The Century Foundation

2026-02-04_la_dwc_livestream_panel_trumps_report_card_failing_working_women.mp4 | Powered by Box

This week, Chief of Policy Programs @angelanhanks.bsky.social participated in the @demwomencaucus.bsky.social roundtable on Republicans’ attacks on working women led by @repilhan.bsky.social and
@replamonica.bsky.social. You can watch the whole discussion here house.app.box.com/s/40xofdycki...

As ICE Targets Twin Cities Schools & Bus Stops, Even Citizens Keep Kids Home 'Everybody’s affected’: Fear, anger and chaos as classrooms empty out, distance learning fails, student mental health suffers and teachers struggle.

Harming kids—wherever they or their parents were born—has become a core administration priority. www.the74million.org/article/as-i...

Millions of Americans face higher utility bills as dozens of rate hikes take effect Over 50 million Americans will face higher utility costs as a result of rate hikes approved in 2025, according to PowerLines.

Millions of Americans are facing higher utility bills at a time when the affordability crisis is already pushing families to the brink.
www.cbsnews.com/news/utility...

The Termination of the Fostering Diverse Schools Program Is a Call to Action Last fall, the federal government abruptly canceled funding that states and school districts were using to expand academic opportunities, strengthen

Senior fellow Kayla Patrick is out with a new piece today digging into the Trump administration's cuts to school funding and how it is hurting students, schools, and communities.
tcf.org/content/comm...

Runaway College Spending Meets the Working Families Tax Cuts YouTube video by House Committee on Education & Workforce

WATCH 📺: TCF President @jmargetta.bsky.social will testify before the House Ed and Workforce Committee's subcommittee on higher education at 10:15am ET to talk about how to make college more affordable for working class families. Watch here: www.youtube.com/live/AqWrBfk...

‘We have to keep showing up for each other’: In Minnesota, caregiving is a form of resistance School pickups, diaper runs and mutual aid funds are central to how many Minnesotans are challenging the militarization of their state.

As I shared with @bcrodriguez.bsky.social, “The devaluing of women’s work in care, it’s isolating ... So we can feel so separated from a greater social fabric. This is really weaving it all together in a way that I think actually is showing the power of togetherness.” 19thnews.org/2026/02/minn...

We’re in an economic boom. Where are the jobs? AI is sending stocks soaring, rich people are spending big, and hiring is at a crawl. Here’s why.

We're living in two different economies: a booming one for the very rich and an ailing one for the rest of us. @byheatherlong.bsky.social on how uncertainty from White House policy is squeezing middle and working class families.
www.vox.com/the-highligh...

The Effects of Tariffs, One Year Into Trump’s Trade Experiment

Graphs from the New York Times' @anaswanson.bsky.social: www.nytimes.com/2026/02/02/b...

Trump promised that on day one, he'd lower prices and bring manufacturing back to America. One year in and prices are up—in no small part because of his tariffs—and manufacturing has lost tens of thousands of jobs.

Right-wing influencers target Somali child-care centers across U.S. after viral video A video alleging fraud at Somali-run child-care centers in Minneapolis has led right-wing influencers to harass child-care centers nationwide, often making false claims.

Rightwing influencers are trying to use YouTube clips to distract people from the fact that millions of Americans across the country are calling for affordable, accessible child care. We won't let them distract us.
www.latimes.com/world-nation...

Obamacare enrollment drops after enhanced premium subsidies expire | CNN Politics More than a million fewer people have signed up for Affordable Care Act coverage for 2026, according to federal data released Wednesday. The drop comes after the expiration of the enhanced federal pre...

More than a million fewer people have health insurance this year because Republicans in Congress chose to double or triple health care costs for working families.
www.cnn.com/2026/01/28/p...

Who Will Rebuild Syria? Podcast Episode · Order From Ashes · 26/01/2026 · 57m

Great to be on Order From Ashes, Century International's podcast with @tcambanis.bsky.social, talking Syria's reconstruction challenges, what rebuilding could look like, and Sharaa's vision for the post-Assad era. @centuryintl.bsky.social @tcfdotorg.bsky.social podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/w...

Hunger Is a Policy Choice That Will Lead to Decades of Worsening Health The fight against hunger has never been an easy one, even in as wealthy a country as the United States. But never before has the U.S. government abandoned

The fight against hunger has never been an easy one, especially in the United States, but we've never given up on that fight—until 2025. Elizabeth Dawes and Michaela Minnis write for TCF about the devastating impact of the Trump administration's cuts:
tcf.org/content/comm...

In an affordability crunch, Gen Z adults are leaning on their parents for financial help More young adults are leaning on their parents for financial support, but that comes with risks that families should consider, a top advisor says.

Young people are being crushed in this economy. As @cnbc.com notes, our survey found "nearly half... of adults ages 18 to 29 have delayed or skipped medical care — more than any other age group." It's time for our leaders to offer real solutions to this crisis. www.cnbc.com/2026/01/23/f...

Why Democrats are suddenly embracing universal childcare Candidates are putting universal childcare on platforms, and strategists say it could be a winning issue

"Ultimately, having universal childcare as the goal is something that not only serves the families directly who will benefit from it, but it really serves everyone" - @kashenj.bsky.social on the movement towards universal child care in @us.theguardian.com theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Our leaders can't build a broad coalition of working people by ignoring the influence of big corporations and the wealthy on them. Building trust with ordinary Americans means taking on the powerful interests that grow rich at their expense.

The same idea is reflected in responses on what voters *do* want. There are massive majorities for:
- Getting corporate $$$ out of politics
- Breaking up corporate monopolies
- Stopping corporate greed from ruining housing and healthcare 4/

Voters are not oblivious. Not only do people feel like they're being taken advantage of, they also know who's cashing in. Americans know that billionaires and giant corporations are squeezing them. 3/

In the richest country in the world, no one should have to skip meals or medical treatment.

But in 2026, this is simply the reality for far too many Americans - particularly young voters and Americans without college degrees 2/

Over half the country is getting pummeled by snow and freezing temperatures this week. Families shouldn't have to foot the bill for utility companies and their shareholders while they take on debt to keep themselves safe from the storm.
www.msn.com/en-us/news/u...

NEW OP-ED: In the 74 Million, @c-hinds.bsky.social and @kingsfloyd.bsky.social spell out how moving disability programs from the Department of Education to HHS would be detrimental to students and families across the country.

"If we believe in competition, we should... consider breaking up this industry to allow the kind of competition that prevents this vertical integration and abuse of power."

WATCH: @ocasio-cortez.house.gov calls for adopting a new Glass–Steagall Act in health care 👇

NEW: @angelanhanks.bsky.social and @nateschenkkan.bsky.social join
@centuryintl.bsky.social’s Order from Ashes podcast to discuss the U.S. Democracy Meter, our new tool for assessing the health of American democracy.

🎧 Tune in: go.tcf.org/OrderFromAshes
📚 Full report: go.tcf.org/DemocracyMeter

Universal Child Care Is a No-Brainer Supporting families benefits both conservative and liberal priorities.

"Universal child care, when fully funded and well implemented, supports parents’ choices, higher family income, thriving children, greater gender equity, and economic growth. It is a win-win policy that should enjoy [cross party] support.” - @kashenj.bsky.social thedispatch.com/debates/univ...

Century’s New Democracy Meter Shows America Took an Authoritarian Turn in 2025 At a time when experts are warning of unprecedented democratic backsliding in the United States under the second Trump administration, how should people

Today, American democracy is at greater risk than at any time since Watergate, and may even be approaching its pre-Civil Rights Movement low point. Our analysis finds that the slide into authoritarianism, however, is reversible.

Learn more: go.tcf.org/DemocracyMeter

Today, we are launching the U.S. Democracy Meter, a new tool that deploys a 100-point scale across twenty-three subquestions to evaluate the quality of American democracy: go.tcf.org/DemocracyMeter

Facing Political Pressure, Trump Seeks Answer to Rising Housing Costs

Poll after poll shows Americans are frustrated with the economy—and increasingly blame Trump’s policies for rising costs.

“The average American looks at this against a larger stack of cost-of-living increases they’re experiencing right now.” —
@jmargetta.bsky.social

Syria’s Reconstruction Risks Cutting Out the Syrian People Damascus’s battered fairgrounds, on the outskirts of the city, hosted a reconstruction fair this fall, billed as an international exhibition to rebuild

“Reconstruction risks ushering in a new era of clientelism and corruption in Syria.”

My piece on opaque reconstruction under Sharaa, who so far has prioritized shady investment deals with foreign patrons over any plan to rebuild a country in ruins. @tcfdotorg.bsky.social tcf.org/content/comm...

How States Can Lead the Way for Workers: A State Playbook Foreword by Julie Su It is no secret that workers across the country are feeling stressed, strained, and under attack. Paychecks aren’t enough to pay the

Nearly 15,000 nurses are on strike in New York City, the largest nurses’ strike in NYC history.

One major grievance is dangerously low staffing levels that burn out workers and compromise patient care.

New York and other states can address the shortage with minimum staffing standards. Here’s how.

Trump is moving forward with his student-loan repayment overhaul — this time focused on unaffordable debt Trump's Education Department concluded another round of negotiations focused on gainful employment, aimed at protecting student-loan borrowers.

The Dept. of Ed just concluded negotiations that will weaken the gainful employment rule.

TCF’s Carolyn Fast explains how the proposed changes leave low-income students more vulnerable to investing in programs that do not provide a return on investment.