Freedom & Progress 2024

While inflation regularly grabs headlines, many other factors are also driving the cost of living ever higher for American families. This panel will examine often-overlooked contributors to rising costs, including housing regulations, health care expenses, energy policies, and labor market dynamics. Scholars specializing in these areas will discuss how they affect everyday expenses and propose solutions that could ease the burden on American households.

Instead of offering a hand up, the U.S. welfare system often traps low-income Americans in cycles of dependency through broken incentives and steep benefit cliffs, which penalize those who try to work their way out of the system. This panel will explore innovative ways to reduce benefit cliffs and create pathways to financial independence, empowering more Americans to transition off assistance and build sustainable, self-sufficient futures.