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Progress Report
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News, events, and must-read analysis from the Progressive Policy Institute.
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** Renewing the Democratic Party
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By Richard Kahlenberg
Director of Housing Policy and the American Identity Project
for A ([link removed]) merican Affairs ([link removed])
The Democratic Party has lost its way. A party whose very purpose has been to fight for working families has forfeited their trust and confidence. The losses are most obvious among white working-class voters. In 1960, John F. Kennedy won white working-class (noncollege) voters but lost white college graduates by two to one. In 2024, Kamala Harris lost white working-class voters by over two to one (67 percent to 31 percent) while winning white college graduates solidly (...)
The party has sunk so low that it cannot beat the man who infamously inspired his followers to attack the U.S. Capitol, sat by while they created mayhem, and would, once back in office, pardon the attackers. Republicans have had a higher identification rate among voters than Democrats for the last three years, something that hasn’t been true for almost a century. Only 29 percent of Americans view the Democrats favorably according to CNN, the lowest rate since CNN began asking the question more than thirty years ago.
What went wrong for the Democrats, and what can be done about it? There are many answers to the first question, but fundamentally, much of it boils down to this: at a time when the life prospects of Americans are increasingly shaped by economic class, not skin color or gender, Democrats have moved in the opposite direction and time and time again prioritized racial and gender identity. Restoring the primacy of working-class priorities, on issues of culture as well as economics, provides the central path forward for a Democratic Party that wants to build a durable majority and restore its identity as the party of working people.
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NEW PPI REPORT
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Credit card interest rates have skyrocketed over the past few years, increasing borrowing and debt. Congress has attempted to mitigate credit card debt for Americans by introducing legislation to cap credit card interest rates at ten percent. However, this legislation would do more harm than good. To inform the debate around new legislation proposing a 10% interest rate cap, PPI released a report arguing that while rising interest rates reflect inflation and increased lending risk, a blunt rate cap would strip issuers of a key tool for managing that risk — ultimately reducing access to credit for working-class borrowers.
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New from the Experts
Diana Moss, Vice President and Director of Competition Policy: Antitrust Should Be a Tool for Creating Abundance
⮕ ProMarket ([link removed])
Claire Ainsley, Director of the New Ukraine Project: The Case for Remaking the State
⮕ Re:State ([link removed])
Mary Guenther, Head of Space Policy: Democrats Have Ceded Leadership on Space Policy
⮕ Payload ([link removed])
Alix Ware, Director of Health Care Policy: Republicans Surrender the War on Cancer
⮕ PPI Blog ([link removed])
🎧 Listen: Ben Ritz, Vice President of Policy Development: Is Trump Repeating Biden’s Mistakes?
⮕ Concord Coalition’s Facing the Future Podcast ([link removed])
Bruno Manno, Senior Advisor: How Are Teachers Today Thinking About Education?
⮕ Forbes ([link removed])
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** Zelensky’s Big Istanbul Gamble
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By Tamar Jacoby
Director of the New Ukraine Project
for W ([link removed]) ashington Monthly ([link removed])
It was Donald Trump’s idea, but there appeared to be a consensus ([link removed]) —the U.S., Ukraine, Europe, and even quasi-neutral Turkey agreeing that Ukraine and Russia should stop shooting and sign on to a comprehensive ceasefire before peace talks began. But as Vladimir Putin has proven again and again, he doesn’t want ([link removed]) to stop fighting. He believes he has the battlefield advantage and wants to grab as much of Ukraine as possible before the guns go silent.
Trump responded to Putin’s ceasefire refusal by urging ([link removed]) Kyiv to talk anyway and send what everyone assumed would be an exploratory delegation to meet with the Russians in Istanbul. Then, over the weekend, Volodymyr Zelensky upped the ante, committing to appear in person in Turkey and meet with Putin face to face.
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🎧 Listen Up
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The Briefing with Steve Scully
Ben Ritz joins SiriusXM POTUS The Briefing with Steve Scully to discuss how Trump's budget proposal will be an even bigger mess than Biden's Build Back Better and whether there is a possibility of bipartisan action to address the national debt.
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Ed Gresser: Polling: U.S. public is against Trump tariffs by about 60%-36%.
⮕ PPI's Trade Fact of the Week ([link removed])
Ben Ritz & Alex Kilander: GOP Doubles Down on Deceptive Budget-Busting Tax Plan
⮕ PPI’s Budget Breakdown ([link removed])
Staff Spotlight: Ben Ritz
Vice Prhttps://www.progressivepolicy.org/people/ben-ritz-2/esident of Policy Development
Ben Ritz is the Vice President of Policy Development for the Progressive Policy Institute, a center-left think tank based in Washington, DC with satellite offices in Brussels, Kyiv, and the United Kingdom. In this capacity, he helps PPI’s policy experts develop analysis and “radically pragmatic” ideas consistent with the organization’s mission of supporting innovation, economic opportunity, and the enduring values of liberal democracy.
Ben also directs PPI’s Center for Funding America’s Future, which develops fiscally responsible policy proposals to strengthen public investments in the foundation of our economy, modernize health and retirement programs to reflect an aging society, transform our tax code to reward work over wealth, and put the national debt on a downward trajectory.
With more than a decade of experience shaping economic debates in Washington, Ben’s policy recommendations have been incorporated into major legislation including the Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. He also works to hold political candidates accountable for their promises, such as by publishing the only comprehensive fiscal impact estimates of all the leading candidates’ economic agendas during the 2020 Democratic presidential primaries. Ben’s expert analysis has been published in the Washington Post, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, The Hill, and other national news outlets.
Prior to joining PPI, Ben staffed the Bipartisan Policy Center’s Commission on Retirement Security and Personal Savings, where he helped develop its proposed reforms to make Social Security sustainably solvent and promote retirement savings through the tax code. Ben also worked on other federal budget issues at BPC including sequestration, budget process reform, and the federal debt limit. Before joining BPC, Ben worked to educate members of Congress and their constituents about fiscal policy as Legislative Outreach Director for The Concord Coalition.
Ben earned his Master’s of Public Policy Analysis; a Graduate Certificate of Public Finance; and a BA in Communication, Legal Institutions, Economics, and Government from American University.
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