investing in millennials through an economy that works for all

8/20/2019 Investing in Millennials Through an Economy that Works for All

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1 Center for American Progress | Investing in Millennials Through an Economy that Works for All

Investing in Millennials Through an

Economy that Works for All Testimony Before the U.S. House of Representatives

Committee on the Budget

Hearing on Restoring the Trust for Young Americans

Rebecca D. Vallas, Esq.,

Director of Policy, Poverty to Prosperity Program

Center for American Progress

September 9, 2015

Introduction

Tank you, Chairman Price, Ranking Member Van Hollen, and members o he com-

mitee or he inviaion o appear beore you oday. My name is Rebecca Vallas, and

I am he Direcor o Policy o he Povery o Prosperiy Program a he Cener or

American Progress.

MillennialsAmericans ages 18 o 341

are acing grea financial pressures and chal-lenges o economic sabiliy. As a generaion, Millennials were hi hard by he Grea

Recession, which coincided wih he ormaive years o our careers and served o add

insul o injury afer decades o sagnan and declining wages. Te real median annual

incomes o young people have plummeed over he pas hree decades, meaning ha

members o he Millennial generaion are making housands o dollars less each year in

real erms han previous generaions did when hey were 18 o 34.2 Wha’s more, many

Millennials are earning very low wages. More han 70 percen o minimum wage work-

ers are 16 o 34, bu he minimum wage is lower in real erms oday han i was in 1968.3

Millennials are also acing high raes o unemploymen. Despie he recen decline in

he naional unemploymen raewhich hi 5.3 percen in June, is lowes rae in seven

yearsunemploymen remains higher han 12 percen or jobless 16- o 24-year-olds

looking or work and 5.6 percen or 25- o 34-year-oldscompared o 3.7 percen or

workers 35 and older.4 In addiion, Millennials ace record-breaking levels o suden

deb, wih he class o 2015 acing an average deb burden o more han $35,000.5 Tus,


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despie being more educaed han previous generaions, Millennials ace higher povery

raes han oher generaions beore us did a he same age,6 and oday, more han 1 in 5

young people ages 18 o 24 live in povery.7

Making maters worse, Millennials are acing hese financial challenges righ as hey are

saring heir own amilies. Fory percen o Millennials are already parens, and ha

share is expeced o double over he nex 10 o 15 years.8 As new parens know all oo well, childrearing brings is own se o seep coss. Diapers alone cos nearly $1,000 per

child each year on average.9 And his influx o coss comes long beore new parens reach

heir peak earning years, which occur a age 51 or he ypical American worker.10

Despie claims o he conrary, Millennials are no acing economic challenges because

our naion is spending oo much on social insurance programs such as Social Securiy,

Medicare, and Medicaid. Since he programs were pu in place, alarmiss have claimed

ha America’s bedrock social insurance programs are puting us on he brink o financial

ruin and ha he only soluions are o slash benefis or privaize vial programs.Indeed, a

1935 aricle in Time Magazine summarizing Republicans’ opposiion o Social Securiysounds a lo like he scare acics some are peddling o Millennials oday: “Wage earn-

ers, you will pay and pay in axes … and when you are very old, you will have an I.O.U.

which he US Governmen may make good [on] i i is sill solven.”11

Such doomsday predicions were wrong 80 years agoand hey are wrong oday. Te

challenges Millennials are acing are he resul o an off-kiler economy ha is only

working or he wealhy and big corporaions and is leaving average Americans squeezed

by rising coss and fla incomes. Wha our generaion needs in order in order o “resore

our rus” is policies ha inves in job creaion and expand opporuniyno a conin-

ued fixaion on auseriy a he expense o economic growh, or he dismanling o ournaion’s bedrock social insurance programs, which our generaion sands o need more

han ever. By his measure, he FY 2016 congressional budge and relaed appropriaions

billswhich make deep cus o invesmens in inrasrucure, educaion, job raining,

healh insurance, and more o pay or ax cus or he wealhy and corporaionsare he

opposie o wha Millennials need in order o ge ahead.

I will make hree main poins oday:

• Our nation’s social insurance system provides vital protection to American workers

and their families, and it is especially important to Millennials. Programs such as

Social Securiy, Medicare, Medicaid, Unemploymen Insurance, and he Supplemenal

Nuriion Assisance Program proec ens o millions o Americans rom povery and

provide peace o mind ha we will no become desiue in he even o disabiliy, ill

healh, job loss, reiremen, or loss o a breadwinner.


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• The fiscal challenges the nation faces are manageable—and it would be penny-

wise and pound-foolish to continue misguided austerity at the expense of eco-

nomic growth. Our budge defici has shrunk dramaically in recen years, and

urher sequesraionle alone deeper spending cusis unnecessary rom a fiscal

perspecive. Needless cus o vial programs would no only be harmul o curren and

uure generaions, bu would cos jobs and hamper growh, poenially worsening

Millennial unemploymen.

• We can reduce the long-term deficit and invest in Millennials. Some claim ha i we

were o spend less on our naion’s seniors, we could afford o inves more in policies

and programs ha benefi younger Americans. Tis narraive ses up a alse choice.

Wih he righ budge choices, we can inves in young people, srenghen he middle

class, ensure he long-erm solvency o our bedrock social insurance programs, and

address our long-erm defici.

Our social insurance system is vital to Millennials

Jus his summer, we commemoraed he 80h anniversary o Social Securiy and he

50h anniversary o Medicare and Medicaid. For he beter par o a cenury, hese

programs have provided criical proecion o American workers and heir amilies and

peace o mind ha in he even o reiremen, illness, or loss o a breadwinner, we will be

proeced rom desiuion. While hese programs are ofen associaed wih he elderly,

hey provide criical benefis o Americans o all ages, and areand will beespecially

imporan o he Millennial generaion.

Social Security

Social Securiy is he mos successul income securiy program in our naion’s hisory,

proecing nearly all American workers and heir amilies in case o deah, disabiliy,

or reiremen and keeping some 22 million Americans ou o povery each year. While

Social Securiy is ofen hough o as a reiremen program, nearly one-hird o Social

Securiy beneficiaries are no reirees; in ac, i is he larges provider o income assis-

ance o children, providing benefis o 3.4 million children whose parens are disabled,

reired, or deceased.12 Nearly 3.5 million Millennials currenly benefi rom Social

Securiy.13 Moreover, nearly all American workers9 in 10benefi rom he proec-

ion ha Social Securiy offers agains he “hazards and vicissiudes o lie.”14 Te disabil-

iy and lie insurance ha he program provides are especially imporan in his regard,

as a 20-year-old worker jus saring ou oday aces a 1 in 4 chance o dying or becoming

disabled beore reaching ull reiremen age.15


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Te economic proecion ha Social Securiy provides will be especially imporan o

he Millennial generaion, due o an increasingly inadequae privae reiremen sysem.

Jus 40 percen o workers under age 35 even have an employer-provided reiremen

plan,16 and defined benefi plans have largely become a hing o he pas, now replaced

by defined conribuion plans. Add in he ac ha hal o workers under 35 have no

reiremen savings a all and have amassed significanly less wealh han he previous

generaion had a our age,17 and Social Securiy will be more imporan han ever or ourgeneraion when we are ready o reire.

Moreover, as our parens reach old age, Social Securiy will ease he financial bur-

den o heir reiremen on us: heir children. Nearly wo-hirds o seniors coun on

Social Securiy or mos o heir income, and or 3 in 10 seniors, i is heir only source

o income.18 Wih an average reiremen benefi o jus $1,290 per monh, or abou

$15,480 a year,19 mos beneficiaries are no living in luxuryand cus would push hem

ino or deeper ino povery, leaving many dependen on heir working-age children o

keep a roo over he heads and pu ood on he able. Millennials who only recenly

moved ou o heir parens’ homes could find heir parens moving in wih themascary hough even or hose o us who ge along wih our parens.

Medicare and Medicaid

Signed ino law as par o he Social Securiy amendmens o 1965, Medicare and

Medicaid have been core componens o he American healh care sysem or he pas

50 years. In 1964, jus hal o American seniors had healh insurancea figure ha

jumped o 96 percen afer Medicare’s implemenaion.20 While Medicaid iniially

provided healh insurance only o low-income children and people wih disabiliies,he program was laer expanded under Presidens Reagan and George H.W. Bush o

cover pregnan women and children. In 2014, Medicare and Medicaid ogeher covered

roughly one-hird o he U.S. populaion.21 In addiion o providing radiional healh

insurance coverage, Medicaid is also he primary source o long-erm care coverage or

seniors and people wih disabiliies.

Te Affordable Care Ac, or ACA, is he laes chaper in he American healh insur-

ance sory, expanding access o healh insurance or millions o Americans and cu-

ing he uninsured rae nearly in hal.22 Te ACA has proven paricularly imporan or

Millennials. Beore he ACA, privaely insured young aduls were more han wice as

likely as older aduls o lose heir insurance coverage in he course o a yearofen,

because o aging ou o a paren’s plan, graduaing rom school, or swiching jobs.23

Addiionally, as many as 30 million 18- o 34-year-olds have some ype o pre-exising

condiion, meaning ha beore he ACA ook effec, hey could have been denied cover-

age alogeher.24 Since he opening o he markeplace, more han 10 million Americans

have gained insurance coverage, reducing he number o uninsured by more han one-


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quarer in jus one year; he age group wih he larges coverage gains is 18 o 34-year-

olds.25 And expanded access o coverage in young adulhood may yield subsanial

benefis or young workers’ careers by allowing hem o obain addiional educaion and

choose he jobs ha bes mach heir career goals.26

Unemployment Insurance, SNAP, and tax credits for working families

Oher vial programs such as Unemploymen Insurance, or UI, he Supplemenal

Nuriion Assisance Program, or SNAP, and ax credis or working amilies, also

offer criical proecion agains hardship. In ac, wihou vial saey ne programs, he

naion’s povery rae would be nearly wice as high as i is oday. 27

While UI benefis are modes, averaging jus more han $300 per week, UI proeced

more han 5 million Americans rom povery in 2009, when unemploymen was a his-

oric heighs.28 UI is especially imporan o Millennials, as younger workers are dispro-

porionaely likely o experience job loss and spells o unemploymen.29

SNAP proeced nearly 5 million Americans rom povery in 2013.30 And he Earned

Income ax Credi, or EIC, and he Child ax Credi, or CC, proeced more han

6.5 million and 3 million Americans rom povery in 2012, respecively.31 Tese pro-

grams are also paricularly imporan o younger workers, who are more likely o work

in low-wage jobs and o benefi rom he income boos hese programs provide. For

example, 14 million Millennials received he EIC and/or he low-income porion o

he CC in 2012.32

In addiion o providing criical economic proecion o individuals and amilies, eacho hese programs serves as a powerul source o economic simulus, by puting dollars

in he pockes o sruggling workers who will hen go ou and spend hem in heir local

communiies. Tis in urn booss demando he une o beween $1.50 and $2.00

in economic aciviy or every dollar ha flows o sruggling amilies rom one o hese

programs.33 UI is esimaed o have creaed nearly 2 million jobs a he heigh o he

Grea Recession34 and o have prevened 1.4 million oreclosures beween 2009 and

2012.35 Indeed, i emergency unemploymen compensaion had been exended pas

December 2013, i would have creaed an addiional 200,000 jobs in 2014, according o

he Congressional Budge Office.36

Wha’s more, hese programs no only miigae hardship in he shor-ermresearch

shows ha invesmens in SNAP, he EIC, and he CC all boos mobiliy in he long-

erm as well, by improving children’s healh, educaion, and employmen oucomes as

aduls.37 Tus, invesmens in hese vial programs are invesmens in our nex generaion.


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We should avoid misguided austerity at the expense of economic growth

Te budge defici or FY 2014 sood a $485 billion, or 2.8 percen o gross domesic

produc, or GDPdown rom $1.4 rillion, or 9.8 percen o GDP in FY 2009. Te

Congressional Budge Office projecs ha he defici will remain less han 3 percen o

GDP unil FY 2020 and rise o 3.7 percen o GDP by FY 2025. Te Unied Saes has

hus achieved subsanial defici reducion over he pas several years.38

While many o he policies recommended by he Bowles-Simpson commission in

2010 were flawed, he repor offers a useul illusraion o why sequesraionle

alone addiional, deeper spending cusis unnecessary rom a fiscal perspecive. Te

Bowles-Simpson commission recommended $1.7 rillion in discreionary spending

cus beween FY 2011 and FY 2020. Using he same baseline budge projecions as

Bowles-Simpson, we have no only me ha arge, bu acually have exceeded i, even

i sequesraion is ully repealed saring in FY 2016.39 Wha’s more, due in large par o

significan reducions in ederal spending on healh care, even assuming ha sequesra-

ion is repealed going orward, oal ederal spending rom FY 2011 o FY 2020 is projeced o be $2.6 rillion less han he levels recommended by Bowles-Simpson.40 Tus,

while more work remains o be done o address our long-erm fiscal challenges, paricu-

larly on he ax side o he ledger, our naion’s budge oulook has improved subsanially

in recen years.

Moreover, policymakers should keep in mind ha cus o criical invesmens suppored

by discreionary spending, such as housing, educaion, and job raining, come a grea

cos no only o individuals and communiies, bu also o he larger U.S. economy. In ac,

a 2013 sudy by Macroeconomic Advisers ound ha cus in discreionary spending have

slowed annual GDP growh by 0.7 percenage poins since 2010, increased he naion’sunemploymen rae by 0.8 percenage poins, and cos our economy 1.2 million jobs.41

While he Murray-Ryan budge agreemen offered emporary relie rom sequesraion,

he FY 2016 budge and relaed appropriaions bills would make deep cus o inrasruc-

ure, affordable housing, Pell Grans, and oher criical invesmens ha creae jobs and

level he playing field. In addiion o causing grea hardship o American amilies, hese

cus would have broader economic ramificaions; or example, an analysis by he Cener

or American Progress finds ha he nuriion assisance cus would cos our economy

286,000 jobs in he firs year alone.42 As lawmakers weigh he opions or a new budge

agreemen his all, i is well worh remembering Presiden Obama’s words o cauion

in a 2013 speech: “A relenlessly growing defici o opporuniy is a bigger hrea o our

uure han our rapidly shrinking fiscal defici.”43

In addiion o he remendous defici reducion achieved over he pas several years, we

have also seen subsanial reducions in healh care spending hanks o he Affordable

Care Ac. In ac, he Congressional Budge Office esimaes ha he ACA’s cos-con-


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ainmen provisions will reduce he ederal defici by some $100 billion over he coming

decade.44 Addiionally, CBO has reduced is spending projecions or Medicare and

Medicaid in 2020 by $197 billion, due primarily o he slowdown in healh care spend-

ing.45 Tose who care abou fiscal discipline should be wary o any proposal ha repeals

he ACA, given he immense challenge o enacing policies ha curb healh care coss

in he long-erm. Moreover, repealing he ACA would increase deficis by an esimaed

$353 billion over 10 years.46

Hisoric levels o income inequaliy pose a much greaer hrea o our naion’s eco-

nomic healh han our rapidly alling budge deficis. Indeed, a growing body o

researchincluding rom he World Bank, he Inernaional Moneary Fund, and

he Organisaion or Economic Co-operaion and Developmenfinds ha exces-

sive income inequaliy no only slows income growh or hose a he botom o he

economic ladder, i also undermines our naion’s economic growh wri large.47 Rising

income inequaliy also akes a subsanial oll on vial programs. For example, analy-

sis by he Cener or American Progress finds ha i no or recen rends in income

inequaliy over he pas hree decades, he Social Securiy rus unds would be morehan $1.1 rillion greaer oday.48

Noably, while many ocus on he ac ha Social Securiy aces a projeced shorall

over he nex 75 years, his challenge is boh expeced and manageable, and i does

no presen an urgen crisis. Social Securiy has a large and growing surplus, and he

program will be able o pay all promised benefis or he nex nearly wo decades.

Imporanly, Social Securiy does no add a penny o he defici. Te program has no

borrowing auhoriy, and i canno defici-spend.

While he Social Securiy Disabiliy Insurance rus und is projeced o deplee isreserves a he end o 2016, all ha is needed o preven DI’s shorall is a emporary,

modes reallocaion o payroll axes.49 Tis sep has been aken rouinely over he

years, abou equally in boh direcions, whenever eiher o he rus undsOld Age

and Survivors Insurance, or OASI, and Disabiliy Insurance, or DIhas needed o be

shored up.50 Enacing such a reallocaionas Presiden Obama called or in his FY 2016

budgewould ensure ha boh rus unds are on sound ooing unil 2034, providing

ample ime or lawmakers o work ogeher and find common ground o address Social

Securiy’s 75-year shorall.

Moreover, as noed previously, a significan driver o Social Securiy’s shorall is rising

income inequaliy. Policies ha address excessive income inequaliy and boos wages

would hus improve he program’s financial oulook. Addiionally, he modes sep o

resoring he payroll ax cap o he level where Presiden Reagan se i in 1983a 90

percen o covered wageswould on is own close more han one-quarer o he pro-

jeced 75-year shorall.51 Lifing he cap urher or eliminaing i enirely would improve

he program’s fiscal oulook even more subsanially.


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Pu simply, here is no fiscal imperaive o cu Social Securiy, Medicare, Medicaid, or

oher vial programs. Indeed, he Cener or American Progress has shown ha no only

can he Unied Saes afford o secure hese programs or curren and uure generaions

wihou cuting benefis, we can srenghen Social Securiy benefis or elderly and dis-

abled Americans, while invesing in young people, srenghening he middle class, and

reducing he long-erm defici. 52 Tese goals are no muually exclusive.

Moreover, Millennials value hese programs highly and wan o see hem srenghened

no cu. For example, in a recen survey conduced by he nonparisan Naional Academy

o Social Insurance, no only were Millennial respondens srongly opposed o cuting

Social Securiy, 80 percen indicaed ha hey view Social Securiy as “more imporan

han ever,” and more han hree-quarers expressed suppor or increasing benefisand

were willing o pay more o make ha happen.53 Addiionally, polling by he Cener or

American Progress shows ha Millennials are similarly supporive o expanding nuri-

ion assisance (85 percen), expanding ax credis or working amilies (80 percen), and

exending he duraion o jobless benefis during downurns (70 percen).54

We can reduce the deficit and invest in Millennials

Some claim ha i we were o spend less on our naion’s seniors, we could afford o

inves more in policies and programs ha benefi younger Americans. Tis narraive

ses up a alse choice. As noed previously, he Cener or American Progress has shown

ha wih he righ budge choices, we can inves in young people, srenghen he middle

class, ensure he long-erm solvency o our bedrock social insurance programs, and

address our long-erm defici.

Moreover, when proponens o his narraive design budges ha cu spending or older

Americans, hey do no inves hose savings in young people. For example, he FY 2016

congressional budge slashes healh care or seniors, while also cuting Pell Grans,

job raining, child care and early educaion, and nuriion assisance ha keeps mil-

lions o young amilies ou o poveryall o pay or lopsided ax cus or he wealhy

and corporaions. Wha’s more, no only do he congressional budge’s spending cus

arge programs ha are vial or young people, hey would also slow job growh when

Millennials are in dire need o policies o creae more jobs.55

Anoher ficion we canno afford o mainain is ha ax cus or he wealhy will yield

economic growh. Raher han ailed rickle-down policies, i is a srong middle class

ha generaes economic growh.56 Te middle class produces no jus he U.S. consumer

base, bu also an educaed workorce and base o enrepreneurs ha can drive he nex

wave o innovaion and jobs. Moreover, analysis by he Cener or American Progress


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has shown ha U.S. regions ha have larger and sronger middle classes end o have

greaer economic mobiliy or hose a he botom o he economic ladder.57 In order o

build an economy ha works or Millennials, we mus hereore build an economy ha

works or all Americansno jus he ulra-wealhy and big corporaions.

And hird, i is long pas ime ha lawmakers acknowledge in a biparisan ashion ha

we canno address our long-erm fiscal challenges wih spending cus aloneno wih-ou guting or ourigh eliminaing invesmens ha are criical o reiremen securiy,

inrasrucure, innovaion, and securiy, as well as opporuniy and mobiliy or he nex

generaion. Te FY 2016 House budge serves as a sark illusraion o his ac, as i

derives more han wo-hirds o is nondeense cus rom programs ha serve low- and

moderae-income Americans.58 Noably, biparisan fiscal commissions consisenly rec-

ognize ha a responsible long-erm budge plan mus include addiional ax revenues.

And when he Peer G. Peerson Foundaion asked he Cener or American Progress

and our oher hink anks across he ideological specrum o produce long-erm budge

plans earlier his year, every single organizaionincluding he conservaive hink

anksdesigned plans ha included new ax revenue.59

Furhermore, polling by he Cener or American Progress and Har Research

Associaes shows ha Millennials suppor rebalancing he lopsided ax code and asking

he wealhies Americans o pay heir air share. However, wih a majoriy o he House

o Represenaives and nearly hal o he Senae signed on o Americans or ax Reorm’s

“axpayer Proecion Pledge,” a subsanial swah o Congress coninues o pu he iner-

ess o he wealhy and big corporaions ahead o he invesmens ha Millennials need

and wan in order o ge ahead.

Te sep-up in basis or capial gainswhich shields large sums o wealh rom axaion when hey are passed down o inheriorsprovides an exemplar o how our ax code is

skewed in avor o he wealhy. A a cos o more han $60 billion annually, spending on

his single policy ha largely benefis adul children o he wealhies Americans exceeds

all curren spending on our naion’s 74 million children hrough he Child ax Credi.60

Likewise, wih a price ag o more han $64 billion per year, he deerral o axes on

oreign corporae incomea ax break ha allows mulinaional corporaions o delay

paying axes on overseas profisis one o he mos cosly expendiures in our corpo-

rae ax code. Te cos o his one ax break equals our naion’s oal spending on he

Earned Income ax Credi, which helps more han 26 million working amilies make

ends mee.61

In order o resore he rus or Millennials, lawmakers mus rebalance our lopsided ax

code and build an economy ha works or usno jus he wealhy and big corporaions.


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Te ollowing are five key prioriies o boos economic sabiliy and expand opporuniy

or our generaion.

Create good jobs

In order o help Millennials ge a oohold in he labor marke, lawmakers should sup-por invesmens ha grow he economy and spur job creaion, such as inrasrucure,

educaion, and research, as well as policies ha se up pahways o good jobs. For exam-

ple, in 2009, Congress passed he Serve America Ac o creae 250,000 naional service

posiions, bu i never unded he program.62 Fully unding he Serve America Ac would

help young Americans seeking early employmen opporuniies kick off heir careers.

Similarly, lawmakers should suppor subsidized jobs, which offer a win-win sraegy or

helping disadvanaged workerssuch as hose wih limied educaion or work experi-

ence, people wih criminal records, and non-college-bound youhge a oo in he

door o he labor marke, while simulaneously helping businesses and he economy.63

CAP has proposed a naional subsidized jobs program modeled on he successul ANF

Emergency Fund, which pu more han 260,000 Americans o work a he heigh o he

recession hrough biparisan cooperaion in he saes. Hal o he posiions creaed by

he ANF Emergency Fund were or youh employmen.64

Boost wages

Decades o sagnan and declining wages coupled wih ever-rising coss have mean ha

American amilies are having a much harder ime making ends mee. Tis is paricularlyrue or young workers, or whom real medial annual incomes have plummeed over he

pas hree decades. And when young Americans are huring and canno afford o spend,

he enire economy suffers. Boosing wages is criical o ensuring boh Millennials’ eco-

nomic sabiliy and he growh o he economy.

I lawmakers are serious abou boosing economic sabiliy and opporuniy or

Millennials, hey should embrace raising he minimum wage. America’s curren ederal

minimum wage is a povery wage, and many ull-ime minimum wage workers mus

urn o public assisance programs o make ends mee. By allowing businesses o pay

heir workers povery wages, lawmakers have no only le low-wage employers off he

hookhey have lef American axpayers o oo he bill: Researchers a he Universiy

o Caliornia-Berkeley have ound ha he low wages cos American axpayers a sagger-

ing $152 billion each year.65

In 1968, he ederal minimum wage was enough o keep a amily o 3 ou o povery.66

Had i kep up wih inflaion since hen, i would be almos $11 per hour oday, com-

pared o he curren $7.25 an hour.67 Young workers are especially in need o a raise, as

http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/09_0421_serveact_summary.pdfhttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/01/29/105622/a-subsidized-jobs-program-for-the-21st-century/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/01/29/105622/a-subsidized-jobs-program-for-the-21st-century/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/01/29/105622/a-subsidized-jobs-program-for-the-21st-century/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/01/29/105622/a-subsidized-jobs-program-for-the-21st-century/http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/09_0421_serveact_summary.pdf


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70 percen o minimum wage workers are 16- o 34-years old.68 Raising he minimum

wage o $12 by 2020 would give more han 2 million young workers a raise,69 while also

creaing budgeary savings in programs such as he Supplemenal Nuriion Assisance

Programo he une o nearly $53 billion over 10 years.70

Ensure an adequate social insurance system

As noed previously, he U.S. povery rae would be nearly wice as high wihou vial

programs such as Social Securiy, nuriion assisance, and ax credis or working

amilies. Wihou hese criical invesmens, nearly 40 million more Americans would be

poor oday. 71 Moreover, ani-povery programs no only miigae hardship in he shor

erm, bu also serve as an invesmen ha pays dividends in he long erm, by improving

children’s long-erm healh, educaion, and employmen oucomes.72

Furhermore, as discussed in deail earlier in his esimony, many o hese programs are

especially imporan o Millennials. For example, nuriion assisance and low-incomeax credis are paricularly vial o younger workers, who are more likely o work in low-

wage jobs and o benefi rom he income boos hese programs provide. Unemploymen

Insurance is especially criical or younger workers, who are disproporionaely likely

o experience job loss and spells o unemploymen. And Social Securiy will be more

imporan han ever o our generaion, due o our ailing privae reiremen sysemas

well as an imporan buffer ha will keep our parens rom becoming our roommaes.

I lawmakers are serious abou boosing economic sabiliy or Millennials, preserving

and srenghening vial social insurance and saey ne programs mus be a op prior-

iy. Examples o policies ha would paricularly benefi young people include: makingpermanen key provisions o he Earned Income ax Credi, or EIC, and he Child

ax Credi, or CC, currenly se o expire in 2017, which would cause some 6.3 million

Millennials o lose all or par o heir credis;73 expanding he EIC or young workers

and workers wihou qualiying children;74 and srenghening he CC o beter help

young amilies offse he coss o childrearing hrough ull reundabiliy and a supplemen-

al young child ax credi, as proposed in a recen Cener or American Progress repor. 75

Addiionally, lawmakers should embrace reorm o counerproducive asse limis in aid

programs, which penalize savings and ownership and preven sruggling workers rom

geting ahead.76 Tis is paricularly imporan or Millennials, given ha roughly hal o

Americans ages 18 o 34 repor ha hey could “probably” or “cerainly” no come up

wih $2,000 in 30 days.77 And sae lawmakers should expand Medicaid in saes ha

have no already done so o urher reduce he coverage gap or young people; nearly

hal o all currenly uninsured young aduls would qualiy or Medicaid under ull expan-

sion, bu hey will remain wihou coverage unless and unil heir saes op o expand.78


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Adopt work-family policies

Fory percen o Millennials are already parens, and ha share is expeced o double over

he nex 10 o 15 years, wih roughly 9,000 Millennial women giving birh every day.79

Meanwhile, nearly wo-hirds o amilies wih children rely on a moher’s paycheckye

he naion’s workorce policies have ailed o keep pace wih he imes, dampening work-

ing mohers’ abiliy o remain employed and climb he economic ladder.

o boos economic sabiliy and expand opporuniy or Millennials, lawmakers should

enac policies such as paycheck airness, paid amily leave,80 and incenives or saes o

enac paid sick days legislaion o ensure ha workers do no have o make impossible

choices beween a needed job or paycheck and caring or hemselves or a loved one.

Tese policies would be paricularly beneficial or young workers, who are dispropor-

ionaely likely o work in low-wage jobs ha do no provide paid leave or paid sick

days. Addiionally, ensuring affordable, high-qualiy child care is crucial no only o give

children a srong head sar, bu also o enable parens o reurn o he workorce. CAP

has proposed a new High-Qualiy Child Care ax Credi ha would help low-incomeand middle-class amilies access affordable, high-qualiy child care.81

Invest in human capital

Te jobs o he 21s cenury require a highly rained workorce, ofen wih he levels

o knowledge and skills ha are bes acquired hrough higher educaion. Ye access o

higher educaion is moving arher and arher ou o reach or many Americans, and he

class o 2015 is acing record-breaking levels o suden deb. CAP has developed several

proposals o expand access o higher educaion. For example, CAP’s College or All plan would ensure ha any suden atending public college would no be asked o pay any

uiion or ees during enrollmen, removing a significan barrier o access.82 CAP’s pro-

posed Public College Qualiy Compac would reverse sae disinvesmen in higher edu-

caion while improving he qualiy and affordabiliy o public colleges and universiies.83

Addiionally, CAP has proposed harnessing he EIC as a pahway o higher educa-

ion, by making workers who receive he EIC caegorically eligible or he maximum

Pell Gran, o connec low-wage workers wih he educaion and raining hey need o

access higher-paying jobs and reduce barriers o accessing Pell Grans.84 Furhermore,

reorms o increase he reach o Pell Granssuch as reducing he number o weeks o

insrucional ime required o access Pell; resoring Pell Grans or sudens wihou a

high school diploma hrough a rigorous “abiliy o benefi process”; and expanding he

definiion o qualiying educaional aciviies o include GED programs, adul basic

educaion, and cerified raining programswould boos Pell Grans’ power o promoe

upward economic mobiliy or young people jus saring ou.85


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Wha’s more, appreniceships offer an opporuniy o maser markeable skills while

receiving a paycheck, creaing pahways o well-paying careers or young workers.86

Presiden Obama’s FY 2016 budge proposal would double he number o regisered

appreniceships over he nex five years.87 Expanding appreniceships would enable

unemployed young workers o obain valuable credenials wihou needing o leave

he workorce.

Conclusion

As a generaion, Millennials are acing significan economic challenges, mos noably

sagnan and declining wages, high raes o unemploymen, and record-breaking levels

o suden deb. However, we are no acing hese challenges because our naion is

spending oo much on vial social insurance programs such as Social Securiy, Medicare,

and Medicaid. Te challenges Millennials are acing are he resul o an off-kiler

economy ha is only working or he wealhy and big corporaions and leaving he res

o us squeezed by rising coss and fla incomes.

Wha our generaion needs in order o resore our rus is policies ha inves in job cre-

aion, boos economic sabiliy, and expand opporuniyno a coninued fixaion on

auseriy a he expense o economic growh, or he dismanling o our naion’s bedrock

social insurance programs, which our generaion sands o need more han ever. Te

only people aking anyhing away rom our generaion are hose who suppor policies

ha cu jobs, slow growh, and rob us o a secure reiremen by slashing successul social

insurance programs. Millennials should rejec his alse choice, as our naion can afford

o inves in young people while srenghening he middle class, ensuring he long-erm

solvency o vial social insurance programs, and addressing our long-erm defici.

Tank you or he opporuniy o esiy oday, and I would be happy o ake any ques-

ions you may have.

Rebecca Vallas is the Director of Policy for the Poverty to Prosperity Program at

American Progress.


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Endnotes

1 There is not universal agreement on how to define theMillennial generation, but most sources identify it as thoseborn between about 1980 and about 2000. This testimonyfocuses primarily on Millennial adults but also providesinformation on younger Millennials where relevant.

2 Steven Rattner, “We’re Making Life Too Hard for Millennials,”The New York Times, July 31, 2015, available at http://www.

nytimes.com/2015/08/02/opinion/sunday/were-making-life-too-hard-for-millennials.html.

3 Sunny Frothingham, Rachel West, Melissa Boteach, andRebecca Vallas, “Strengthening the Child Tax Credit WouldProvide Greater Economic Stability for Millennial Parents”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2015), availableat https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/up-loads/2015/08/26125830/CTCmillennials-brief.pdf .

4 Ibid.

5 Zeeshan Aleem, “It’s Official: The Class of 2015 Has the MostStudent Loan Debt in History,” Policy.Mic, May 7, 2015, avail-able at http://mic.com/articles/117644/it-s-official-theclass-of-2015-has-the-most-student-loan-debt-in-history.

6 Bureau of the Census, “New Census Bureau Statistics ShowHow Young Adults Today Compare With Previous Genera-tions in Neighborhoods Nationwide,” Press release, Decem-

ber 2, 2014, available at http://ww w.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2014/cb14-219.html.

7 Center for American Progress and Generation Progress,“On Ten Poverty and Opportunity Profile: Millennials,”February 20, 2014, available at http://genprogress.org/ideas/2014/02/20/25496/half-in-ten-report-2014-on-pover-ty-and-opportunity-profile-millennials/.

8 Maureen Morrison, “Study: Millennial Parents Just Like Those from Previous Generations,” Advertising Age, October3, 2013, available at http://adage.com/article/news/millen-nials/244523/.

9 Megan V. Smith and others, “Diaper Need and Its Impacton Child Health,” Pediatrics 132 (2) (2013): 253–259, avail-able at http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2013/07/23/peds.2013-0597.full.pdf.

10 Frothingham, West, Boteach, and Vallas, “Strengthening the

Child Tax Credit Would Provide Greater Economic Stabilityfor Millennial Parents.”

11 Nancy Altman, The Battle for Social Security: From FDR’s Visionto Bush’s Gamble (John Wiley & Sons, 2005).

12 Social Security Administration Office of Research, Evalu-ation, and Statistics, “Fast Facts & Figures About SocialSecurity, 2014” (2014), available at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2014/fast_facts14.pdf .

13 Sarah Ayres Steinberg, “Top 5 Reasons Young PeopleShould Fight to Strengthen – Not Cut – Social Security”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2013), availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/ .

14 Ibid.

15 Rebecca Vallas and Shawn Fremstad, “Social Security

Disability Insurance: A Bedrock of Security for AmericanWorkers” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2015),available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/pov-erty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/.

16 Sarah Ayres Steinberg, “Top 5 Reasons Young PeopleShould Fight to Strengthen – Not Cut – So cial Security,”Center for American Progress, November 6, 2013, availa bleat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/ .

17 Ibid.

18 Michelle Stegman Bailey and Jeffrey Hemmeter, “Char-acteristics of Noninstitutionalized DI and SSI ProgramParticipants, 2010 Update” (Washington: Social SecurityAdministration Office of Research, Evaluation, and Statistics,2014), available at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/rsnotes/rsn2014-02.pdf.

19 Social Security Administration, “Monthly Statistical Snap-shot, July 2015” (Washington: Social Security Administra-tion, 2015), available at http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/quickfacts/stat_snapshot/#table2.

20 Justin Morgan, “The 50th Anniversary of Medicare andMedicaid: Providing Hope for the ACA’s Future” (Wash-ington: Center for American Progress, 2015), available athttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2015/07/30/118395/the-50th-anniversary-of-medi-care-and-medicaid-providing-hope-for-the-acas-future/.

21 Ibid.

22 Prior to the ACA, the uninsured rate was 15.7 percent.During the first three months of 2015, the uninsured ratehad dropped to 9.2 percent. ObamaCare Facts, “UninsuredRates,” available at http://obamacarefacts.com/uninsured-rates/ (last accessed September 2015).

23 Karyn Schwartz and Benjamin D. Sommers, “ Young Adults

are Particularly Likely to Gain Stable Heal th Insurance Cover-age as a Result of the Affordable Care Act” (Washington: U.S.Department of Health & Human Services, 2012), availableat http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/UninsuredY-oungAdults/rb.shtml.

24 U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, “The Afford-able Care Ac t and Young Adults,” available at http://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2014/11/affordable-care-act-young-adults.html (last accessed September 2015).

25 Benjamin D. Sommers and others, “Health Reform andChanges in Health Insurance Coverage in 2014,” The NewEngland Journal of Medicine 371 (2014): 867–874.

26 Council of Economic Advisers, “15 Economic Facts aboutMillennials,” available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdf (last accessedSeptember 2015).

27 Danilo Trisi, “Safety Net Cut Poverty Nearly in Half LastYear, New Census Data Show,” Center on Budget Policyand Priorities, October 16, 2014, available at http://www.offthechartsblog.org/safety-net-cut-poverty-nearly-in-half-last-year-new-census-data-show/.

28 Arloc Sherman and Danilo Trisi, “Safety Net More EffectiveAgainst Poverty Than Previously Thought,” Center on Budgetand Policy Priorities, May 6, 2015, available at http://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/safety-net-more-effective-against-poverty-than-previously-thought.

29 Frothingham, West, Boteach, and Vallas, “Strengthening theChild Tax Credit Would Provide Greater Economic Stabilityfor Millennial Parents.”

30 Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, “Policy Basics: Intro-duction to the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP),” available at http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226 (last accessed September 2015).

31 Rebecca Vallas, Melissa Boteach, and Rachel West, “Harness-ing the EITC and Other Tax Credits to Promote FinancialStability and Economic Mobility,” (Washington: Center forAmerican Progress, 2014), available at https://www.ameri-canprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2014/10/07/98452/harnessing-the-eitc-and-other-tax-credits-to-promote-financial-stability-and-economic-mobility/.

32 Bryann Dasilva, Arloca Sherman, and Chye-Ching Huang,“14 Million Millennials Benefit from Po-Work Tax Credits”(Washington: Center on Budget Policy and Priorities, 2015),available at http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/14-million-millennials-benefit-from-pro-work-tax-credits.

https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/26125830/CTCmillennials-brief.pdfhttps://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/26125830/CTCmillennials-brief.pdfhttp://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2014/fast_facts14.pdfhttp://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2014/fast_facts14.pdfhttps://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2015/07/30/118395/the-50th-anniversary-of-medicare-and-medicaid-providing-hope-for-the-acas-future/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2015/07/30/118395/the-50th-anniversary-of-medicare-and-medicaid-providing-hope-for-the-acas-future/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2015/07/30/118395/the-50th-anniversary-of-medicare-and-medicaid-providing-hope-for-the-acas-future/http://obamacarefacts.com/uninsured-rates/http://obamacarefacts.com/uninsured-rates/http://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/UninsuredYoungAdults/rb.shtmlhttp://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/UninsuredYoungAdults/rb.shtmlhttp://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2014/11/affordable-care-act-young-adults.htmlhttp://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2014/11/affordable-care-act-young-adults.htmlhttp://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2014/11/affordable-care-act-young-adults.htmlhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdfhttp://www.offthechartsblog.org/safety-net-cut-poverty-nearly-in-half-last-year-new-census-data-show/http://www.offthechartsblog.org/safety-net-cut-poverty-nearly-in-half-last-year-new-census-data-show/http://www.offthechartsblog.org/safety-net-cut-poverty-nearly-in-half-last-year-new-census-data-show/http://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/safety-net-more-effective-against-poverty-than-previously-thoughthttp://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/safety-net-more-effective-against-poverty-than-previously-thoughthttp://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/safety-net-more-effective-against-poverty-than-previously-thoughthttp://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/14-million-millennials-benefit-from-pro-work-tax-creditshttp://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/14-million-millennials-benefit-from-pro-work-tax-creditshttp://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/14-million-millennials-benefit-from-pro-work-tax-creditshttp://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-tax/14-million-millennials-benefit-from-pro-work-tax-creditshttp://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=2226http://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/safety-net-more-effective-against-poverty-than-previously-thoughthttp://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/safety-net-more-effective-against-poverty-than-previously-thoughthttp://www.cbpp.org/research/poverty-and-inequality/safety-net-more-effective-against-poverty-than-previously-thoughthttp://www.offthechartsblog.org/safety-net-cut-poverty-nearly-in-half-last-year-new-census-data-show/http://www.offthechartsblog.org/safety-net-cut-poverty-nearly-in-half-last-year-new-census-data-show/http://www.offthechartsblog.org/safety-net-cut-poverty-nearly-in-half-last-year-new-census-data-show/http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdfhttp://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/millennials_report.pdfhttp://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2014/11/affordable-care-act-young-adults.htmlhttp://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2014/11/affordable-care-act-young-adults.htmlhttp://www.hhs.gov/healthcare/facts/factsheets/2014/11/affordable-care-act-young-adults.htmlhttp://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/UninsuredYoungAdults/rb.shtmlhttp://aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2012/UninsuredYoungAdults/rb.shtmlhttp://obamacarefacts.com/uninsured-rates/http://obamacarefacts.com/uninsured-rates/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2015/07/30/118395/the-50th-anniversary-of-medicare-and-medicaid-providing-hope-for-the-acas-future/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2015/07/30/118395/the-50th-anniversary-of-medicare-and-medicaid-providing-hope-for-the-acas-future/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/healthcare/news/2015/07/30/118395/the-50th-anniversary-of-medicare-and-medicaid-providing-hope-for-the-acas-future/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/news/2013/11/06/78918/top-5-reasons-young-people-should-fight-to-strengthen-not-cut-social-security/http://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2014/fast_facts14.pdfhttp://www.ssa.gov/policy/docs/chartbooks/fast_facts/2014/fast_facts14.pdfhttps://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/26125830/CTCmillennials-brief.pdfhttps://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/08/26125830/CTCmillennials-brief.pdf


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33 For more information on Unemployment Insurance, seeMark Zandi, “Bolstering the Economy: Helping AmericanFamilies by Reauthorizing the Payroll Tax Cut and UIBenefits” (2012), available at https://www.economy.com/mark-zandi/documents/2012-02-07-JEC-Payroll-Tax.pdf; For more information on the Supplemental Nutrition As-sistance Program (SNAP), see United States Department ofAgriculture, “Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program(SNAP) Linkages with the General Economy,” available athttp://www.ers.usda.gov/topics/food-nutrition-assistance/supplemental-nutrition-assistance-program-(snap)/economic-linkages.aspx (last accessed September 2015);For more information on the Earned Income Tax Credit

(EITC), see The United States Conference of Mayors, “DollarWise Best Practices: Earned Income Tax Credit,” available athttp://usmayors.org/dollarwise/resources/ eitc08.pdf (lastaccessed September 2015).

34 Wayne Vroman, “The Role of Unemployment Insurance asan Automatic Stabilizer Du ring a Recession” (Washington:U.S. Department of Labor, 2010), available at http://wdr.doleta.gov/research/FullText_Documents/ETAOP2010-10/pdf.

35 Joanne W. Hsu and others, “Positive Externalities of SocialInsurance: Unemployment Insurance and Consumer Credit”(Cambridge, MA: NBER, 2014), available at http://www.nber.org/papers/w20353.pdf.

36 Congressional Budget Office, “How extending CertainUnemployment Benefits would Affect Output and Employ-ment in 2014,” available at https://www.cbo.gov/publica-tion/44929 (last accessed September 2015).

37 For a comprehensive review of the literature, see KerrisCooper and Kitty Stewart, “Does Money Affect Children’sOutcomes?” (London: Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2002),available at http://www.jrf.org.uk/ publications/does-mon-ey-affect-childrens-outcomes; On academic achievement,see, for example, Gordon Dahl and Lance Lochner, “TheImpact of Family Income on Child Achievement: Evidencefrom the Earned Income Tax Credit,” American EconomicReview 102 (5) (2012): 1927–1956, available at http://dx.doi.org/10.1257/ aer.102.5.1927; On higher education, seeRaj Chetty, John N. Friedman, and Jonah Rockoff, “NewEvidence on the Long-Term Impacts of Tax Credits.” WorkingPaper (Internal Revenue Service, 2011), available at http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs soi/11rpchettyfriedmanrockoff.pdf; On health, see Maria Melchior and others, “Why dochildren from socioeconomically disadvantaged familiessuffer from poor health when they reach adulthood? Alife-course study,” American Journal of Epidemiology 166 (8)(2007): 966–974, available at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih. gov/pubmed/17641151; On adult employment, see Greg Dun-

can and Jeanne Brooks-Gunn, eds. Consequences of GrowingUp Poor (New York: Russell Sage Foundation, 1999).

38 It should be noted that, although declining budget deficitsare a positive development for our nation’s fiscal outlook,some of deficit reduction we have seen in the past severalyears has been driven by steep cuts to discretionary spend-ing from the Budget Control Act and its sequestration rules. These cuts have taken a significant toll on vulnerable indi-viduals and communities and have slowed the economicrecovery in the wake of the Great Recession.

39 Congress has made discretionary spending cuts totaling$1.8 trillion, even if sequestration is repealed star ting inFY 2016. Harry Stein, “Setting the Right Course in the NextBudget Agreement” (Washington: Center for AmericanProgress, 2015), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/budget/report/2015/09/08/120509/setting-the-right-course-in-the-next-budget-agreement-2/.

40 Ibid.

41 Ibid.

42 This analysis assumes that the cuts are evenly distributedacross the five years between 2021 and 2025. MelissaBoteach, “Proposed Congressional Cuts to Nutrition As-sistance Would Cost Job s,” Center for American Progress,April 13, 2015, available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/2015/04/13/110861/proposed-congressional-cuts-to-nutrition-assistance-would-cost-jobs/

43 The White House, “Remarks by the President on EconomicMobility,” Press release, December 4, 2013, available at

https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2013/12/04/remarks-president-economic-mobility.

44 The White House Council of Economic Advisers, “Chapter4: Recent Trends in Health Care Costs, Their Impact on theEconomy and the Role of the Affordable Care Act” in The2014 Economic Report of the President (2015), available athttps://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/docs/erp_2014_chapter_4.pdf.

45 The White House Council of Economic Advisers, “The Af-fordable Care Act at Five: Progress on Coverage, Costs, andQuality” (2015), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/

sites/default/files/docs/ACA_Anniversary_Slides_FINALv2.pdf.

46 Congressional Budget Office, “Budgetary and Economic Ef-fects of Repealing the Affordable Care Act” (2015), availableat https://www.cbo.gov/publication/50252.

47 Roy van der Weide and Branko Milanovic, “Inequality is Badfor Growth of the Poor (but Not for that of the R ich),” avail-able at https://ideas.repec.org/p/wbk/wbrwps/6963.html (last accessed September 2015); Jonathan D. Ostry, AndrewBerg, and Charalambos G. Tsangarides, “Redistribution,Inequality, and Growth” (Washington: International Mon-etary Fund, 2014), available at http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/sdn/2014/sdn1402.pdf; Harry Stein and Alexandra Thornton, “Laying the Foundation for Inclusive Prosperity”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2015), availableat http://pgpf.org/sites/default/files/05122015_solutionsini-tiative3_cap.pdf (citing OECD).

48 Rebecca Vallas, Christian Weller, Rachel West, and JackieOdum, “The Effect of Rising Inequality on Social Security ”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2015), availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2015/02/10/106373/the-effect-of-rising-inequality-on-social-security/.

49 Rebecca Vallas and Shawn Fremstad, “Social SecurityDisability Insurance: A Bedrock of Security for AmericanWorkers” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2015),available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/pov-erty/report/2015/06/16/115195/social-security-disability-insurance-a-bedrock-of-security-for-american-workers/.

50 Ibid.

51 Vallas, Weller, West, and Odum, “The Effect of Rising Inequal-ity on Socia l Security.”

52 Stein and Thornton, “Laying the Foundation for InclusiveProsperity.”

53 NASI’s survey found that large majorities of Americans—across income levels, party lines, and generations—not onlyoppose cutting Social Security, but support strengtheningit and are willing to pay more to see that happen, boththrough a gradual increase in the payroll tax from 6.2percent to 7.2 percent and eliminating the payroll tax cap sothat high earners contribute all year long. Elisa A. Walker, Vir-ginia P. Reno, and Thomas N. Bethell, “Americans Make HardChoices on Social Secu rity: A Survey with Trade-Off Analysis”(Washington: NASI, 2014), available at https://www.nasi.org/sites/default/files/research/Americans_Make_Hard_Choices_on_Social_Security.pdf .

54 John Halpin and Karl Agne, “50 Years After LBJ’s War onPoverty” (Washington: Center for American Progress, 2014),available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2014/01/07/81702/50-years-after-lbjs-war-on-poverty/.

55 For example, as noted previously, a CAP analysis has shownthat the cuts to nutrition assistance in the FY 16 Housebudget would cost an estimated 286,000 jobs in the firstyear alone. See Boteach, “Proposed Congressional Cuts toNutrition Assistance Would Cost Jobs.”

56 David Madland, “Growth and the Middle Class,” Democracy ,20 (2011), available at http://www.democracyjournal.org/20/growth-and-the-middle-class.php?page=all.

57 Ben Olinsky and Sasha Post, “Middle-Out Mobility” (Wash-ington: Center for American Progress, 2015), availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/economy/report/2013/09/04/73285/middle-out-mobility/.

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58 Isaac Shapiro and Richard Kogan, “Congressional BudgetPlans get Two-Thirds of Cuts From Programs for Peoplewith Low or Moderate Incomes” (Washington: Center onBudget Policy and Priorities, 2015), available at http://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/congressional-budget-plans-get-two-thirds-of-cuts-from-programs-for-people?fa=view&id=5289.

59 Stein, “Setting the Right Course in the Next Budget Agree-ment.”

60 According to the Office of Management and Budget, theUnited States spent $46.4 billion on the CTC in 2014, the

equivalent of about $46.8 billion in 2015. See Office ofManagement and Budget, “Analytical Perspectives, Budgetof the United States Government, Fiscal Year 2016” (2015), Table 14-1, available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2016/assets/ap_14_expendi-tures.pdf; In 2014, there were nearly 74 million child ren—which the Census Bureau defines as people under age18—in the United States. Of them, more than 69 millionwere under age 17, the maximum age of eligibility for theCTC. See Bureau o f the Census, “Annual estimates of theresident population by single year of age and sex for theUnited States: April 1, 2010 to July 1, 2014,” available athttp://www.census.gov/popest/data/datasets.html (last ac-cessed July 2015); Bureau of the Census, “Current PopulationSurvey –Definitions,” available at http://www.census.gov/cps/about/cpsdef.html (last accessed July 2015). See alsoWest, Boteach and Vallas, “Harnessing the Child Tax Credit asa Tool to Invest in the Next Generation.”

61 For cost of deferral of taxes on foreign corporate income,

see Office of Management and Budget, “Analytical Perspec-tives, Budget of the United States Government, Fiscal Year2016” (2016), available at https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/omb/budget/fy2016/assets/ap_14_ex-penditures.pdf; For cost of EITC, $63 billion in FY 2015, seeElaine Maag and Adam Carasso, “Taxation and the Family:What is the Earned Income Tax Credit?” (Washington: TaxPolicy Center, 2014), available at http://www.taxpolicycen-ter.org/briefing-book/key-elements/family/eitc.cfm..

62 Corporation for National and Community Service, “TheEdward M. Kennedy Serve Ameri ca Act Summar y,” availableat http://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/09_0421_serve-act_summary.pdf (last accessed September 2015).

63 Rachel West, Rebecca Vallas, and Melissa Boteach, “ASubsidized Jobs Program for the 21st Century” (Wash-ington: Center for American Progress, 2015), availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2015/01/29/105622/a-subsidized-jobs-program-for-the-21st-century/.

64 Ibid.

65 Ken Jacobs, Ian Perry, and Jenifer MacGillvary, “The HighPublic Cost of Low Wages” (California: University of Califor-nia, Berkeley Labor Center, 2015), available at http://labor-center.berkeley.edu/the-high-public-cost-of-low-wages/.

66 David Cooper, “Raising the Minimum Wage to $12 by 2020Would Lift Wages for 35 Million American Workers” (Wash-ington: Economic Policy Institute, 2015), available at http://www.epi.org/publication/raising-the-minimum-wage-to-12-by-2020-would-lift-wages-for-35-million-american-workers/.

67 Estimate calculated using the BLS inflation calculator. SeeU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “CPI Inflation Calculator,”available at http://www.bls.gov/data/inflation_calculator.htm (last accessed September 2015).

68 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Characteristics of MinimumWage Workers, 2014” (2015), available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/cps/characteristics-of-minimum-wage-workers-2014.pdf.

69 Author’s calculations using Bureau of Labor Statistics datashowing that 70 percent of the nation’s 3 million minimumwage workers are ages 16 to 34. Bureau of Labor Statistics.“Characteristics of M inimum Wage Workers, 2014” (2014),available at http://www.bls.gov/opub/reports/cps/charac-teristics-of-minimum-wage-workers-2014.pdf

70 Rachel West, “The Murray-Scott Minimum-Wage Bill: A Win-Win for Working Families and Taxpayers,” Center for Ameri-

can Progress, April 30, 2015, available at https://www.ameri-canprogress.org/issues/poverty/news/2015/04/30/111808/the-murray-scott-minimum-wage-bill-a-win-win-for-work-ing-families-and-taxpayers/.

71 Trisi, “Safety Net Cut Poverty Nearly in Half Last Year, NewCensus Data Show.”

72 See sources cited in Endnote 37.

73 Dasilva, Sherman and Huang, “14 Million Millennials Benefitfrom Po-Work Tax Credits.”

74 Vallas, Boteach, and West, “Harnessing the EITC and Other Tax Credits to Promote Financial Stability and EconomicMobility.”

75 Ibid.

76 Rebecca Vallas and Joe Valenti, “Asset Limits Are a Barrier toEconomic Security and Mobility,” Center for American Prog-ress, September 10, 2014, available at https://www.ameri-canprogress.org/issues/poverty/report/2014/09/10/96754/asset-limits-are-a-barrier-to-economic-security-and-mobili-ty/.

77 FINRA Investor Education Foundation, “Financial Capabilityin the United States: Report of Findings from the 2012 Na-tional Financial Capability Study” (2013), available at http://www.usfinancialcapability.org/downloads/NFCS_2012_Re-port_Natl_Findings.pdf .

78 Maura Caslyn and Lindsay Rosenthal, “How the Afford-

able Care Act Helps Young Adults,” Generation Progress,May 22, 2013, available at http://genprogress.org/voic-es/2013/05/22/18908/how-the-affordable-care-act-helps-young-adults/.

79 Frothingham, West, Boteach, and Vallas, “Strengthening theChild Tax Credit Would Provide Greater Economic Stabilityfor Millennial Parents.”

80 Heather Boushey, Jane Farrell, and John Schmitt, “JobProtection Isn’t Enough” (Washington: Center for Americ anProgress, 2013), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/labor/report/2013/12/12/80889/job-protection-isnt-enough/.

81 Katie Hamm and Carmel Martin, “A New Vision for ChildCare in the United States” (Washington: Center for AmericanProgress, 2015), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/early-childhood/report/2015/09/02/119944/a-new-vision-for-child-care-in-the-united-states-3/.

82 David A. Bergeron and Carmel Martin, “College for All:Strengthening Our Economy Through College for All”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2015), availableat https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/higher-education/report/2015/02/19/105522/strengthening-our-economy-through-college-for-all/.

83 Elizabeth Baylor and David A. Bergeron, “Public CollegeQuality Compact for Students and Taxpayers” (Washington:Center for American Progress, 2014), available at https://www.americanprogress.org/issues/higher-education/report/2014/01/28/83049/public-college-quality-compact-for-students-and-taxpayers/.

84 Vallas, Boteach and West, “Harnessing the EITC and Other Tax Credits to Promote Financial Stability and EconomicMobility.”

85 Ibid.

86 Ben Olinsky and Sarah Ayres, “Training for Success: APolicy to Expand Apprenticeships in the United States.”(Washington: Center for American Progress, 2013), availableat https://cdn.americanprogress.org/wp-content/up-loads/2013/11/apprenticeship_report.pdf .

87 The White House, “Fact Sheet: Middle Class Economics: ThePresident’s FY 2016 Budget,” February 2, 2015, available athttps://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/02/02/fact-sheet-middle-class-economics-president-s-fiscal-year-2016-bud-get.

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