As ESP's Erion Malasi explains in The Indypendent, the beauty of a public option is that when communities are in need, tax dollars can be used to support people directly, rather than offering tax credits to corporations and hoping they care enough to show up. 2/2

Across the country, cities like New York City are showing just how far our tax dollars can go by investing in public grocery stores. 1/

Many in the tech industry say the threat of lawsuits will keep AI companies from taking big risks. People said the same thing about banks before 2008. Banking regulation gives us a blueprint for managing systemic risk, & we should use it on AI now, explains ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social.

3/ This matters for affordability. When a handful of corporations have too much power, families have fewer choices, small businesses and workers have less leverage, and dominant corporations have more power to set the terms of our economy.

2/ California’s antitrust framework has remained largely unchanged since 1907, even as corporate power and the economy transformed around it. The new law gives state enforcers stronger tools to take on monopoly power and dominant corporations that block competitors.

1/ California just took a major step toward tackling corporate power and the affordability crisis. Gov. Newsom signed a new law updating California’s antitrust laws for the first time in more than a century. 🧵⬇️

The development of AI is moving fast, and we need our rules need to keep up. ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social stopped by Squawk Box to talk about what bank regulation can teach us about keeping AI safe and holding AI companies accountable.

5/5 Their expertise will deepen the rigor and reach of our work as we build ESP's multi-sector affordability platform. We're so excited to have them on the team!

4/ Devesh Kodnani is an MIT PhD candidate and economist focused on reducing income inequality and helping workers share in AI's gains. He's worked at the Joint Economic Committee, CAP, and Goldman Sachs. At ESP, he'll research social insurance and labor policy, with a focus on AI's impact on labor.

3/ @gabyaboulafia.bsky.social is a Harvard doctoral student studying how public insurance program design shapes people's experiences with government + their political attitudes. She'll join Jacob on our healthcare research, including a public option that works for consumers.

2/ @jacobhacker.bsky.social is a Yale political scientist who studies health policy, inequality, & the politics of risk. Author of "The Great Risk Shift," he's known for developing the healthcare public option. At ESP, he'll research the core pillars of a public option.

1/ We're excited to welcome three new research fellows! Jacob Hacker, Gaby Aboulafia, and Devesh Kodnani bring deep expertise in health policy and the political economy of work. With our Ideas Team, they'll develop ideas + strategies to build an economy that works for all Americans.

The US ranks 40th out of 41 comparably wealthy nations on accessible, affordable, quality childcare. But even with the federal government stalled, some states have been showing what's possible. Our new brief from @lbilik.bsky.social looks at what a national system should learn from them:

The CTC, EITC, and guaranteed income pilots across the nation all point to the same conclusion: unrestricted cash builds financial stability. Fund and expand what works!

Including cash in the universal childcare playbook is how we start building a system that actually works for families – whether that’s a full-time daycare spot, a trusted relative, or a parent choosing to stay home.