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The Abstract
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> Edited by Thomas Hanna, Arnold Ventures (AV)
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At the end of 2025, key provisions of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) will expire. Ahead of this important milestone, AV has joined with experts to urge Congress to take a fiscally responsible approach to tax policy.
In a letter sent to the House Ways and Means Committee, the signatories caution that extending TCJA provisions without offsets could cost nearly $4.6 trillion over the next decade, adding to the already significant national debt, which has surged to 97% of gross domestic product (GDP) in recent years.
With elevated interest costs and growing debt levels, the letter calls on lawmakers to use this critical moment to adopt a more fiscally responsible path that promotes long-term economic stability.
Any reforms should be accompanied by budgetary offsets to avoid increasing the national debt.
AV stands with these experts in working towards a sustainable fiscal future.
Read the letter to the House Committee on Ways and Means>
Read about our letter in Politico Pro🔒> |
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Improving Accountability
in Higher Education
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(AV Vice President for Higher Education Kelly McManus)
A growing number of Americans are questioning whether college is worth its cost. While higher education typically leads to higher earnings, millions of students attend schools with poor graduation rates or credentials that don't pay off.
According to a recent report from AV’s Higher Education team, a key issue is that Congress enforces college performance standards through an "all-or-nothing" approach: schools either get full access to federal student aid or none at all. The extreme consequence of losing all aid is seen as a "death sentence" for colleges and is rarely used, thus limiting its value as a tool for accountability. A wider range of measures beyond low bars for access to federal student aid and drastic penalties is needed to push underperforming schools to improve. AV Vice President for Higher Education Kelly McManus writes about the problem and discusses solutions.
Read Degrees of Accountability: Rethinking Incentives and Sanctions in the Higher Education Act>
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Video Q&A with Elizabeth Glazer of Vital City
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(Elizabeth Glazer, founder of Vital City)
Every day, researchers are learning more about which criminal justice policies and interventions work and which do not. However, this research often does not make it into the hands of policymakers and others who could use it.
With support from Arnold Ventures, the policy journal Vital City has launched The Translation Project, a new initiative to help bridge the gap between policymakers and researchers. The project will create simple tools that translate dense academic research into accessible language public officials can use. It will also directly help cities put evidence-based policies into practice and demonstrate how well-tested ideas can help prevent and reduce serious crime.
Watch our Q&A with Elizabeth Glazer, founder of Vital City>
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Q&A on Studying the Effects of School-Based Violence Prevention Programs
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Criminal Justice
- The Idaho Statesman reports that a third of the state’s jails failed inspections due in part to issues related to understaffing. However, there have been no consequences for these failed inspections because the state lacks oversight of local jails.
- A new issue brief from the Manhattan Institute discusses the evidence behind using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to reduce recidivism and improve community safety.
- A story in the Baltimore Banner reveals how the understaffing crisis is affecting prisons in Maryland. In one case, a security fence at a prison collapsed, and corrections staff were told it would take 5 years to repair. In the meantime, already overworked and under-resourced staff were told they would need to be assigned to constantly watch the fence.
Health Care
- The Guardian reports on how hospital and medical facility consolidation in Indiana has led to some of the highest costs for medical care in the country. In the past 20 years, Parkview Health has purchased 6 other hospitals and more than 300 doctor’s offices and other medical facilities, which has led to disproportionate price hikes in one of the country’s most affordable regions.
Higher Education
- The Department of Education has released a list of institutions in the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program. Announced in April, the Postsecondary Success Recognition Program uses data and evidence to identify 200 institutions across the country that are providing economic mobility for students similar to the Department’s Blue Ribbon School program at the K-12 level.
- Urban Institute’s Jason Delisle published an essay estimating how much borrowers in the largest fields of study are likely to benefit from the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan's interest waiver.
- A federal judge has dismissed a Florida lawsuit claiming the Department of Education’s accreditation regulation prevented colleges from changing accreditors, which would defy a Florida law mandating its public colleges change accreditors every cycle. A New America story provides more information on the decision.
- AV grantee the Postsecondary Equity and Economics Research Center (PEER), based out of American University has officially announced its launch and will focus on higher education accountability.
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As part of its Inside Story series, which focuses on America’s prisons and jails, The Marshall Project has released an episode on the understaffing crisis and its effects on incarcerated people, corrections staff, and their families. The episode features Santia Nance of the group Sistas in Prison Reform, whose fiancé Quadaire Patterson is incarcerated in Virginia.
Watch the Inside Story episode on “Prison Staff Shortages’ Toll on Prisoners, Guards and Their Families”>
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- On Monday, October 21, at 6 p.m. EDT on Zoom, Andrew Yang and Open Primaries, Unite America, the Forward Party, Independent Voting, the Independent Voting Network, and Veterans for All Voters are co-hosting a virtual national rally to build momentum for several open primary measures on the ballot this year. Learn more and register.
- On Tuesday, October 22, from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. the National Academy for State Health Policy (NASHP) will be hosting a webinar with national experts to learn more about NASHP’s new model legislation to address the corporatization of medicine, consolidation of the health care market, and hospital closures. Learn more about the webinar on NASHP's website and register here.
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(Photo from the National Gallery of Art)
If you are in the Washington, D.C. area, check out Paris 1874: The Impressionist Movement. This new exhibit at the National Gallery of Art, which runs until January 19, 2025, brings together 130 works of impressionist art from Paul Cézanne, Claude Monet, Berthe Morisot, Camille Pissarro, and many others. Washington, D.C. is the only U.S. stop on this exhibit’s tour, and admission is free. Read more about the exhibit here.
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