Building Back America
The American Prospect breaks down Biden’s American Jobs Plan, American Families Plan, and a variety of tax measures, analyzing each component with insights on prospective policies and if these elements go far enough.
Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo
Labor Leader Ai-jen Poo Confronts ‘the Biggest Driver of Economic Inequality That Nobody Talks About.’
Care for children, the elderly and disabled is among the lowest-paying industries. Poo thinks federal investment could become reality. Read more
Dec 13, 2023
Chase Woodruff/Colorado Newsline
Low-Key Green
Pueblo is a world-class model for the clean-energy economy envisioned in the Inflation Reduction Act. But its residents may not feel it. Read more
Oct 12, 2023
CARLOS OSORIO/AP PHOTO
TCTACs: A Treat for Disadvantaged Communities
The Biden administration is funding technical assistance for places that have been left behind, so they can access public investments. Read more
Oct 10, 2023
Bastiaan Slabbers/NurPhoto via AP
It’s Time for Biden to Start Naming Names
Today on TAP: As Republicans run against corporate ‘wokeness,’ he should run against corporate (CEOs’, big-time investors’) greed. Read more
Sep 5, 2023
Evan Vucci/AP Photo
Biden’s Indirect Play for a Just Transition to EVs
Department of Energy programs condition funding for retooling factories on good-paying union jobs in manufacturing communities. Read more
Sep 4, 2023
Mike Householder/AP Photo
UAW Brokers a Tentative Agreement With GM Battery Maker Ultium Cells
While the agreement gives Ultium Cells workers a raise of more than 20 percent, membership overwhelmingly voted to authorize a strike of the Big Three automakers after September 14. Read more
Aug 28, 2023
John Bazemore/AP Photo
Construction Bids for EV Projects in Georgia Go to Gov. Kemp’s Donors
Under an obscure program, state and local authorities got to pick construction firms for Rivian and Hyundai plants. They chose non-union firms that have contributed heavily to Republicans. Read more
Aug 24, 2023
Paul Sancya/AP Photo
The United Auto Workers Meet Electrification
The Big Three’s transition to electric vehicles will largely be driven by public investment. That doesn’t guarantee there will be good-paying jobs. Read more
Aug 21, 2023
Keith Srakocic/AP Photo
How State Capacity Can Help America Build
A new paper shows underinvesting in government comes at a staggering cost. Read more
Aug 17, 2023
Patrick Semansky/AP Photo
Econ Commentators Join TSMC to Declare U.S. Workers’ Premature Defeat
The econ blogosphere hasn’t really checked, but knows in its heart American workers aren’t up to the job. Read more
Aug 11, 2023
The Small Town That’s Connecting America
Hickory, North Carolina, is home to nearly half of the country’s fiber-optic cable production, which is growing because of the Biden infrastructure law. Read more
Aug 9, 2023
Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call via AP Images
Biden Admin to Restore Labor Rule Gutted in 1980s
The Department of Labor plans to reverse the neoliberal-era gutting of a law that stopped contractors from bidding down wages in federal procurement. Read more
Aug 7, 2023
Susan Walsh/AP Photo
Buybacks Are Down, Production Is Up
Bidenomics has begun to de-financialize the economy. Read more
Aug 7, 2023
Carolyn Kaster/AP Photo
Bidenomics Refutes the Canard That Government Is Slow
Today on TAP: America’s industrial renaissance is happening faster than almost anyone anticipated. Read more
Aug 1, 2023
Luke Goldstein
Green Industrial Policy in Deep-Red Georgia
In the former carpet capital of the world, a solar manufacturing boom is taking hold. Will conservative residents credit Biden’s industrial policy? Read more
Jul 27, 2023
Kyodo via AP Images
TSMC Phoenix Cuts Electrician Pay and Sends In Taiwanese Workers
After 50 union electricians left, TSMC reinstated incentive pay and offered 25 non-union workers dispatched from Taiwan. Read more
Jul 19, 2023
Jason Vorhees/Macon Telegraph
Unionized Workers at Blue Bird Hit the Next Hurdle: a Contract
An assist from Biden administration electric bus subsidies helped pave the way to victory at a plant in right-to-work Georgia. But workers say tensions with management have grown. Read more
Jul 13, 2023
Patrick Semansky/AP Photo
It’s Hamiltonian! It’s Jeffersonian! It’s Bidenomics!
The president’s economic policies combine the best elements of our economic heritage. Read more
Jul 3, 2023
Jakub Porzycki/NurPhoto via AP
TSMC to Bring 500+ More Migrant Workers to Arizona
The chipmaking giant, which expects to receive up to $15 billion in federal tax credits and grants for its Arizona facility, says U.S. workers are not up to the job. Read more
Jun 30, 2023
Lee Harris
Chipmaker’s Scramble to Build Marred by Mistakes and Injuries
TSMC’s $40 billion semiconductor facility in Phoenix, an open shop that resisted signing an agreement with labor unions, has been tainted with accidents, alleged wage theft, and costly setbacks. Read more
Jun 22, 2023
Illustration by Jandos Rothstein
A Liberalism That Builds Power
The goals of domestic supply chains, good jobs, carbon reduction, and public input are inseparable. Read more
May 25, 2023
Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo
Why Progressive Groups Struggled With the Biden Agenda
The way Build Back Better unfolded made it an insider’s game, wasting serious effort and hundreds of millions of dollars from outside organizations. Read more
Sep 27, 2022
Illustration by Angie Wang
How Policy Got Done in 2022
To understand the Democrats’ big climate and health care bill, you must go back decades. Read more
Sep 26, 2022
AP Photo
Can Ocean Shipping Go Green?
Everyone agrees that ocean shipping must decarbonize. The question is how, and how fast. Read more
Aug 22, 2022
Seth Wenig/AP Photo
Our Bewildering Economy
What are the contradictory trends and policy choices? And does the Inflation Reduction Act live up to its name? Read more
Aug 8, 2022
Justin Rex/AP Photo
Bipartisan Highway to Hell—or Heaven?
State and local governments will decide if the infrastructure package makes climate change better or worse. Read more
Aug 8, 2022
J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo
Joe Manchin and Chuck Schumer Have a Surprise for You
An 18-month odyssey culminates in a smaller-than-promised, bigger-than-expected agreement to lower health care costs, tax corporations, and protect the planet. Read more
Jul 28, 2022
Graeme Sloan/Sipa USA via AP Images
May Build Back Better Never Be Spoken Of Again
Today on TAP: Negotiations with Joe Manchin are over. Let’s keep it that way. Read more
Jul 15, 2022
Jacquelyn Martin/AP Photo
Senate Moves Forward on Exceedingly Modest Drug Price Reform
The details on the latest in the endless negotiations on the Biden agenda Read more
Jul 8, 2022
Evan Vucci/AP Photo
The Silence of the Joe
Today on TAP: The president is missing. Read more
Jul 7, 2022
