Tax credits work, and Illinois is proving it. 🎉 Nearly 950,000 Illinois working families received more than $600 million in tax relief through the state’s Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit in 2025. The average family benefiting from both credits kept $1,460 in their pockets. That’s real money for groceries, childcare, and housing at a time when working families are feeling the squeeze. Economic Security Illinois led the fight to expand the EITC and create Illinois’ first-ever Child Tax Credit,  alongside our affiliate Economic Security Illinois Action, advocates from the the Cost-of-Living Refund Coalition, and state leaders. These results show exactly why it was worth fighting for. Read our full statement: economicsecurityproject.org/…

“The payments made it feel like my 10 problems turned to nine. I had more time to think about the life I wanted to start living.” That’s what one #GI participant told the @nytimes this week, which followed three people receiving cash over the course of a year. The article asks whether guaranteed income could help address AI-driven job losses. But what emerges is a much bigger story about the power of cash, not just as a lifeline during difficult times, but as a way to give people more stability, choices, and control over their lives. For participants, cash meant help with groceries, rent, and everyday expenses. But it also meant being able to afford things that brought comfort and dignity, like clean laundry, swimming classes, and a family trip to an amusement park. These experiences show how cash can give people the breathing room to think about what they want for themselves beyond their immediate needs. At a time when families are struggling with rising costs and policymakers are considering how to navigate an increasingly AI-driven economy, these stories are a powerful reminder that the case for cash is already clear. Cash can help people meet their needs today while giving them greater freedom to build the lives they want, beyond just getting by. Read their stories: nytimes.com/2026/10/12/techn…

Seven in 10 families will need long-term care as they age, and Medicare doesn’t cover it. Most will drain their savings, and even that won’t be enough. Join @mtkonczal, @TheSCANFndtn , and other experts TODAY at 12:30 PM ET to talk solutions. Register: us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi…

AI and the cost of living crisis usually get talked about separately. But as former FTC chair @linamkhan explains, they shouldn’t be. From surveillance pricing to wage suppression, AI is already making life less affordable for families, and any serious plan to lower costs has to address it.

When a grocery store closes, families shouldn’t have to wait decades for another one to take its place. But for too many Californians, that has been the reality. The status quo in California has allowed monopoly grocery chains to put restrictions in the property deed blocking another grocer from opening there, sometimes for decades after they left the community. A chain could leave a neighborhood and still keep competitors out, leaving families with fewer options for fresh, affordable food. In Vallejo, a Safeway restriction blocked a replacement grocery store for 15 years. With nearly three million low-income Californians living in food deserts, these restrictions created yet another barrier. California’s new law changes that. It creates a legal process to remove these restrictions, giving other grocers a path to move into spaces chains have left behind. It’s a step toward more competition, more choices, and better access to affordable food for California families. Congratulations to our affiliate, @ESP_Action, Assemblywoman Aguiar Curry, and the California Food and Farming Network, who worked to make this happen. Read our full statement: economicsecurityproject.org/…

2/2 Learn more here: indypendent.org/2026/09/mamd…

1/ Across the country, cities like New York City are showing just how far our tax dollars can go by investing in public grocery stores. As ESP's Erion Malasi explains in @TheIndypendent, the beauty of a public option is that when communities are in need, tax dollars can be used to support people directly, rather than offering tax credits to corporations and hoping they care enough to show up.

"We have to have public policy and the law regulated beforehand." Many in the tech industry say the threat of lawsuits will keep AI companies from taking big risks. People said the same thing about banks before the 2008 financial crisis. Banking regulation gives us a blueprint for managing systemic risk, and we should use it on AI now, explains ESP co-founder @chrishughes via @TheBeatWithAri.

🚨California just took a major step toward tackling corporate power and the affordability crisis. Gov. Newsom signed a new law updating California’s antitrust laws for the first time in more than a century, following a multi-year campaign led in part by our affiliate, @ESP_Action, alongside a broad coalition of advocates, organized labor, and small businesses. California’s antitrust framework had remained largely unchanged since 1907, even as corporate power and the economy transformed around it. The new law gives state enforcers stronger tools to take on monopoly power and closes loopholes that have allowed dominant corporations to block competitors, squeeze small businesses, suppress wages, and consolidate their power. Amid an affordability crisis, as families struggle to afford groceries, housing, healthcare, and other everyday essentials, taking on concentrated corporate power is a critical part of making life more affordable. More competition means more choice for consumers, a fairer shot for small businesses and workers, and less power for dominant corporations to set the terms of our economy. This is a huge win for Californians and for everyone fighting for an economy that works for people, not just the most powerful corporations. Congratulations to everyone who helped make it happen.🎉 Read our full statement: economicsecurityproject.org/…

The development of AI is moving fast, and we need our rules need to keep up. ESP co-founder @chrishughes stopped by @SquawkCNBC to talk about what bank regulation can teach us about keeping AI safe and holding AI companies accountable.

5/5 Their expertise will deepen the rigor and reach of our work as we build ESP's multi-sector affordability platform. We're so excited to have them on the team!

4/ @davekodnani is an MIT PhD candidate and economist focused on reducing income inequality and helping workers share in AI's gains. He's worked at the Joint Economic Committee, CAP, and Goldman Sachs. At ESP, he'll research social insurance and labor policy, with a focus on AI's impact on labor.

3/ @gabyaboulafia is a Harvard doctoral student studying how public insurance program design shapes people's experiences with government and their political attitudes. A Commonwealth Fund and HHS alum, she'll join Jacob on our healthcare research, including a public option that works for consumers.

2/ @Jacob_S_Hacker is a Yale political scientist who studies health policy, inequality, and the politics of risk. Author of "The Great Risk Shift," he's known for developing the healthcare public option. At ESP, he'll research the core pillars of a public option that expands coverage and cuts costs.

1/ We're excited to welcome three new research fellows! Jacob Hacker, Gaby Aboulafia, and Devesh Kodnani bring deep expertise in health policy and the political economy of work. With our Ideas Team, they'll develop ideas + strategies to build an economy that works for all Americans.

Gouged is out next week 9/29! Pre-order here: gougedbook.com/

In her new book, “Gouged: The End of a Fair Price, and What That Means for Your Wallet”, @Groundwork Executive Director @owenslindsay1 pulls back the curtain on the tricks, traps, and high-tech tools corporations use to squeeze more money from consumers. From surveillance pricing and algorithmic price fixing to hidden fees, Owens shows how these deceptive tactics are reaching nearly every part of our household budgets and driving up costs – offering a guide for recognizing them and fighting back.