Roosevelt Institute

Currently, SSI households have a poverty rate of about 29.2%.

But if the SSI Restoration Act were passed, that would drop down about 60% to 11.8%.

That is roughly in line with the overall poverty rate for households in the United States. - Stephen Nuñez, @rooseveltinstitute.org

“The fact remains that boosting supply is a necessary (but not sufficient) condition for making sure everyone in the United States has decent, stable housing.”

Our fellow @resnikoff.bsky.social's new piece argues that abundant housing and affordability can—and must—go hand in hand.

His thread ⬇️ 🧵

There Is No Housing Affordability Without Building More Housing If we make it easier to build dense housing in cities, then the resulting supply boost will ease the cost burden on renters and put homeownership within closer reach for millions of households.

Housing affordability starts with one basic fact: we need to build more homes.

In his new blog, @resnikoff.bsky.social breaks down why expanding housing supply is essential to lowering costs and why solving the housing crisis requires building at scale.

🔥"The inertia on Court reform [reflects] a problem with our country’s political-cultural mythology surrounding the Court in general—and Chief Justice Roberts in particular—as some sort of neutral and detached arbiter of the truth that operates wholly outside the domain of partisan politics."🔥

Exclusive | Senate Democrats to Propose Meat Industry Breakup Minority Leader Chuck Schumer plans to introduce a bill that would split meat processing operations and scrutinize foreign ownership.

The meat industry is one of many sectors across our economy where extreme, unchecked consolidation has concentrated power, made a few actors a lot of money, and driven up prices for the rest of us.

Breaking up Big Ag is a step toward more competition, fairer markets, and lower costs for families.

Lawmakers to introduce bill strengthening federal anti-poverty program: It's 'a critical lifeline,' Warren says Supplemental Security Income, or SSI, was created in 1972 to help the nation's most vulnerable. Some features of the program have not been updated in decades.

"because the program has not been meaningfully updated since the 1970s, poverty rates among SSI beneficiaries are more than double the national poverty rate, according to new research from the Roosevelt Institute, a liberal think tank" @rooseveltinstitute.org

www.cnbc.com/2026/03/05/s...

“The Roberts Court has long been one of the most inhumane, anti-labor, pro–Big Business benches in US history. And in the last few years, the reactionary majority has repeatedly sided with Trump by granting him absolute immunity, functionally greenlighting his attempts to limit birthright citizenship, and allowing immigration agents to continue racially profiling in conducting their stops. And while the tariff case had some of the reactionary justices bucking the head of the party most aligned with their ideological leanings, as former Biden official Bharat Ramamurti noted, they were not bucking the desires of capital—and the decision will actually worsen inequality.” From "Trump’s Attacks on SCOTUS Are Personal—But Real Court Reform Should Be a Progressive Priority," Roosevelt Institute, by Shahrzad Shams and Todd N. Tucker, March 4, 2026.

The Roberts Court has used the “major questions” doctrine to override Congress and block progressive policies. Libertarian law firms have leveraged these rules to challenge business regulations as unconstitutional.

Even the recent tariff ruling fits this broader pro-corporate pattern.

Trump’s Attacks on SCOTUS Are Personal—But Real Court Reform Should Be a Progressive Priority An analysis of Trump’s unprecedented attacks on the Supreme Court, the Roberts Court’s pro–Big Business record, and why real progressive court reform must become a political priority.

NEW: The president keeps attacking the Supreme Court after its tariff ruling, but the bigger story is structural.

SCOTUS overwhelmingly rules for the wealthy and obstructs legitimate progressive policies.

@toddntucker.com & @shahrzadshams.bsky.social explain why court reform must be a priority ⬇️📝

Reintroduction of the Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act The Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program was created to cover the basic needs of aged and disabled individuals in extreme poverty. Today, the program is falling short of that goal as costs are ...

The Supplemental Security Income Restoration Act is being reintroduced & it could lift millions of disabled and older adults out of poverty.

Join us tomorrow for this virtual conversation featuring our own @socio-steve.bsky.social on why SSI reform is long overdue and how policy can fix it.

RSVP:

Both @rooseveltinstitute.org and @mayor.nyc.gov believe that young people are a critical part of that pipeline, essential to restructuring our economy and renewing our democracy. Learn more about the Roosevelt Network's programming for young folks here ⬇️

@mayor.nyc.gov is an inspiration of progressive governance: Big ideas that truly reshape economic power in favor of people, and government that delivers. Can't wait to see what NYC builds next.

Mayor Mamdani wants NYC tenants to sound off on junk fees at 'rental ripoff' hearings Mamdani is asking tenants to share their housing horror stories at a series of public hearings starting Thursday.

And we’re watching that same “deliver, don’t just promise” approach show up elsewhere: housing accountability through the Rental Ripoff Hearings, and worker protections backed by real enforcement, so standards are real in people’s day-to-day lives.

Mamdani says New York child care expansion a real step to fulfilling campaign pledge NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says a plan unveiled Thursday to take the first steps toward universal childcare for kids under five shows New Yorkers that "democracy can actually deliver for them."

We’re encouraged by the administration’s first moves on affordability—especially expanding child care. Policies that let working families build good lives will strengthen our economy and our democracy.

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani and Roosevelt Institute President and CEO Elizabeth Wilkins.

On Thursday, CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social met with @mayor.nyc.gov to talk about what it takes to govern—investing in public capacity and building the talent pipeline to deliver for working people. That’s the Roosevelt tradition: pairing big ideas with the capacity to deliver lasting results.

NEW: Lost in the news cycle last week, the Labor Department moved to make it easier to classify workers as “independent contractors”—a shift that could strip millions of workers of their minimum wage and overtime protections and make basic labor rights harder to enforce.

Patrick Oakford explains ⬇️

My report with @jacklandry.bsky.social estimating the impacts of the SSI Restoration Act of 2024 is out today! If you enjoyed the earlier blog preview you really ought to check it out! And it turns out this is timely: Rep. Grijalva is introducing the SSI Restoration Act of 2026 this week.

Supplemental Security Income at the Margins Roosevelt’s latest paper, Estimating the Cost and Impacts of the SSI Restoration Act, offers one of the few comprehensive analyses of how current legislative proposals to reform SSI would change mater...

Additionally, deep poverty among SSI recipients would be nearly eliminated. The reforms would cost about $60B/year—about the cost of a single tax provision in last year’s reconciliation bill.

Read the fact sheet:

The proposed SSI Restoration Act would:

• Raise benefits to the poverty line
• Update asset & income limits
• End marriage penalties

Using microsimulation, we estimate the result: SSI household poverty falls by nearly 60%.

Today, SSI’s max benefit is just under $1,000/month for an individual—below the poverty line.

Asset limits are stuck at $2,000 ($3,000 for couples). Income rules haven’t been meaningfully updated in decades. The system keeps people financially fragile by design.

Estimating the Cost and Impacts of the SSI Restoration Act Stephen Nuñez and Jack Landry find that the SSI Restoration Act would cut poverty among SSI households by nearly 60 percent while updating and strengthening the program.

SSI supports 7.4M low-income seniors & people with disabilities but outdated rules and low benefits leave millions in poverty.

Our new paper from @socio-steve.bsky.social and @jacklandry.bsky.social models what would happen if Congress modernized SSI. The results are striking. 🧵👇

Full report:

What’s happening with the USMCA?

Our @toddntucker.com will join @brookings.edu on Wednesday to discuss how the landmark North American trade deal has held up amid tariffs and the continued battles over executive trade authority.

Details below on attending in D.C. or joining virtually ⬇️

The Other Big Jobs Revision That Matters This Year Next week’s updated 2026 household survey data will adjust for US population changes, giving economists and policymakers clearer insight into the labor market and the economic impact of the administra...

NEW: This week’s household survey revision could reshape how we understand the labor market.

Updated population estimates will give the first clear read on how collapsing net migration and an aging population are affecting employment and participation.

Read more from @mikemadowitz.bsky.social ⬇️

My latest brief for Roosevelt Institute: Let's remember that childcare is a labor issue- not only for working parents, but childcare workers who do this work for poverty wages. Collective bargaining and labor power can help us win what we all need on childcare: rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...

Good Life Resident Program The Good Life Residents Program is a six-month initiative focused on developing new leaders and elevating bold ideas centered around six economic policy priorities for the Roosevelt Institute, as part...

#FundSocSci
@rooseveltinstitute.org
rooseveltinstitute.org/careers/good...

A two-child household must earn $400,000 a year for childcare to be affordable, study says. 'It’s easy to see why birth rates are falling' | Fortune “Most parents could tell you that childcare costs are astronomical these days and can cause a major financial burden, even for high-income families.”

A new study finds that a two-child household must earn $400,000 a year for care to be “affordable.”

Parents are routinely paying more on childcare in a given month than they do on rent.

When that’s the benchmark, there’s no denying that our childcare market is broken.

"The reason the trust fund is facing depletion isn’t that benefits are too generous (anyone receiving benefits will tell you they are not) or that more people are retiring than policymakers anticipated. It’s because the wealthiest Americans, who don’t make most of their money by working for a paycheck, don’t contribute to the trust fund." – Elizabeth Wilkins, President and CEO, Roosevelt Institute.

NEW: The CBO projects Social Security’s retirement trust fund may run out in 2032—potentially triggering automatic benefit cuts of ~28%.

But that outcome isn’t inevitable—it's a policy choice to cripple a program millions have earned and rely on.

More from our CEO @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social ⬇️

Infographic titled “Consumer Protections” split into two panels. The left panel, labeled “White House,” shows a shark fin in water and text stating it hollows out consumer protections by gutting CFPB funding and leaving abusive practices unchecked. The right panel, labeled “Roosevelt’s Research,” shows a whistle and text explaining it supports rules that shift power from financial firms back to households and expand the CFPB’s authority. A banner at the bottom reads: “Americans deserve protection from predatory business practices.”

This administration has systematically dismantled the CFPB and undermined its enforcement capacity. In previous years, this work put billions back in consumers’ pockets.

A total lack of enforcement is a green light for corporate abuse, like exploitative junk fees, plain and simple. #SOTU

I’m a Consumer Advocate. The Rulemaking Process Is Rigged in Favor of Corporations, Not People From PFAS to consumer finance, corporate power distorts the rulemaking process. Here’s how to rebuild agencies that serve the public.

The “waste, fraud, and abuse” narrative misses what really breaks government: the political power of monopolies and concentrated wealth.

Consumer Advocate @bmorons.bsky.social argues for a new North Star: co-governance—meaningful public participation and fewer tools for corporate obstruction. ⬇️

It's Not a “Golden Age” for Working Families Our Take on the State of the Union

#ICYMI: Our top stories of the week

✅ The president’s “roaring” economy is not being felt by most Americans
✅ AI hype is driving big decisions without putting people first
✅ The democratic case for well-funded public media

More in the #RooseveltRundown ⬇️

The Political Economy of the US Media System: Excavating the Roots of the Present Crisis - Roosevelt Institute Bilal Baydoun, Shahrzad Shams, and Victor Pickard trace the roots of the US media crisis to decades of deregulation and commercial capture, outlining how consolidation, news deserts, and platform domi...

Media consolidation is the predictable result of decades of deregulation and merger policy that privileged scale over the public interest.

Ownership keeps narrowing. Power keeps centralizing. Public oversight keeps weakening.

A democratic media system requires different rules.