Jan 10 2024
Rebuilding the American Dream: Policy Approaches to Increasing Housing Supply in the U.S.
A strong U.S. middle class depends on families having the opportunity to buy a home, build wealth and pass it on to the next generation. Research has shown that when low-income families move to stable homes in neighborhoods with a range of family incomes, their young children’s future earnings and life outcomes improve significantly. Broad access to affordable and stable housing helps ensure Americans’ economic well-being and mobility. However, the current housing shortage limits Americans’ ability to access this next step.
Jan 08 2024
Economic Update - January 8, 2024
Jan 02 2024
Economic Update - January 2, 2024
Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) releases national and state-level data on U.S. employment, which provide useful information about the state of the labor market and progress toward building a better America. To highlight key trends in the monthly data, the Joint Economic Committee compiles state-by-state fact sheets for all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The most recent state-level data, which cover the month of November, were released on December 22, 2023. The latest national data were released on December 8th, 2023.
Massive federal investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act, and the CHIPS and Science Act are reaching communities across the United States. One key to landing these investments in a particular community is an available workforce. While New Mexico’s labor force participation rate has remained below the national average for much of the last decade, sustained policy efforts can transform this disadvantage into an advantage right as we deliver the unprecedented federal investments from the last Congress. These needed policies include: expanding access to health and child care, boosting literacy rates, investing in broadband, and better training people for the jobs of the future. If these policies are executed in a sustained way, they can help transition more New Mexicans into the workforce and attract the federal and private investments spurred by the Inflation Reduction Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Dec 18 2023
Economic Update - December 18, 2023
Dec 11 2023
Economic Update - December 11, 2023
Stories focused on price increases since the start of 2021 do not tell the whole story. While costs have risen over that period due to pandemic disruptions and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, incomes have grown faster. An analysis by the JEC Democrats finds that national average wages and salaries grew by nearly $15,000 between January 2021 and October 2023, which outpaces price growth during that period by over $3,500. Any discussion of rising costs is misleading if it ignores the significant income and job gains compared to the start of 2021.
Dec 07 2023
Climate Risks Are Already Destabilizing Insurance Markets and Threatening Americans’ Financial Security
Climate change threatens not only the health of the planet but also Americans’ financial well-being. Climate disasters can quickly undermine the value of people’s homes, while the broader effects of the climate crisis can disrupt the health of the broader financial sector. One clear example is in the home insurance market, where climate-exacerbated risks from hurricanes and wildfires are making parts of America hard to insure.
Climate change threatens broader financial stability too, both through direct risks to the real estate market, but also through portfolio risks that could impact pensions and mutual funds. Adequately characterizing and valuing these climate risks with better data and analysis can inform decision making and regulations to mitigate climate financial risk. Policymakers should ensure that financial markets integrate climate risks into their decision making and turn away from anti-capitalist efforts to prevent the financial sector from accounting for environmental risk factors.
Climate change threatens broader financial stability too, both through direct risks to the real estate market, but also through portfolio risks that could impact pensions and mutual funds. Adequately characterizing and valuing these climate risks with better data and analysis can inform decision making and regulations to mitigate climate financial risk. Policymakers should ensure that financial markets integrate climate risks into their decision making and turn away from anti-capitalist efforts to prevent the financial sector from accounting for environmental risk factors.