AEI's weekly digest of top commentary and scholarship on the issues that matter most





AEI This Week

AEI's weekly digest of top commentary and scholarship on the issues that matter most

THE AMERICAN DREAM IS ALIVE

What Liberals Get Wrong About the Middle Class

June 13, 2026

Liberals often suggest that the American economy no longer works for the middle class, with families unable to achieve their parents’ American Dream. In a new essay for The New York Times, Scott Winship debunks ([link removed] ) this perspective—showing that the middle class is only shrinking because more families than ever are moving up because of rising incomes. Read our Center on Opportunity and Social Mobility’s new Land of Opportunity book ([link removed] ) to learn more about the real state of the American Dream.

middle-class ([link removed] )

Elected officials are scrambling to respond to affordability pressures from high oil prices, and this week President Trump reiterated his desire to suspend the federal gas tax. AEI tax expert Alex Brill explains ([link removed] ) why this proposal would do little to help consumers while blowing a hole in the government’s already strained transportation finances.

On May 11, the Navy released a detailed shipbuilding plan in response to concerns from the president and Congress that the branch’s acquisition system is fundamentally broken. In a new AEI Foreign and Defense Policy working paper, Anand Toprani, Zack Cooper, and John G. Ferrari assess ([link removed] ) the good, the bad, and the ugly of the plan.

AEI President Robert Doar recently spent several days in Ukraine for conferences in Odesa and Kyiv. Read his reflections in The Wall Street Journal ([link removed] ) on Ukrainians’ impressive resilience after four years of war and their deep disappointment in the uncertain support of the United States.

On June 9, AEI Press published the eighth and final volume in our “We Hold These Truths: America at 250” series: The American Revolution in American History, which explores how generations of Americans have defined, debated, and drawn on the memory of our nation’s birth. Read the full text online ([link removed] ) or order a copy here ([link removed] ) .

AEI This Week will be off next week but will return on June 27.

Trump’s Tariffs, Government Revenue, and the Cost of Living: The Case of Food and the Agricultural Tariff Exemptions

The Trump administration has justified its sweeping tariff regime partly as a revenue tool—initially claiming the tariffs would generate $600–$700 billion annually, with the tax burden falling on foreign exporters, not American consumers. In a new AEI report, AEI Agricultural Policy Studies Director Vincent H. Smith and Shantanu R. Kamat evaluate ([link removed] ) both of these claims after more than 12 months. They find that actual tariff revenues have come in below $300 billion, largely because in November the administration exempted agricultural products that had the most revenue potential. This decision, driven by affordability concerns, reflects the reality that American consumers are paying for the administration’s tariffs in the form of higher prices.

More from AEI

RESEARCH AND COMMENTARY

Japan Is Becoming the Superpower of the Middle Powers ([link removed] )

Hal Brands | Bloomberg Opinion

Increasing Transparency for Healthcare Markets and Policymakers ([link removed] )

Benedic N. Ippolito | US House Committee on Energy and Commerce, Subcommittee on Health

The Real Fix for Surprise Billing Requires Both Sides to Give ([link removed] )

Charles N. Kahn III | AEIdeas

End the Phony Ceasefire with Iran ([link removed] )

Matthew Continetti | The Wall Street Journal

“Upon More Mature Reflection”: Hamilton’s About-Face on Removing Senior Government Officials in 1789 ([link removed] )

Gary J. Schmitt | The Constitutionalist

PODCASTS AND VIDEOS

Economics in One World Cup ([link removed] )

Stan Veuger and Ryan Bourne | Cato Podcast

Authoritarian Ideologies Still Matter ([link removed] )

Dan Slater and Justin Kempf | Democracy Paradox

Rank Punditry You Can’t Refuse ([link removed] )

Jonah Goldberg and Chris Stirewalt | The Remnant with Jonah Goldberg

Medicare Facing the Future: The 2026 Trustees Report ([link removed] )

Mark J. Warshawsky and James C. Capretta | AEI event

AEI’s “America at 250” Summer Series: Democracy, Freedom, and the Declaration of Independence ([link removed] )

Yuval Levin and Jeff Pickering | AEI event

QUOTE OF THE WEEK

To be an American is not to be someone, but to believe in something. That is why we are at heart a credo nation, and that is why the 250th anniversary of the Declaration . . . is so important.

—Gordon S. Wood ([link removed] )

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