Christian Weller
Forbes
United States
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Past articles by Christian:
Some Silver Linings On Inflation
People rightfully worry about inflation since they get to keep less of their paycheck, but there are some, though not universal, positive signs on inflation. In sum, we are already heading in the right direction towards less inflation. But, policymakers need to keep their eye on the ball. → Read More
A Resilient Economy Faces Substantial Policy Risks
The economy grew at a substantial 2.9% in inflation-adjusted terms in the last quarter of 2022. Continued monetary policy tightening and massive fiscal policy uncertainty over Republicans’ stance on allowing the federal government to pay its bills could push the economy into a recession. → Read More
Racial Wealth Inequality Gradually Declines, But That Is No Reason To Celebrate
Wealth inequality remains high and most Black and Latino households did not see any wealth gains, while most White households did. → Read More
Profitable Corporations Hoard Cash, Reward Shareholders
The economy faces another winter of massive uncertainty. The pandemic rages on around the globe and a new coronavirus variant creates massive uncertainty. Countering that uncertainty will require more business investments, among other things, that will strengthen the momentum of faster growth. → Read More
Child Tax Credit Is Crucial Lifeline For Families, Especially In West Virginia
Expanded Child Tax Credit payments have proven crucial for families to pay their bills. Extending this provision would have helped many families, particularly those in West Virginia, to maintain some measure of financial security. → Read More
Economic Growth Looks Good For Now, But Families Need More
The economy is in a good spot right now, but Congress needs to act quickly to strengthen the recovery further. → Read More
President Biden’s Policies Will Create Faster, More Inclusive Growth
The country needs faster productivity growth, more innovation, and faster technological advances to address the current and looming challenges of climate change, an aging society, and massive inequality, to name just some of those challenges. → Read More
The Pandemic Recession Is Also A Retirement Crisis Recession
The recession of 2020 is a retirement crisis recession. Millions of older workers quickly lost their jobs. Older workers often confronted the unenviable choice of retiring without enough money or working longer and facing massive financial and physical risks. → Read More
Stimulus Checks Just Enough To Plug A Few Financial Holes Right Now
The federal government sent out checks for families under the CARES Act. Congress intended these payments to help struggling families navigate the uncertain waters of the ongoing recession. Families would use the money to help them pay their bills right now and over the coming weeks and months. → Read More
Systemic Racism Makes Covid-19 Much More Deadly For African-Americans
A long and well-documented history of systematic discrimination against Black people regularly leads to worse underlying health conditions for African-Americans that make it more likely they become severely ill during this pandemic and die from the disease. → Read More
Women Hurt More Than Men In The Recession, But It’s More Complicated Than That
Women feel the economic downturn more acutely than men. Even among women, there are disproportionate effects by race, ethnicity age and marital status. Those groups of women, who have experienced the sharpest labor market downturn, also tend to be the ones most financially vulnerable. → Read More
Christian Weller
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Social Security Benefits Will Provide A Safe Haven In These Times, Requiring Expansion Not Cuts
Middle-class families could not rebuild their savings after the Great Recession. When the current recession hit, many families did not have enough to tide them over. Permanently reduced early retirement benefits from Social Security will provide a respite from financial stress for many. → Read More
The Crisis Pulls The Rug Out From Under Many Older Workers’ Retirement Security
The coronavirus pandemic is taking a toll on people’s jobs and savings. Economists are largely in the dark about what all of this will exactly mean for the economy in the coming months. Amid this uncertainty, it is clear that the retirement crisis will get worse. The question is just how much. → Read More
People Caught Between Rock And Hard Place When Caring For Loved Ones
While the Federal Medical Leave Act was groundbreaking in 1993, today it doesn’t go far enough to address the economic challenges of caregiving. The lack of supportive federal work-family policies means that family caregivers often have to choose between working for pay and caring for others. → Read More
Trump’s Wasteful Tax Cuts Lead To Continued Trillion Dollar Deficits In Expanding Economy
If tax cuts actually paid for themselves, they would reduce deficits based on faster growth. Deficits shot up in the wake of the 2017 supply-side tax cuts. And CBO forecasts that those deficits will continue to stay high -- the opposite of tax cuts paying for themselves. → Read More
Economy Is Slowing Because Trump Administration Ignored Struggling Families
Economic growth has slowed. The slowdown fundamentally reflects a failure of the Trump administration to help struggling middle-class families. Incomes have grown only modestly for many low-income and middle-income families, while their costs for health care, education and housing have gone up. → Read More
Trump’s Trade War Inflicts Pain On Manufacturing States
President Trump’s trade war is taking a toll on the economy, especially in manufacturing states. Employment growth has slowed more in manufacturing states than in non-manufacturing states with many manufacturing states already seeing declining total jobs numbers. → Read More
Income Inequality Is The Party Spoiler As Social Security Turns 84
Growing economic uncertainty has raised the importance of Social Security's benefits for middle-class families, but hurt the program's finances at the same time. → Read More
How The Decline Of Pensions Furthered The Racial Wealth Gap
The retirement crisis comes on the heels of declining defined-benefit (DB) pensions and a changing workforce. The combination of these two trends has contributed to the widening racial wealth gap. → Read More