Pull to refresh
Logo
Daily Brief
Following
Why
American Enterprise Institute

American Enterprise Institute

Think Tank

Appears in 2 stories

Stories

The affordability debate: Are things getting cheaper or more expensive?

Money Moves

A center-right think tank in Washington, D.C. focused on government, economics, and foreign policy research. - Institutional home of Mark Perry and the Chart of the Century

For decades, economists have argued over whether life is getting more affordable. A new analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data from 2000 to 2025 shows that while the Consumer Price Index rose 92.6%, average hourly wages climbed 131.1%โ€”meaning workers can buy 20% more goods today for the same hours worked. The finding rests on measuring 'time prices': not what things cost in dollars, but how many hours of labor it takes to afford them.

Updated Jan 30

The poverty number that hides half the story

Rule Changes

Conservative think tank that argues the SPM inflates poverty by counting medical expenses against income. - Critic of SPM methodology and threshold calculations

The Census Bureau announced on September 9, 2025 that poverty fell to 10.6% in 2024โ€”the lowest in years and proof, officials said, that the economy was lifting Americans up. But buried in the same report: a different poverty measure showed 12.9% of Americans struggling, with no improvement at all. Same country, same year, two completely different stories about who's hurting.

Updated Jan 12