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Growing the Middle Class

Growing the middle class is fundamental to strengthening the U.S. economy, and yet for decades, Americans’ ability to secure and maintain a place in the middle class has been increasingly out of reach. New laws—the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act—are spurring public and private investments to revitalize American industry, tackle climate change by boosting clean energy production, and create good jobs you can raise a family on. Pairing these investments with new efforts to crack down on corporate greed will also help lower the cost of living—from prescription drugs and energy, to transportation and everyday goods—and grow the middle class.

Photo shows two people assembling a piece of machinery
Two employees work on the production line at Ford’s electric vehicle assembly plant in Dearborn, Michigan, September 2022. (Getty/Jeff Kowalsky/AFP)

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Trump’s Agenda Is a Direct Threat to the Black Middle Class Article
The owner of a book store poses for a portrait.

Trump’s Agenda Is a Direct Threat to the Black Middle Class

Donald Trump returned to the presidency promising a policy agenda that would help the Black middle class succeed. However, his choices in office and his attacks on diversity and equal opportunity have represented a direct assault on their ability to maintain economic stability.

William Roberts, Mariam Rashid

Crushing the Commonwealth: Virginians Share How the Trump Administration’s Policies Are Hurting Them, Their Livelihoods, and the Virginia Economy Past Event

Crushing the Commonwealth: Virginians Share How the Trump Administration’s Policies Are Hurting Them, Their Livelihoods, and the Virginia Economy

Please join the Center for American Progress for the next in a series of virtual events highlighting the impact that DOGE's cuts are having on the lives of everyday Americans; this event will focus on the Trump administration's impacts on Virginia.

Online only

Introducing a Framework for Private School Voucher Accountability Report
A teacher is seen in a classroom explaining something at the board while students sit at their desks and another teacher watches.

Introducing a Framework for Private School Voucher Accountability

As privatization efforts to redirect funding from public K-12 schools to private institutions continue to expand, an accountability framework for private voucher programs must be implemented to ensure positive student outcomes and thorough oversight of taxpayer dollars.

Weadé James, Tania Otero Martinez

Scott Bessent’s 3 Percent Deficit Target Would Require Massive Cuts to Anti-Poverty Programs and Middle-Class Tax Increases Article
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to be treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, arrives for a meeting with Sen. Mike Crapo (R-ID).

Scott Bessent’s 3 Percent Deficit Target Would Require Massive Cuts to Anti-Poverty Programs and Middle-Class Tax Increases

Basic arithmetic suggests that the fiscal goals of President-elect Donald Trump’s treasury pick would slash health care and food security for working- and middle-class families while renewing tax cuts tilted to the wealthy.

Brendan Duke, Bobby Kogan

New Samsung Semiconductor Plant in Taylor, Texas Article
A large building labeled

New Samsung Semiconductor Plant in Taylor, Texas

An investment by Samsung, spurred by funding from the CHIPS and Science Act, will create a new semiconductor plant in Taylor, Texas, to complement the company’s previous investment in chips in Austin, Texas.

New York Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge Restoration Article
Pete Buttigieg is seen speaking behind a podium with construction workers in the background.

New York Castleton-on-Hudson Bridge Restoration

This investment provides funding to restore one of the most economically significant bridges in the country, currently in deep disrepair, so that it can remain in use for another 65 years.

4 Ways Unions Make Our Economy and Democracy Stronger Article
Members of the Boston Teachers Union and their supporters rally in support of contract measures.

4 Ways Unions Make Our Economy and Democracy Stronger

Unions raise wages for workers, reduce inequality, increase voter turnout, and advance middle-class interests; policymakers should make strengthening unions a top priority.

Sachin Shiva

Wisconsin Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Program Article
Close-up on computer cables

Wisconsin Broadband Infrastructure Deployment Program

The Red Cliff Band of Lake Superior Chippewa received funds to expand broadband access and internet connectivity into its reservation and community. The funds will provide for around 700 connection points around the reservation.

Rebuild Blatnik Bridge Connecting Wisconsin and Minnesota Article
President Joe Biden in group in front of bridge

Rebuild Blatnik Bridge Connecting Wisconsin and Minnesota

Utilizing funds provided by the Biden administration, the cities of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, are rebuilding a bridge that would otherwise need to be shut down in 2030.

North Carolina Wolfspeed Materials Efficient Silicon Carbide Facility Article
President Joe Biden speaks outside of a building at a podium in front of a crowd including construction workers.

North Carolina Wolfspeed Materials Efficient Silicon Carbide Facility

Wolfspeed Silicon Carbide Materials is building a new facility in North Carolina to expand production and become the largest plant using silicon carbide to make semiconductor chips.

Fixing the Brent Spence Bridge Article
President Joe Biden is seen at a podium in front of a river with a bridge in the background.

Fixing the Brent Spence Bridge

This grant provides funding to repair the Brent Spence Bridge between Kentucky and Ohio and to build a new companion bridge.

Arizona Semiconductor Technician Quick Start Program Article
President Joe Biden is seen walking in front of tractors, with an American flag in the background.

Arizona Semiconductor Technician Quick Start Program

This program provides students at Maricopa Community Colleges with the opportunity to become trained as semiconductor technicians.

Cirba Solutions Battery Recycling Plant Article
Stacks of green used electric vehicle batteries sit on the floor of a factory.

Cirba Solutions Battery Recycling Plant

A $74 million investment from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will help Cirba Solutions open and operate a new battery recycling facility.

First Solar Thin Film Research and Development Center Article
A field of solar panels is seen in the middle of the desert.

First Solar Thin Film Research and Development Center

First Solar is spending $450 million to establish a research and development center focused on the production of thin film photovoltaic modules.

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