Building an Economy for All
Economic growth must be built on the foundation of a strong and secure middle class so that all Americans, not just those at the top, benefit from growth.
What We're Working On
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
60M
The families of more than 60 million children have received CTC monthly payments since July 2021.
CAP, “Making the CTC and EITC Expansions Permanent Would Reduce Poverty and Grow the Economy” (2021).
$100
In 32 states, a typical family would save more than $100 per week on child care under the Build Back Better Act.
CAP, “The Build Back Better Act Would Greatly Lower Families’ Child Care Costs” (2021).
$22.5B
In a year, workers and their families lose $22.5 billion in wages due to lack of access to paid family and medical leave.
CAP, “A Real Recovery for Women Cannot Happen Without the Build Back Better Agenda” (2021).
$3.6T
The Build Back Better Act would raise $3.6 trillion in revenue to support investments in an inclusive, high-growth economy.
CAP, “Addressing Tax System Failings That Favor Billionaires and Corporations” (2021).
What You Can Do
Recent work
In Dobbs, By Overturning Roe and Denying the Right to an Abortion, the Supreme Court Has Attacked Freedom
Some States Are Ready To Punish Abortion in a Post-Roe World
Hearings reveal Trump’s vast plan to overturn Americans’ votes
Hearing on Tax Policy for Inclusive Economic Growth
Latest
Hearing on Tax Policy for Inclusive Economic Growth
Seth Hanlon testified before the U.S. House Select Committee on Economic Disparities and Fairness in Growth on evaluating tax fairness.
BankThink Regulators must vigorously police bank mergers
Todd Phillips urges regulators to more forcefully police bank mergers due to the unique risks they pose to the U.S. economy.
Temporary expansions made unemployment insurance a lifesaver. Workers need long-term reform to keep it that way.
Justin Schweitzer outlines the successes of the unemployment insurance expansions during the COVID-19 pandemic and calls for greater reform.
For Unionized Amazon Workers, Lessons From Italy May Hold Key to Success
David Madland outlines several lessons learned from the historic nationwide contracts that Amazon workers in Italy signed in 2021 and suggests a path forward for unionized workers at Amazon's Staten Island warehouse, who must now try to sign a collective bargaining agreement.
Viewpoint 1: The infant formula crisis and our inequitable food system
Arohi Pathak explains how the infant formula crisis sheds light on the inequitable food system in the United States.
It’s time to end tax deductions for anti-union activity
David Madland writes about why Congress must prohibit firms from deducting the costs of their anti-union activities from their corporate taxes.
When contractors pay bad wages, the public shoulders the burden
Karla Walter highlights how new regulations governing the Davis-Bacon and Related Acts will ensure that workers on construction projects receiving federal funding are paid fairly.
The best solution to high gas prices: tax the oil companies
Patrick Gaspard discusses why Congress should enact a temporary windfall profits tax on Big Oil to ensure these companies are not profiting from Russian's war in Ukraine.
Congress may be getting it wrong: Crypto should be regulated just like other financial assets
Todd Phillips and Alex Thornton question Congress' current approach to crypto regulation and urge a new path forward.
Workforce Development’s Role in Building the Infrastructure Labor Force
Marina Zhavoronkova, a senior fellow on the Poverty to Prosperity team at American Progress, discusses the important role the public workforce development system can play in building a skilled, diverse infrastructure workforce.