Building an Economy for All

Economic growth must be built on the foundation of a strong and secure middle class so that all Americans benefit from growth.

A child holds hands with her father and mother, January 12, 2020. (Getty/The Washington Post/Amanda Andrade-Rhoades)

What We're Doing

Investing in a stronger and more equitable economy

We must continue to invest in research, technology, and innovation in a manner that ensures participation and benefits communities that are too often left behind. Only through such an approach can the United States remain at the cutting edge in an increasingly competitive global market.

Strengthening worker power and economic mobility

We need to increase wages, reduce poverty among working families, increase worker power, and create pathways to economic mobility for all.

Raising the floor for basic living standards

Working toward a stronger and more equitable economy for everyone involves rebuilding, expanding, and strengthening America’s social safety net to make it more comprehensive in eligibility and services as well as more flexible in how it can be accessed and used.

Creating a new social compact with business

A new social compact with business includes a regulatory vision that better aligns investors, companies, and the public interest on critical matters such as climate, workers’ rights, and equality.

Center for American Progress Action

Securing a Better Future for Generations To Come

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By the numbers

60M

The families of more than 60 million children have received CTC monthly payments since July 2021.

CAP, “Making the CTC and EITC Expansions Permanent Would Reduce Poverty and Grow the Economy” (2021).

$100

In 32 states, a typical family would save more than $100 per week on child care under the Build Back Better Act.

CAP, “The Build Back Better Act Would Greatly Lower Families’ Child Care Costs” (2021).

$22.5B

In a year, workers and their families lose $22.5 billion in wages due to lack of access to paid family and medical leave.

CAP, “A Real Recovery for Women Cannot Happen Without the Build Back Better Agenda” (2021).

$3.6T

The Build Back Better Act would raise $3.6 trillion in revenue to support investments in an inclusive, high-growth economy.

CAP, “Addressing Tax System Failings That Favor Billionaires and Corporations” (2021).

Recent work

Latest

Compact View

Opinion: At 19, I was homeless. Now at 25, I’m a homeowner with a good-paying union job. In the News

Opinion: At 19, I was homeless. Now at 25, I’m a homeowner with a good-paying union job.

Michigan carpenter Raquell Rivera describes how her career as a union carpenter enabled her to transition out of homelessness and become a homeowner. Raquell explains how proposed cuts to federal workforce development funding could threaten both the preapprenticeship program she attended and similar programs.

The Michigan Independent

Raquell Rivera

Rep. Andy Levin on the Labor Movement and MAGA Republican Disarray Podcast

Rep. Andy Levin on the Labor Movement and MAGA Republican Disarray

Former Rep. Andy Levin, a distinguished senior fellow at the Center for American Progress Action Fund, joins the show to discuss the historic removal of Rep. Kevin McCarthy as speaker of the House, the policy agenda of the far right, and the labor movement.

I’m a Union Worker in Pennsylvania. I Know Biden’s Got Our Back. In the News

I’m a Union Worker in Pennsylvania. I Know Biden’s Got Our Back.

Sherice Workman, a union carpenter who worked on the historic 12-day repair of I-95 in Philadelphia, shares how federal infrastructure investments are creating a boom in union career opportunities within the skilled trades.

The Keystone

Sherice Workman

CAP Action’s Navin Nayak on the Looming Government Shutdown and MAGA Extremism Podcast

CAP Action’s Navin Nayak on the Looming Government Shutdown and MAGA Extremism

Navin Nayak, president and executive director of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, joins the show to discuss this week’s Republican presidential debates and the threat of a government shutdown.

Opinion: President Biden is working to make sure I never have to ration my insulin again In the News

Opinion: President Biden is working to make sure I never have to ration my insulin again

Yamelisa Jimenez Taveras, a Type 1 diabetic, shares how the high cost of insulin left her with little choice but to ration her insulin. She applauds the Biden administration’s efforts to cap the cost of insulin for Medicare recipients and continues to advocate for insulin copay caps for all diabetics.

The Pennsylvania Independent

Yamelisa Jimenez Taveras

5 Reasons Automakers Must Provide Good Jobs and Lower Vehicle Emissions Article

5 Reasons Automakers Must Provide Good Jobs and Lower Vehicle Emissions

In the face of demands for better jobs and stronger health protections, some automakers claim they can’t improve job quality and lower vehicle emissions—but they have the resources to support middle-class-led economic growth and clean up their vehicle fleets.

the Center for American Progress

Leo Banks, Karla Walter, Anona Neal

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