This week, some of AEI's most prominent scholars are raising serious concerns about a broad range of policy proposals and political strategies.

Scott Winship analyzes Democrats' continued focus on antipoverty efforts despite clear evidence that poverty is at an all-time low. He warns that "progressives' unyielding prioritization of spending to reduce poverty has come with short-term consequences" and could incur "substantial long-term costs from deficits and counterproductive responses to more generous aid."

In his analysis of recent congressional activity, Yuval Levin argues that the debt-ceiling deal "reflects above all the continuing division of the Democrats, which has left them saying some pretty odd things this fall." He suggests that the deal itself — while it involves wins and losses for Democrats and Republicans alike — hurts the chances that Democrats will pass their contentious reconciliation bill.

Meanwhile, Phil Gramm and Mike Solon refute the progressive talking point "that Americans with high incomes don't pay their 'fair share.'" President Joe Biden's "tax-the-rich demand," they contend, "is simply a ruse to raise taxes on upper-middle-income families." 

Kyle Pomerleau also analyzes President Biden's tax policies, arguing that proposals to increase the corporate income tax would "raise additional revenue for the federal government but would do so at an economic cost," particularly on domestic investment.

Regarding technology, members of both parties have recently demonstrated embarrassing ignorance, and Shane Tews warns of the "gap between some lawmakers' understanding of the tech sector and their relentless desire to regulate it."
 
Finally, Jeane Kirkpatrick Visiting Research Fellow Wang Xiyue warns that Iran's recent entry into the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation portends "closer cooperation between Iran and China." He argues that this relationship is the result of President Biden's desire "to reengage with Iran" and revive the 2015 nuclear deal, but he warns that the administration's policies are self-defeating: "What was intended to incentivize Iran to talk became an incentive to be obstinate."