Departments

Economic Policy

We work to address the deep inequities in our economy to ensure that all Americans can live secure and stable lives.

Workers install visors into a new SUV on an assembly line in Kentucky. (Getty/Bill Pugliano)

What We're Doing

Building an economy for all

We need a new social compact with business that reenvisions their obligations to society on issues such as environmental and climate matters, economic opportunity for workers, paying their fair share in taxes, and racial equality in the pursuit of more equitable, sustainable growth.

Expanding worker power

We work to ensure executive actions and legislation promote high-quality jobs, increase worker power, and raise standards for government contract workers. As part of this effort, we are pushing for higher wages and strengthening workers’ voices in their workplaces.

Lifting families out of poverty

We seek to ensure that every American who works a full-time job can live a life of dignity and that all Americans can rely on strong and stable support programs when they need them. This includes expanding and streamlining vital programs, increasing wages, and creating economic mobility for all. 

 

Championing a new social compact

We need a new social compact with businesses that reimagines their obligations to society on issues such as environmental and climate matters; paying their fair share in taxes; economic opportunity for workers; and racial equality in the pursuit of more sustainable, innovative growth.

 

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What Is Private Credit and Why Should Americans Care? Article
A curved glass facade and a flat glass facade flank a stone part of the building that has the agency's seal.

What Is Private Credit and Why Should Americans Care?

The Trump administration proposal to encourage investment of retirement plans in alternative assets such as private credit, private equity, and cryptocurrency would increase risks to the savings of ordinary Americans. A closer look at private credit helps explain why.

Alexandra Thornton, Devesh Kodnani

Beyond Billionaires: Small Business, Taxes, and Who’s Rich in America Past Event

Beyond Billionaires: Small Business, Taxes, and Who’s Rich in America

Join the Center for American Progress for a conversation on business ownership as the main path to wealth in America, and what that means for the future of tax policy and the American Dream.

Center for American Progress and Online via Zoom

Refunds From the Trump Administration’s Unlawful Tariffs Are a Windfall for Corporate America, Not for Small Businesses or Consumers Report
An orange container handler with its mast raised beside towering stacks of shipping containers at a port, a crane overhead

Refunds From the Trump Administration’s Unlawful Tariffs Are a Windfall for Corporate America, Not for Small Businesses or Consumers

New state-by-state CAP analysis finds that the Trump administration’s tariffs cost small-business importers in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., an average of $426,000 more over 18 months—damage that refunds cannot fully undo.

Think U.S. government debt doesn’t affect you? Think again In the News

Think U.S. government debt doesn’t affect you? Think again

In an op-ed published by The Philadelphia Inquirer, Jared Bernstein and Mark Zandi explain the impact of a $40 trillion U.S. national debt on everyday Americans.

The Philadelphia Inquirer

Jared Bernstein, Mark Zandi

Down to the Roots: Building Rural Policy Around Rural Needs Past Event
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Down to the Roots: Building Rural Policy Around Rural Needs

This event will explore what it means to invest in rural communities on their own terms and build a rural policy agenda rooted in resilience, opportunity, and shared prosperity.

Center for American Progress and online via Zoom

The Trump Administration’s Plan To Politicize Federal Grants Would Harm American Health and Innovation Report
A researcher works in a kinesiology and nutrition lab.

The Trump Administration’s Plan To Politicize Federal Grants Would Harm American Health and Innovation

A new proposed rule from the Trump administration would subject all federally funded grants and research to politically motivated decision-making, as well as violate the laws governing agency rulemaking and the constitutional rights of Americans.

Weighing Priorities: What U.S. Spending on the Iran War Could Fund Instead Interactive

Weighing Priorities: What U.S. Spending on the Iran War Could Fund Instead

The House of Representatives took the first step toward passing a bill that would provide the Trump administration $73 billion to fund its already costly war in Iran. That funding, if better allocated, could provide lifesaving and life-changing services for millions of Americans.

Teen Employment Remains Weak Article
Signage advertises that a store is hiring for 16- and 17-year-olds

Teen Employment Remains Weak

The share of teens employed has slid from a high of 50 percent in 1978 to just 30.7 percent today, with teen boys and teens of color facing the steepest declines. This trend may signal where the broader economy is heading while also revealing a narrowing pipeline of early work experience that has historically given young people a stronger foothold later in their careers.

Jazmine Amoako, Sara Estep, Jiun Park

Stopping Trump’s Crypto Corruption: The Risks of the Clarity Act to Democracy and National Security Past Event

Stopping Trump’s Crypto Corruption: The Risks of the Clarity Act to Democracy and National Security

Please join the Center for American Progress for a conversation with Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) on why stronger oversight and anticorruption rules for cryptocurrency markets are essential to protecting U.S. national security and our democracy.

Center for American Progress and online via Zoom

Government Insiders Must Be Prevented From Profiting on Prediction Markets at the Expense of National Security Report
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Government Insiders Must Be Prevented From Profiting on Prediction Markets at the Expense of National Security

Government employees’ use of insider information to profit on prediction markets raises both national security and ethical concerns, and there are several steps Congress and the president should take, including completely banning government employees’ use of prediction markets as a condition of employment.

Bipartisan and Republican-Led Coalitions Advance Fair Contracting Policies on Public Construction Projects Article
Workers shake hands while standing on a steel beam.

Bipartisan and Republican-Led Coalitions Advance Fair Contracting Policies on Public Construction Projects

State and local policymakers across the political spectrum are adopting responsible bidder ordinances, prevailing wage standards, and apprenticeship utilization requirements to raise standards for workers and deliver better results for taxpayers.

The Interest Rate Penalty From Trump’s War With Iran Article
People walk past the New York Stock Exchange.

The Interest Rate Penalty From Trump’s War With Iran

The war has pushed up interest rates by 0.5 percentage points, which will likely stay elevated even under an interim agreement. American households will spend an additional $4.6 billion, nonfinancial businesses will spend $12.7 billion, and the government will pay $30.8 billion more in borrowing costs this year as a result.

Christian E. Weller

Cracking Down on Pass-Throughs In the News

Cracking Down on Pass-Throughs

In an op-ed published by Democracy Journal, Corey Husak writes about how wealthy Americans are increasingly using complex networks of “pass-through” businesses and shell companies to avoid paying taxes, driving up economic inequalities.

Democracy Journal

Corey Husak

CAP Urges Stronger Accountability Metrics and Greater Transparency in Federally Funded Postsecondary Programs Article

CAP Urges Stronger Accountability Metrics and Greater Transparency in Federally Funded Postsecondary Programs

The Center for American Progress recently urged the U.S. Department of Education to reconsider proposed changes that could weaken safeguards for higher education students. As written, the proposal risks allowing low-value postsecondary programs to continue receiving federal aid, potentially steering students, especially those with limited financial resources, into pathways that fail to deliver meaningful economic returns.

Madison Weiss

Rideshare Win Could Bring Big Changes In the News

Rideshare Win Could Bring Big Changes

In an op-ed for Progressive Magazine, David Madland argues that if a new union in Massachusetts representing app drivers is replicated nationwide, it could reverse decades of union decline.

Progressive Magazine

David Madland

Capping Rental Application Fees at $5 Report
Apartments for rent are seen in the East Village in New York City on May 11, 2026.

Capping Rental Application Fees at $5

With rents stuck high, a Center for American Progress proposal to cap application fees would provide renters with immediate relief.

Chad Maisel

2026 CAP IDEAS Conference Past Event

2026 CAP IDEAS Conference

The Center for American Progress’ signature event, now celebrating its 15th year, where CAP convenes the big thinkers and doers on the center-left for a day of not only identifying the problems facing Americans, but also sharing solutions to improve the lives of all Americans.

Online via Zoom

Lowering the Cost of Living for American Families Article
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Lowering the Cost of Living for American Families

As families struggle to make ends meet amid rising costs, the Center for American Progress’ affordability agenda would save a typical family $4,133 per year across housing, health care, utility bills, and groceries.

Emily Gee, Kennedy Andara

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