

The number of businesses grew in 85 percent of counties between 2019 and 2023.

CAP, “Entrepreneurship, Startups, and Business Formation Are Booming Across the U.S.” (2024).

10%

An estimated 10 percent wage premium is experienced by union members compared with similar nonunion members.

CAP, “4 Ways Unions Make Our Economy and Democracy Stronger” (2024).

54%

Permanently extending the Trump tax cuts would increase the fiscal gap by 54 percent.

CAP, “Permanently Extending the Trump Tax Cuts Would Increase Upward Pressure on the Debt Ratio by More Than 50 Percent” (2024).

Recent work

Latest

Compact View

11th National Gun Violence Prevention Summit Upcoming Event

11th National Gun Violence Prevention Summit

Join CAP for a summit featuring speeches and discussions by leading advocates of the gun violence prevention movement.

Center for American Progress - Online

American Leadership in AI, Science, and Innovation: A Conversation With Sen. Mark Kelly Upcoming Event

American Leadership in AI, Science, and Innovation: A Conversation With Sen. Mark Kelly

Join the Center for American Progress for a conversation with Sen. Mark Kelly (D-AZ) as part of CAP’s “What’s Next: Conversations on the Path Forward” series.

Center for American Progress & Online (1333 H St. NW Washington DC 20005)

A New Economic Patriotism: A Conversation With Rep. Ro Khanna Upcoming Event
Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) at the U.S. Capitol on December 4, 2024, Washington, D.C. (Getty/Tom Williams)

A New Economic Patriotism: A Conversation With Rep. Ro Khanna

Please join the Center for American Progress for a conversation with Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA) as part of the “What's Next: Conversations on the Path Forward” series.

Center for American Progress and online via Zoom

Congress Must Place Guardrails Around Crypto Markets Article
Capitol building reflected upside in water against a dark sky

Congress Must Place Guardrails Around Crypto Markets

Congress must pass legislation that ensures crypto markets are subject to the same types of safeguards for consumers, investors, and the financial system that govern other capital markets.

Alexandra Thornton

Why Democrats Won the Shutdown In the News

Why Democrats Won the Shutdown

In an op-ed published by The Wall Street Journal, Neera Tanden discusses why Democrats were right to fight for health care subsidies during the government shutdown.

The Wall Street Journal

Neera Tanden

7 Ways the Big Beautiful Bill Cuts Taxes for the Rich Article
A pair walks past a large superyacht.

7 Ways the Big Beautiful Bill Cuts Taxes for the Rich

Overall, the Big Beautiful Bill will harm poor Americans and raise the incomes of rich Americans—driving gains for the rich through cuts to marginal tax rates and the estate tax, along with tax breaks for businesses, business owners, and investors.

Corey Husak

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