Does marriage reduce poverty?
Plus: Should Boomers rent out their empty rooms; will generative AI leave low-income workers behind; and how to fix a wasteful health care subsidy
Marriage and poverty: The “success sequence”—finish high school, get a job, and get married before having kids—is connected to dramatically improved outcomes when it comes to avoiding or escaping poverty. But marriage rates are falling, especially among low-income Americans. In a new paper for FREOPP, Senior Fellow Michael Tanner examines the decline, considering the ways that economic instability, cultural shifts, and poorly designed welfare programs are to blame. Although the role of marriage in reducing poverty can be overstated, well-designed tools to encourage it are an important way to improve social mobility. Michael argues that, while government campaigns to promote marriage have largely failed, smarter policy could help. His recommendations? Removing marriage penalties, expanding vocational and sector-specific training, and improving education and employment prospects for working-class men.
Big changes are needed before empty rooms solve housing challenges: When The New York Times asked whether Boomers renting out their empty rooms could ease the housing crisis, FREOPP Research Fellow Roger Valdez took to Forbes to answer: No. Turning empty bedrooms into rentals may sound like a fix for housing scarcity, but Roger argues that the idea is unlikely to work in practice. Case studies like those in the Times article reveal steep costs, red tape, and zoning barriers that make replicating these projects nearly impossible: Financing is scarce, neighbors resist, and tenant laws complicate scaling. Real solutions to housing challenges will require bold reforms—eliminating exclusionary zoning, rethinking mortgage incentives, and streamlining permitting. Until then, spare rooms remain an under-powered fix to a systemic problem.
Generative AI is expanding rapidly in 2025: How fast is AI use at work growing, and how is it affecting the way people do their jobs? FREOPP Visiting Fellow Jon Hartley and his coauthors investigated those questions, finding that workplace use of generative AI tools like ChatGPT and Gemini has surged from 30 percent to 40 percent, with most workers using them to speed up—not replace—job tasks. So far, these tools are boosting productivity, especially in sectors like tech, education, and management, but adoption is skewed toward higher-income, more educated workers. Jon notes that without targeted, sector-based training programs, lower-income Americans risk being left behind. The solution? Strategic investment in workforce development—not heavy-handed regulation—to ensure AI’s benefits are widely shared.
The 340B drug program is failing patients: Established in 1992 to help low-income patients access affordable medications, the 340B drug pricing program has evolved into a profit engine for hospitals—with little transparency or accountability. Covered entities buy drugs at steep discounts but bill insurers at full price, pocketing the difference. FREOPP Visiting Fellow Grant Rigney examines the evidence and makes the case that hospitals use these profits to expand into wealthier neighborhoods rather than passing savings to patients or offering charity care. This is a glaringly wasteful use of federal subsidies. As Congress debates the future of 340B, it should focus on reform: requiring hospitals to report how 340B savings are used, strengthening oversight, and tightening eligibility criteria to target true safety-net providers.
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