January 18, 2019

The real threat the government shutdown poses for the American economy

The workers who collect, analyze, and release basic data on the U.S. economy have been furloughed under the government shutdown. Robert Shapiro argues that this lack of critical information on the direction of the economy will result in costly business decisions and even greater uncertainty.

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As another result of the shutdown, many furloughed workers are experiencing what has increasingly become the norm for middle-class American families: severe income volatility. Aaron Klein explains how U.S. payment and financial systems can adapt to this new reality.

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Growth and inequality: To celebrate or not to celebrate? That is the question.

The global middle class now encompasses a majority of the world’s people, but levels of happiness in many countries are falling. Homi Kharas examines a possible cause of this sense of dissatisfaction despite growing prosperity around the world.

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To save the planet, the Green New Deal needs to improve urban land use

As a package of environmental policies known as the Green New Deal gains momentum among progressives in Congress, Jenny Schuetz offers recommendations for improvements that would address the environmental harm caused by poor urban land use decisions.

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The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars.

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