Economic Futures
Tackling the Crisis: A Framework for an Affordable Future
10. 22. 2025
Families are working harder than ever but are barely getting by, with many forced to make impossible choices every month—like whether to pay rent on time or fix the car they need to get to work, skip the doctor’s office or tackle their mounting credit card debt, keep the heat on or buy groceries.
This fall, we kicked off our Road to Affordability Tour to hear directly from families navigating these tough choices. What we heard was consistent across communities: people are disillusioned by an economic reality where every time they grasp the next rung of the ladder, something knocks them back down. Like a dad in Illinois who, after his 9-5 job, logs into gig apps until midnight because it’s the only way he can afford to pay the bills. Or a young professional in the Bay Area who struggles with skyrocketing rent and now worries AI will take their job, too. Or the countless families who have put off having kids because raising them seems financially impossible.
All of this underscores the depth of the affordability crisis we’re in. It is the most recent symptom of a deeply unequal economy that has made us more fractured and less resilient. Solving it isn’t just about bringing down costs—it’s about renewing people’s belief that it’s possible to dictate the terms of their own future.
We must first understand why things are unaffordable in order to know how to fix them. If we don’t, we run the risk of rhetoric and solutions falling short, further eroding Americans’ trust in our institutions and government.
The Affordability Framework is our response and a collective call to action. Inspired in part by stories we’ve heard on the road, the framework is a diagnosis of how broken markets extract and fail to deliver affordable and accessible essentials, and the broken incomes that destabilize and keep people from being able to get ahead. It’s a roadmap for understanding how policy failures and neglect—including the policy choices and cronyism of the current administration—have eroded pathways to upward mobility for millions of people, undermining our faith in each other and trust in the American experiment.
Just as choices created this crisis, a different set of choices can address it. Building a fair and affordable economy requires a muscular approach to crafting markets that deliver on the promise of broad-based economic growth and a modern social contract that helps families weather the ups and downs of life. Together, they can inform a blueprint for prosperity and economic dignity, and freedom for all.
The future of our democracy depends on our ability to create an economy that works for everyone. Inequality and a stalled sense of shared progress are the most consistent predictors of the emergence of authoritarian states. If we fail to tackle the failures of an economy that concentrates opportunity and wealth into the hands of a few, we risk further eroding our democracy.
In crisis, there can also be great possibility. At Economic Security Project, we believe in fighting for bold, yet pragmatic, ideas that guarantee all Americans have the freedom and stability needed to thrive. We’ve seen how putting cash directly in people’s pockets transforms lives and communities, and how holding corporate power to account shifts who benefits from progress. In the hands of credible messengers and champions, ideas take hold and help us imagine an alternative to rising costs, broken promises, and failed systems, ultimately laying the groundwork for concrete wins.
In the coming months, we’ll build on the Affordability Framework to introduce policy ideas informed by the experiences of those on the frontlines of the affordability crisis, as well as the best thinking from across the country. Our goal is to equip policymakers with a robust toolbox to fight for—and deliver—change.
We hope you will join us in charting a new path forward. Read the framework, share it with your networks, and reach out to bring the Road to Affordability Tour to your community. It’s going to take all of us to meet this moment and build an economy that works for everyone.
What Else We’ve Been Up To
The Affordability Framework builds on our ongoing work to build an economy where all Americans have the resources they need to thrive—from holding Big Tech accountable to putting cash directly in the hands of families in times of need.
California Sets the Standard for AI Safety and Innovation
Economic Security California Action (ESCAA) recently won a key victory when Governor Newsom signed SB 53 into law—ensuring the future of AI serves the public good, not just Big Tech’s bottom line.
The bill requires major AI companies to disclose safety and risk protocols, report critical incidents to the state, and protect whistleblowers. It also creates CalCompute, a public option for AI computing power that ensures researchers, startups, and public institutions can use AI for breakthroughs that serve the public good, like medical advancements and building climate resiliency.
SB 53 comes on the heels of ESCAA’s years-long campaign, bringing together policymakers, organizers, and advocacy partners to make AI work for all Californians. And it comes at a critical moment. While the federal government considers giving Big Tech more authority and less oversight, California is proving that a different course is not only possible but necessary—one where innovation and safety go hand in hand. Learn more about SB 53 here.
Rx Kids Is Helping Parents Breathe Easier
Every parent knows the saying “it takes a village to raise a child,” but for many families, those early months—when expenses soar and income often drops—feel isolating and overwhelming. That’s where Rx Kids steps in, a program ESP has long supported and elevated as a model.
Launched in Flint, Michigan, in 2024, Rx Kids is the nation’s first-ever community-wide prenatal and infant cash prescription program. With support from local partners and national funders, the program provides $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 a month throughout a baby’s first year. To date, more than 3,400 families across 11 Michigan communities have received support.
Two new studies show just how remarkable the program’s impact has been since its launch. Preterm births dropped by 18%, low birth weights by up to 27%, and evictions fell by an astonishing 91%. Parents report less postpartum depression, more stability, and the dignity of deciding what their families need most. As one mother shared, “It feels like the village every mom needs.” Rx Kids isn’t just helping families in Flint—it’s building a model for communities across the country to follow. Learn more here.
ICYMI: Our Picks
From skyrocketing healthcare costs and childcare to threats to the Fed and new research on gig work and cash, here are a few highlights of our work this month.
- G.O.P. to Gen Z: Pay Double for Health Insurance or Go Without
ESP President Natalie Foster wrote a New York Times op-ed explaining that 24 million people on the ACA marketplaces will see their premiums double thanks to cuts to ACA subsidies and Medicaid by Congressional Republicans—and young adults will be hit the hardest. “The decision to lock an entire generation out of affordable coverage will have health and economic implications for decades to come.” - ESP report unpacks the hidden struggles of gig workers
ESP’s new report by Jean Ross, “Removing Barriers to Tax Filing for Independent Contractors,” examines how gig workers are navigating economic insecurity, finding that most workers earn very little, face unequal access to tax credits and support, and often pay high costs navigating a system not built for them. “The rise of platform-based work has brought new attention to the challenges faced by independent contractors, creating an opportunity to spotlight long-standing issues and open the door to targeted solutions.” - Public Grocery Stores Deliver Affordable Groceries
ESP Futures Cohort creator Brian Baez visits Azalea Fresh Market, a municipally owned grocery store in Atlanta, to check out how prices compare to a regular grocery store. The verdict? “Municipal-owned grocery stores for the win.” - Satellite Media Tour on ESP’s recent childcare report
ESP President Natalie Foster spoke with local news networks across the country to discuss the need for universal public childcare. “Families are having to make all kinds of decisions on how to handle the cost of childcare, including dropping out of the workforce for some parents.” - ACA healthcare premiums are going up—and content creators will be hit hard
ESP Futures Cohort creator Michael Mezzatesta explains how his healthcare costs are about to triple thanks to cuts to ACA subsidies—a reality facing millions of self-employed workers, including content creators, who depend on the ACA marketplaces for coverage. “And the worst part is it’s mostly happening so that rich people can get tax cuts.” - ESP Co-Founder on Squawk Box
ESP co-chair Chris Hughes joined Squawk Box to discuss the fallout from President Trump’s attempted firing of Fed Governor Lisa Cook. Hughes warned that while markets have been calm, the move is “the most aggressive assault on Fed independence that we have ever seen.”