Expanding economic opportunity for working and middle-class families has been a policy priority for decades, but there are better and worse ways to approach this end-goal. In fact, policies of the past have at times ended up being counterproductive, putting further constraints on working-class families or discouraging healthy behaviors like two-parent child rearing. Understanding the interplay between policy prescriptions and incentive structures on the one hand and family formation, social capital, and intergenerational mobility on the other hand, is a key part of supporting workers and working families.

AEI director of poverty studies, Scott Winship’s recent report, Reforming tax credits to promote child opportunity and aid working families, explores just this interplay when it comes to tax relief for families. In this episode of “Hardly Working”, Scott Winship and I discuss his recent findings, his policy proposals for tax credit reform, the current state and history of safety net programs, as well as how to support social capital development. The discussion centers on constructing a safety net that offering low-income families the support they need to achieve upwardly mobile life paths

Mentioned During the Episode:

Reforming tax credits to promote child opportunity and aid working families

How Did the Social Policy Changes of the 1990s Affect Material Hardship among Single Mothers? Evidence from the CPS Food Security Supplement

Democratic Strategist Magazine

Pew Charitable Trusts – Economic Mobility Project

Scott Winship Twitter

$2.00 a Day: Living on Almost Nothing in America

The Anti-Poverty, Targeting, and Labor Supply Effects of the Proposed Child Tax Credit Expansion

Opinion: Why extending the current child tax credit would do more harm than good

The Demise of the Happy Two-Parent Home

Joint Economic Committee - Social Capital Project

Love, Marriage, and the Baby Carriage: The Rise in Unwed Childbearing

Zoning, Land-Use Planning, and Housing Affordability

Long shadows: The Black-White gap in multigenerational poverty

Neighborhoods and the Black White Mobility Gap