1/ Our new blueprint, "Putting Cash in Parents' Pockets: An Executive Action Plan for the Next Presidential Administration," lays out four executive actions the next president can take on day one to put cash in the pockets of families — without waiting on Congress. They include:

Short answer: no. Investing in kids and families early is a good idea, but Trump Accounts could "widen the wealth gap instead of shrinking it," explains NYT's Claire Cain Miller. Wealthy families stand to benefit most — parents with more to invest, tax accountants, and employers who'll match.

New York's affordability crisis has a new tool: city-owned grocery stores that guarantee 30% off staples like produce, meat, bread, and milk. That's real money back in New Yorkers' pockets — up to $1,000 a year.

Mamdani’s Grocery Stores Will Offer 30 Percent Discount on Some Products

Mayor Zohran Mamdani’s five city-owned grocery stores will provide a 30 percent discount on produce, meat, bread and milk.

nytimes.com

OpenAI started as a nonprofit with one promise: ensure AI benefits all of humanity. The billions it amassed belong to the public—not OpenAI's to take. As it moves toward a trillion-dollar IPO, our coalition is demanding the SEC force real disclosure before working families are exposed.

We got California to intervene about OpenAI's corporate switch from nonprofit status. It's time for the SEC to come to the table | Fortune

A little-known Class N share lets the nonprofit Foundation control OpenAI's board even if it sells its 26% equity stake, raising fresh SEC questions.

fortune.com

What does the affordability crisis actually feel like? For the past six months, we traveled across California and spoke to 250 Californians about their experience with the economy. 🧵

1/ “Now, I’m afraid I could lose Medicaid coverage because I accidentally missed paperwork. Even though I’m still eligible. Forgetfulness is not fraud.” 🧵⬇️

"Successful industrial policy requires coherent policy, clear lines of authority, and fair administration. What we have instead is rule by deal." ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social on Silicon Valley's new relationship with Washington.

Silicon Valley Needs Washington After All - The American Prospect

The industry that spent 50 years insisting it didn’t need the state has discovered it can’t do without it.

prospect.org

Can direct cash help disaster survivors rebuild? The Kahua Card is proving it can. 🧵⬇️

At our Wages, Work, and AI panel, ESP Executive Director Taylor Jo Isenberg explained that AI can contribute to shared prosperity, but only if we first confront how our economy is failing people. Otherwise, new technologies risk further concentrating wealth and power. #GINOW2026

Thanks to Democracy Journal for featuring new research from ESP’s Kelli Smith and Fellow Gabriel Zucker on what comes next for Direct File, the free public tax-filing tool that proved that the IRS could build something people actually liked using.

USC Distinguished Professor Manuel Pastor (@profmpastor.bsky.social, @eri-usc.bsky.social) on why framing matters when building Latino support for direct cash. His takeaway: it's best to frame cash as a platform for mobility.

Cash isn't charity. It's freedom. This #July4th, as we mark 250 years, we're also celebrating another milestone — 250 #guaranteedincome pilots across 40 states trusting thousands of families to know what they need and honoring them with the agency to make their own decisions. 1/

"I was met with cash at a moment when I needed it— and it transformed my life.” ESP Director of Cash Initiatives Shafeka Hashash has experienced the power of direct cash firsthand and has made it her life's mission to help people build economic stability.

1/ Sen. Sanders recently introduced legislation that would tax the largest AI companies’ stock to fund a sovereign wealth fund that pays the American people a 5% annual dividend. 🧵⬇️

Illinois just took a major step toward making everyday life more affordable today when Governor Pritzker signed into law a bill banning junk fees—the hidden charges that cost working families hundreds of dollars a year. Check out the full statement from @economicsecurity.us ⬇️

@economicsecurity.us · last mo.

Big affordability win in Illinois!🎉 Today, @govpritzker.illinois.gov signed HB 228 into law, banning hidden junk fees and ensuring the price you see is the price you pay. ESILA was proud to join the bill signing after years of advocacy to get this done. 🔗: economicsecurity.us/news/economi...

ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social has a new op-ed reframing Alan Greenspan's legacy. He spent decades using the full weight of the federal government to shape a financial system that worked for Wall Street and left everyone else behind.

Greenspan Was the Creator of His Own Disaster - The American Prospect

The former Fed chair, who died at the age of 100 this week, deliberately engineered financial markets to be faster and looser. Then they blew up.

prospect.org

The 21st Century ROAD Act, which the Senate passed on Monday, is a bipartisan step toward fixing America's broken housing market — but as ESP’s @mtkonczal.bsky.social explains, the crisis runs deeper.

1/ We're thrilled to announce that @mtkonczal.bsky.social has been promoted to Vice President of Policy and Research at Economic Security Project. 🎉

“ I got a phone call saying, ‘You have been approved.’ That was the best feeling. I felt relieved.” That’s Sherrif Polk, a father of six and a participant in the Chicago Future Fund — a #guaranteedincome pilot for formerly incarcerated individuals run by Equity and Transformation (EAT).🧵⬇️

This #Juneteenth weekend, BLIS is hosting Reclamation Day — a festival bringing together 50+ artists, organizers, advocates, & cultural leaders to tell a truer story of America through Black + Indigenous narratives of joy and resilience. Expect art, performance, & movement-building. Come through!

“There’s nothing especially partisan about providing a free and easy tax filing tool.” ESP Fellow Gabriel Zucker joined The Federal Drive to discuss our new report, The Future of Tax Filing — what Direct File got right, why it ended, and what comes next. 🎧 podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/a...

Young people in rural communities are watching the industries that sustained their families for generations start to disappear. AS Travis Helmondollar of CASEWV explained at #GINOW2026, cash helps people navigate moments of transition. Full convo 👇 🔗 www.youtube.com/watch?v=kHC9...

1/ Today, ESP released Building Affordability, our new policy agenda on housing, which tackles the 2 causes of unaffordability: broken markets + broken incomes. ✍️ by Becky Chao, @mtkonczal.bsky.social, & @resnikoff.bsky.social, it shows how policy can expand supply while also protecting tenants.

We’ve spent decades told that if the economy grows, people’s lives will get better. Millions are working harder, paying more, and losing faith that institutions can deliver. Imagine an economy and democracy that actually make life better. That’s why today, we’re launching The #GoodLife Agenda. 🧵

At #GINOW2026, activist, educator, & host Brittany Packnett Cunningham sat down with Dr. Aisha Nyandoro, CEO of SpringBoard to Opportunities, to talk about what economic freedom actually looks like, Black women's genius, and what becomes possible when we remove obstacles for people.

ESP fellow Anisha Steephen breaks down what real economic development can look like in NYC and cities across the country. Read the full op-ed via Crain’s New York Business: 🔗 www.crainsnewyork.com/opinion/comm...

62% of Americans say buying a home is unrealistic in 2026. We have a roadmap to change that. Join us next June 10, at 3 pm ET, for a webinar introducing our new report, "Building Affordability: The Policy Agenda for America's Housing Crisis." 🔗 economicsecurityproject-org.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Working families are facing an affordability crisis. Rising costs, hidden fees, and a tax system that was not built for them are making it harder to get ahead. Our partners at Economic Security Illinois Action just wrapped up a big session in Springfield fighting back against exactly that.

What We Won in Springfield - Economic Security Project Action

As working families get squeezed by rising prices and corporate greed, we fought back this spring legislative session, and we won.  We won on junk fees. After three years of advocacy on this issue, we...

economicsecurity.us

@economicsecurity.us · 2mo ago

🎉 The Illinois legislative session is a wrap. And we have a lot to celebrate. Working families in Illinois have been squeezed by rising prices and corporate greed. This session, we fought back—and we won🧵⬇️

From excise taxes on data centers to overhauling a tax code that penalizes hiring humans to taxing billionaires on their wealth — there are real pathways to building shared prosperity in an AI economy. @warren.senate.gov lays out the case. 👇

Why We Need to Tax AI

"Taxing AI is one way we make sure the winnings from AI benefit all Americans, rather than channeling them only to the wealthy few," writes Senator Elizabeth Warren.

time.com

A new CNN shows how Americans feel about the affordability crisis. 76% say the high cost of living is the biggest economic problem facing their families. 67% say their wages can't keep up with rising prices. Only 1 in 3 can cover a $1,000 emergency. 1/

‘My life is not affordable. No one cares’: 76% of Americans call the cost of living their biggest financial problem | CNN Politics

CNN’s poll, conducted by SSRS, finds a surge in people naming high prices and the cost of living as the top economic problem facing their own family.

cnn.com