Roosevelt Institute

Progressive visions of permitting reform can accelerate an efficient & equitable energy transition at a time when climate law has such dire economic impacts. Permit reform isn't about rushing through approvals—it's about proactive problem-solving by the federal government that involves building agency capacity. Our 2023 report and corresponding fact sheet highlight the progressive vision for permitting reform. https://lnkd.in/gNcxe6th

Earlier this week, a new California law implemented a $20/hr fast food minimum wage. This increase applies to nationwide chains with 60+ locations. Fast food companies are not happy about it; however, they have the ability (and the profit margins to show for it) to pay for the increased wages. 🚫 The myth that increased wages = increased prices is just that, a myth.🚫 Companies have used labor costs as a false excuse to increase their prices and ultimately avoid paying their employees livable wages. https://lnkd.in/gnHTuWQz

Industrial policy is back at the forefront of economic conversations for a reason—it's an absolutely necessary part of any agenda to build an equitable and green economy. Our director of industrial policy & trade Todd N. Tucker explains *what* we mean when we talk about industrial policy:

ICYMI❕Why fast-food companies can easily afford California’s new minimum wage & other top stories of the week: ✅ Our NEW brief shows that large corporate markups and profit margins among fast-food giants leave more than enough room for the new $20/hr wage ▶️ In 2023 alone, the 10 largest publicly traded fast-food companies spent $6.1 billion on stock buybacks. According to the authors’ calculations, the cost of the minimum wage increase for affected employers would be an increase of a maximum of just $4.6 billion annually—and that’s an overestimate. ✅ What’s next for the US industrial policy agenda? ▶️ This week, we convened a panel of experts to discuss economic development strategies the US can use to achieve a zero-emissions economy. The recording is available at the link below! The full weekly #RooseveltRundown ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gexcKC-j

♀️As #WomensHistoryMonth comes to a close, we're celebrating the four passionate women who have helped shape, evolve, and grow the Roosevelt Network—our student programming arm of Roosevelt—into the impactful community of progressive students and alumni it is today. 🌟 The women who have led the Network 🌟 ▶️ Hilary Doe (2009-2012): Following her time as the Network’s national director, Hilary worked for nearly 10 years working at NationBuilder. She now holds the title of Chief Growth Officer for the state of Michigan where she supports the implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act within the state. ▶️ Taylor Jo Isenberg (2012-2013): Following her time at the Roosevelt Network and Institute, TJ worked briefly as an organizer before moving to the Economic Security Project where she currently works as the Executive Director. ▶️ Joelle G. (2014-2017): Having worn many progressive hats since her time as the Network’s national director, Joelle most recently concluded her White House tenure as the Deputy Director of the National Economic Council where she lead the manufacturing, supply chains and place-based policy teams. ▶️ Katie Kirchner (2018-present): Our fearless leader of nearly 6 years, Katie’s a Roosevelter—and a Network alum—through and through. She’s seen the transformation of the Network first hand, starting as a program associate back in 2015, and most recently shepherded the program into its new fellowship-based format—a huge undertaking and exciting progression. 🙌 We can’t thank the four of you enough for your hard work, progressive vision, and commitment to the Network community!

NEW 📄 Top fast-food brands can absorb CA's new minimum wage 🍔 In light of California’s new fast-food minimum wage of $20 per hour set to go into effect on Monday, April 1, our new brief provides evidence that resistance to the minimum wage from fast-food companies is fundamentally invalid: these corporations are using labor costs as a false excuse to increase their prices and avoid paying their employees livable wages. 📊 Analyzing corporate financial data from the past decade, authors Dr. Ali Bustamante (deputy director, worker power & economic security) & Ira Regmi (program manager, macroeconomic analysis) find: ▶️ In 2023 alone, the 10 largest publicly traded fast-food companies spent $6.1 billion on share repurchases. Using the most generous—and unrealistic—assumptions, employers’ wage costs will increase by a maximum of $4.6 billion annually as a result of the minimum wage increase. To cover the cost of increased wages, fast-food companies could merely reduce—not even zero out—their returns to shareholders. ▶️ Over the past decade, fast-food prices increased by 46.8 percent compared to 28.7 percent for the average of all prices. In 2023, fast-food firms charged prices 27 percent above their production costs. ▶️ Between 2014 and 2023, operating profit margin growth among fast-food companies outpaced overall margin growth by 53 percent. 🎯 "Profits in the fast-food industry are sufficiently high to absorb the greater operating costs and ensure industry workers are paid fairly,” says Bustamante. Learn more ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gcA7tqgz

TOMORROW: The US is amidst an industrial & economic renaissance. But what comes next for the industrial policy agenda? 🌎 Join us tomorrow, March 27, at 11 a.m. ET, as we explore the future of US industrial policy and its impact on achieving zero emissions by 2050. Moderated by Todd N. Tucker (director, industrial policy & trade, Roosevelt Institute), Jonas Algers (PhD candidate, Lund University), Isabel Estevez (deputy director, industrial policy & trade, Roosevelt Institute), and Saule Omarova (senior fellow, Roosevelt Institute & law professor, Cornell University) will each discuss their recent research highlighting industrial policy tools that the US could use to turn its investments into successful economic development strategies. #industrialpolicy #emissions #decarbonization #sustainability #webinar #publicbanking #greensteel Register ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gi3jMDxy

NEW Roosevelt Institute: Prospects and Challenges of a Green Steel Transition in Dearborn, Michigan. Isabel Estevez Hebah Kassem Yong Kwon Iliana Paul explore what is holding up economic progress at the local level post-IRA, and how to accelerate. https://lnkd.in/eDwKfVJE

MUST-READ: "The Middle-Out Moment Is Here" 📰 The latest symposium from Democracy: A Journal of Ideas delves into the foundational tenets of "middle-out" economics, elucidating its recent traction among policymakers and its recent economic successes, and tackling the obstacles that lie ahead in cementing this economic approach and ensuring its sustained benefits for the public. In her contribution to the symposium, Roosevelt's President & CEO Felicia Wong charts industrial policy's triumphant return, arguing that continued success hinges on building broad alliances and crafting persuasive narratives that prioritize the public good. 👉 "This middle-out, power-shifting approach tells us that the next stages of our paradigm shift require devoting more attention to workers, to labor, and to issues of both class and race," she writes. In his contribution, Roosevelt's Director of Industrial Policy & Trade Todd N. Tucker argues that a more active industrial policy is not just good for the economy, jobs, and the climate, it's ultimately good for democracy itself. 👉 "There is every reason to believe that economic statecraft can play a role in restoring faith in democracy," he writes. Explore Wong and Tucker's pieces along with the other brilliant essays: ▶️ "Keep Empowering Workers!" by Heidi Shierholz ▶️ "Finally, a Public Investment Boom" by Neale Mahoney & Aaron "Ronnie" Chatterji ▶️ "The Fruits of the American Rescue Plan" by Bharat Ramamurti ▶️ "Seeds of an Antitrust Revival" by Sandeep Vaheesan ▶️ "The IRA’s Promises—and Pitfalls" by Jennifer Harris ▶️ "An Economy with Ethics" by Tara McGuinness Altogether, the series paints a clear picture of the principles, successes, promises, and unfinished business of the #EconomicSeaChange well underway: https://lnkd.in/gT628mgs

ICYMI❕Our top stories of the week: ✅ After 14 years at Roosevelt, Michael Konczal, our former director of macroeconomic analysis, is joining the National Economic Council as special assistant to the president for economic policy. ▶️ "Mike Konczal is one of the earliest and most influential Roosevelt Institute staffers, spearheading our macroeconomic work and authoring some of our most important publications," says President & CEO Felicia Wong. “As he moves on to serve as special assistant to the president for economic policy in the National Economic Council, he will be an exemplar of the Rooseveltian understanding that personnel is policy.” ✅ NEW working paper: Green steel is within reach, but an activist industrial policy is necessary to overcome barriers. ▶️ "To build trust with community members, governments at all levels will have to uphold environmental and equity guardrails to ensure that the steel transition is lowering emissions and considering environmental justice concerns on par with decarbonization objectives," write the authors: Isabel Estevez, Hebah Kassem, and the Sierra Club's Yong Kwon and Iliana Paul. "Ensuring that the green steel transition is, in fact, green can help increase community buy-in and build momentum." The weekly #RooseveltRundown ⬇️ https://lnkd.in/gx64Bg4f