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Short-Term Solutions to Long-Term Problems

Jan 16, 2025 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for January 16th, 2025Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·14 min read·--Friends,You have no doubt noticed that the experience of shopping in brick-and-mortar stores has grown increasingly awful over the past decade-and-a-half. Most pharmacy chains now greet shoppers with aisle after aisle of empty shelves, and many Targets have hidden a huge portion of their stock behind locked shelves that require you to find an employee to open them.
New Year, New Wage

Jan 9, 2025 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for January 9th, 2025Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·15 min read·--Friends,Let’s officially start 2025 off with some good news: On January 1st, tens of millions of Americans got a raise. Axios reports that 21 states and 48 cities and counties raised their minimum wages when the clock struck midnight on New Year’s Eve. In 8 of those states and all but one of those cities and counties, the minimum wage has now risen above $15 per hour.
No Place Like Malls for the Holidays

Dec 5, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for December 5th, 2024Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·13 min read·--Friends,I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with family and friends. And the odds are good that you spent at least some of the past weekend doing some holiday shopping — either in brick-and-mortar stores or online.
Government Spending Didn’t Cause Inflation

Nov 21, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for November 21st, 2024Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·16 min read·--Friends,Nobody on earth could credibly describe Peter R. Orszag as a raging progressive. He served under Obama at the Office of Management and Budget and at the Congressional Budget Office, heading up two organizations that tend to be very small-c conservative in their budget estimates and analysis.
The Pandemic Made Inequality Worse

Nov 14, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for November 14th, 2024Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·14 min read·--Friends,A week and a half on from the election, everyone is still sharing their takes on what happened. I haven’t seen any information that dissuades me from the importance of the two main factors that I posted last week — the electorate was upset about inflation and demanding change from the incumbent party.
The Change That Voters Are Looking For

Nov 7, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for November 7th, 2024Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·11 min read·--Friends,I’d like to briefly set economics aside and talk with you as an electoral politics veteran who has participated in and managed both winning and losing campaigns. I’m sure that many of you are still feeling hurt, surprised, and confused by Tuesday’s election results.
The Crack in a Foundational Poll

Oct 24, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for October 24th, 2024Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·16 min read·--Friends,“Historically, consumer attitudes regarding the economy have closely tracked prominent macroeconomic indicators like GDP, unemployment, equity prices, and inflation,” write researchers Ryan Cummings, Ben Harris, and Neale Mahone in a new report for Brookings. “But since the pandemic, this relationship has fundamentally changed.
A Strong Case for a $20 Minimum Wage

Oct 17, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

The Pitch: Economic Update for October 17th, 2024Civic Ventures·FollowPublished inCivic Skunk Works·16 min read·--Friends,For the Los Angeles Times, columnist Michael Hiltzik wrote about California’s $20 minimum wage for fast food workers, which went into effect in April of this year.
Our Housing Price Crisis Is a Trickle-Down Problem

Sep 26, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

After years of watching housing prices soar, we’re finally starting to see real policy solutions that could address the scope of America’s housing crisis. First, one of Vice President Harris’s first announced policies as a presidential candidate was a bold commitment to building three million units of housing in her potential first term, with a focus on starter homes and a $25,000 incentive for first-time homebuyers. But other substantial housing policies have been announced in the days since.
American Workers Saved the Economy

Sep 19, 2024 | medium.com | Civic Ventures

“The Federal Reserve cut interest rates on Wednesday for the first time since early 2020, the clearest signal yet that central bankers believe they are winning their years long battle against rapid inflation,” writes Jeanna Smialek at the New York Times. The Fed’s rate cut should make mortgages and loans cheaper for everyone, hopefully spurring additional economic growth after a long period of unnecessarily high interest rates.