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Urban Institute insights and analysis inform national reporting
A woman and her four young children unload grocery bags around a kitchen island.
Greg Acs, vice president for the Tax and Income Supports Division at the Urban Institute, spoke with Virginia Public Media about the risks of addressing affordability in a zero-sum context that focuses on who bears the short-term costs of a policy instead of its potential for growth.
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  • A turbulent ocean wave crashes against the seawall in front of a street of coastal homes on a cloudy day.
    Sara McTarnaghan compares the costs of pre- and postdisaster climate investments
    Sara McTarnaghan, a climate and communities expert at the Urban Institute, told NPR that although retrofitting homes to make them more resilient to climate disasters can be costly, waiting could end up being costlier.
  • A young woman with brown hair and a cream-colored sweatshirt anxiously examines some mail in front of her computer in her home.
    Benjamin Page compares Big Beautiful Bill with other tax cut legislation
    The Congressional Budget Office has shown the One Big Beautiful Bill Act under Senate consideration would disrupt the trend by reducing after-tax incomes for those with the lowest incomes while benefiting the wealthiest.
  • An illustration of the Statue of Liberty is featured prominently on a close-up of a US Department of the Treasury check, next to a Bureau of the Fiscal Service official stamp above the text "Pay to the order of."
    Jack Smalligan explains increase in Social Security retirement claims
    This spring, Social Security retirement claims surged—retirees submitted nearly 18 percent more claims between January and May of this year than during the same time last year.
  • A large, active wildfire burns a hillside, approaching a shopping center, a residential neighborhood, and farmland while huge billows of smoke obscure the sky.
    Sara McTarnaghan discusses proposed changes to Federal Emergency Management Agency
    The administration’s proposed changes to the Federal Emergency Management Agency would shift more responsibility to states to respond to disasters.
  • An elderly man in a grey shirt and tortoiseshell glasses sits at home in front of a blood pressure cuff and several prescription bottles, reading labels.
    Michael Karpman discusses potential federal Medicaid work requirements
    As part of the discussions around reducing Medicaid funding, lawmakers are considering implementing a federal work requirement to qualify for benefits.
  • Several multistory, colorful buildings, some with fire escapes, clustered close together are illuminated by the sun.
    Daniel Teles discusses postfire rent increases in Los Angeles County
    Following the Los Angeles wildfires, rent in the most-effected areas is increasing more quickly than in other parts of Los Angeles County.