How members of Congress vote on increases in the minimum wage is a function of several factors, most notably party affiliation and constituent interest. But also among those factors is the existence of "right-to-work" laws in the representative's state and the presence of labor unions,...

The purpose of this paper is to argue the need for unemployment insurance reform. At a minimum the system needs to be tightened in such a way that it results in fewer layoffs. Beyond this, however, the system needs to be able to offer greater assistance to the growing population of the long-term...

One of the principal problems with the minimum wage is that adjustments to it must be voted on by Congress. Although recent congressional action solves the immediate problem of restoring value to a wage that has otherwise failed to keep pace with inflation it has not removed the issue from the...

Much has been written on realigning elections and whether or not the general model has any contemporary relevance. Discussions of the last great realignment -- the New deal realignment of the 1930s -- often emphasize the broad coalition of interests which brought it about. Although organized...

Much of the debate over the minimum wage in recent years has essentially involved one between those arguing the adverse effect of raising the minimum wage — particularly among teenagers — and those who maintain that increases in the minimum wage would not only alleviate the poverty of some,...

According to Resident Scholar Oren M. Levin-Waldman, the arguments both in favor of raising the minimum wage (to restore its real spending power to levels of previous years, to increase the incentive to work, and, as a matter of fairness, to allow those who work to earn incomes above the poverty...

The Personal Responsibility Act, recently enacted in to law, effectively transforms the American welfare system from one of entitlement to a decentralized hodgepodge of programs intended to move people off of welfare. No longer is federal funding guaranteed, but it is subject to the annual...

During the Progressive period of American history the debate over the minimum wage was often between those who clung to traditional economic theory as a reason for not having a minimum wage and those who saw the efficiency-wage benefits of adopting one. Although the latter argument proved quite...

As much as the minimum wage is an economic issue, it is above all a political one. First, there are the politics surrounding the choice of models. Second, there are the political interests of those who engage in the debate. The choice of methodological models can lead to different ideological...

In 1993 President Clinton expanded the earned income tax credit (EITC), a refundable credit allowed to households with children aimed at reducing the tax burden of employment for the working poor. In this working paper, Levy Institute Research Associate Oren M. Levin-Waldman examines why the...