Kennedy Andara
@kennedyandara.bsky.social
Policy Analyst at the Center for American Progress Cat mom 🐈⬛, cyclist 🚴♀️, ceramics🏺 opinions are my own
Happening Now!
Pennsylvania's Megaphone@pamegaphone.bsky.social · 3d agoAs Pennsylvanians pay higher prices for gas, groceries, and everyday necessities, PA Democrats are fighting to make our lives more affordable. We're LIVE tomorrow at 1:30PM with Kennedy Andara from @americanprogressaction.org & Jennifer Partyka, nurse and patient advocate to learn more.
Join us tomorrow for a great conversation on how dysfunction in DC is making it harder for PA families to make ends meet.
Pennsylvania's Megaphone@pamegaphone.bsky.social · 3d agoAs Pennsylvanians pay higher prices for gas, groceries, and everyday necessities, PA Democrats are fighting to make our lives more affordable. We're LIVE tomorrow at 1:30PM with Kennedy Andara from @americanprogressaction.org & Jennifer Partyka, nurse and patient advocate to learn more.
In 2025, women working full time were paid 84 cents for every dollar paid to White, non-Hispanic men. That’s the narrowest gap in history, according to new U.S. Census Bureau data. It seemed like a win for gender equity, until you look at the data for Black women. https://bit.ly/46FFa0O
More on what Sen. Warren said 👇 www.americanprogress.org/article/weal...
Wealth Inequality Has Grown During the Trump Administration
The wealthiest 0.1 percent of households have gained more than 8,000 times as much wealth per household as the bottom 50 percent since the end of 2024.
americanprogress.org
Elizabeth Warren@warren.senate.gov · last wk.Since Trump took office, the richest 0.1% of Americans have gained more than 8,000 TIMES as much wealth as the bottom 50% of households.
Since Trump took office, the richest 0.1% of Americans have gained more than 8,000 TIMES as much wealth as the bottom 50% of households.
During the Trump administration, the ultrawealthy have gained more than 8,000x as much wealth per household as the bottom 50% ‼️ CAP's @saraestep.bsky.social breaks down what this means for you and the average American family:
After widening for two consecutive years, the gender wage gap narrowed in 2025—to 84 cents for women working full time, year-round for every dollar made by their male counterparts. https://ampr.gs/4AtXQye
Amid Rising Costs, the Gender Wage Gap Deepens Affordability Challenges for Women
After widening for two consecutive years, the gender wage gap narrowed in 2025—to 84 cents for women working full time, year-round for every dollar made by their male counterparts.
ampr.gs
New simple but striking analysis from @americanprogress.bsky.social Wealth inequality has exploded since the end of 2024: -In real dollars, the top 0.1% has gained 8,000X as much wealth per household, as most American households.
This morning, the Census Bureau is releasing the latest data on Income, Poverty and Health Insurance! Note: these data are for 2025 and will not reflect changes in the labor market, rising inflation, and attacks on vital safety net policies, hitting families in 2026. www.epi.org/blog/2025-ce...
2025 Census data preview: Key measures of earnings, income, and poverty may show early signs of a softer labor market and weaker safety net
The 2025 Census data may show how the Trump administration’s policy choices were starting to impact the economic well-being of workers and their families last year.
epi.org
Since becoming president again, Trump has promised: -$5000 stimulus checks via "DOGE dividend" -$2000 stimulus checks via "tariff dividend" -$1000+ checks via "savings" from expiring ACA subsidies -$5000 "dividend" if Rs win midterms No checks have been issued www.thebulwark.com/p/trump-magi...
The Bulwark@thebulwark.com · 3w agoTrump: "If the Republicans win the House of Representatives and the United States Senate...I will issue a dividend to every adult citizen in the United States of America for $5,000."
Leisure and hospitality and state/local government led the job growth for August, following by construction. Information and financial activities reported losses. Federal employment continues to trend down. #EconSky
Even as Americans find employment opportunities, their paychecks are still struggling to keep up with inflation, offering little relief for household budgets
Dean Baker@deanbaker13.bsky.social · 4w agoWage growth continues to slow, down to 3.1% year-over-year, well below inflation.
August #jobsreport blows expectations out of the water: -Payrolls +162k vs. +21k in Jul (revised up from -23k) -Local govt edu drop in Jul seems like a fluke, rebounded from -57.5k to +41.9k -Unemp flat at 4.1% & labor force participation improves -Wage growth slows to 3.1% YoY from 3.2%
Solid jobs report, but the employment-to-population ratio for prime age men (ages 25-54) is still down by 0.7 percentage points from year ago level.
Happy #JobsDay! Unemployment remains unchanged from the prior month, but the economy added 162k jobs from the prior month. Big revisions to prior months due to seasonal adjustments, with June and July 55k more than previously reported
"Working-class people are now mostly service, retail and care workers, a group often forgotten in political and economic conversations" Women are the backbone of the economy and have driven job growth for years. Dems need to pay more attention to the needs of women voters if they want to win races
Chabeli Carrazana@chabeli.bsky.social · 4w agoThe working class isn't just White men in hard hats anymore. Working class women now make nearly half of working-class voters. This midterm cycle, a crop of women candidates from working class backgrounds may be the ones who can earn their votes. 19thnews.org/2026/09/work...
"Losing access to free meals could require families to spend on average nearly $1k/student/school year... & that cost burden comes as families are already grappling w high living costs & steep gas prices." @pbshoemaker.bsky.social www.npr.org/2026/09/03/n...
As millions of kids lose SNAP food benefits, free school meals are also at risk
Food stamps have a direct link to other critical resources, such as free breakfast and lunch at school. Now, experts say they're starting to see that link break.
npr.org
BLS this morning, with revised 2Q data: "The labor share, which is the percentage of output that accrues to workers in the form of compensation, was 52.8 percent in the second quarter of 2026, the lowest level in the series, which begins in the first quarter of 1947."
The deep SNAP cuts enacted last year have harmful ripple effects for low-income families & the broader community. Kids losing SNAP also lose automatic enrollment for free meals at school. As more kids lose SNAP, schools may be forced to drop Community Eligibility & end free meals for all students.
States Newsroom@statesnewsroom.com · 4w agoCuts to the nation’s largest food assistance program may cause students to lose access to free breakfast and lunch. via @stateline.org www.newsfromthestates.com/article/snap...
The hires rate softened to 3.2% in July. This is one of the weakest measures in the labor market today. The hires rate averaged 3.2% in 2010 when the unemployment rate was 9.6%. Layoffs remain low but if those start to tick up while hires remain low, the unemployment rate will likely spike. #EconSky
Softer July #JOLTS in line with softer July jobs report -Hires rate drops to 3.2% from 3.4% in June; lowest since February -Quits rate slows to 1.9% from 2% -Job openings up very slightly to 7.27m from 7.18m -Layoffs fall to 1.67m from 1.79m
Incorporating BLS's preliminary benchmark revisions, we are now down 129,000 manufacturing jobs since Trump took office.
Dean Baker@deanbaker13.bsky.social · last mo.Looks like Trump lost 67k more manufacturing jobs than we realized www.bls.gov/news.release...
Thirty years of evidence show TANF's policies have reduced access to cash assistance, deepened poverty, and failed to promote stable employment. Policymakers must learn from this record rather than repeat TANF's harmful approaches in other programs. www.cbpp.org/research/inc...
Thirty Years of Evidence Show TANF Policies Reduced Access to Cash Assistance, Deepened Poverty, and Did Not Promote Stable Employment
TANF’s block grant structure to states, federal policies that take away cash assistance if a parent doesn’t meet a harsh work requirement, and broad flexibility for states to use TANF funds for a rang...
cbpp.org
MONDAY'S DAILY DIME - SNAP enrollment dropping faster than expected - Q&A with Kim Hunter Reed - Are private school voucher programs a Trojan horse or cash cow? - Farmers struggle to get basic services from depleted USDA investlouisiana.org/snap-enrollm...
SNAP enrollment dropping faster than expected • Invest in Louisiana
Participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has dropped by more than 13% nationwide - and more than 20% in Louisiana - over the last year. It’s not because economic conditions have ...
investlouisiana.org
We just put out a cool interactive scale that lets you weigh the $73 billion Trump and Republicans are requesting for Iran against things that actually help people instead of killing children overseas.
Weighing Priorities: What U.S. Spending on the Iran War Could Fund Instead
The House of Representatives took the first step toward passing a bill that would provide the Trump administration $73 billion to fund its already costly war in Iran. That funding, if better allocated...
americanprogress.org
Time to check in on how Trump's deportations are helping US-born workers...
Thanks to Trump's economic policies, school supplies are another budget item straining families' budgets. As one parent said, "I’m not going to sugarcoat it: Yes, we struggle every day, every month. We struggle if it’s food or if it’s gas, or whatever it is. We struggle."
Parents struggle with back-to-school season as tariffs, Iran war drive up costs
School supplies are becoming too expensive for families across the U.S. as they budget for mounting gas and grocery expenses.
ms.now
Exciting news: Illinois rideshare drivers are now covered under sectoral bargaining. This new model benefits all rideshare drivers facing low wages and threats of losing their jobs to robotaxis. Illinois joins Massachusetts and California on charting a new path forward in unionizing.
1. Mitch McConnell suffered a fall on June 14 and has not been in the Senate for two months. But he's continued to get paid his salary of 174K/year. Since he entered the Senate in 1985, McConnell has voted against creating or expanding medical leave — paid and unpaid — at least 23 times.
