ESP’s Director of Cash Initiatives, Shafeka Hashash, in @crainschicago.bsky.social:
“It’s clear how cash has really bridged this bipartisan line. It’s so popular that everyone wants to jump on board.” 👇
Our new memo with @economicsecurityproject.org breaks down AI’s role in California’s affordability crisis and what we can do about it.
Don’t have time to read the full memo? Here’s the TL;DR: techequity.us/2026/04/07/a...
How we respond to the AI transition is a choice that belongs to all of us. Our new policy brief provides policymakers, researchers, and advocates a place to start, highlighting ideas like normalizing the four-day workweek, establishing an income floor, and modernizing unemployment insurance.
ESP’s Becky Chao in today’s edition of Politico’s California Decoded newsletter (@politico.com):
Mayor Mamdani just announced plans to open a city-owned grocery store in East Harlem. 🛒
It’s a powerful step toward making life more affordable for New Yorkers. Cities like St. Paul, Atlanta and Venice, IL, are experimenting with #publicgrocery stores and and we are excited for its promise.
4/4 When families have stability at the start, babies are healthier and parents are better able to care, recover, and stay afloat.
3/ The momentum for cash-based solutions is growing, including in Illinois, where a proposed Newborn Equity Support Transfer (NEST) program would provide $1,500 during pregnancy and $500 per month in a baby’s first six months—delivering support at the exact moment families need it most.
2/ Research shows that when families receive direct, flexible cash support during pregnancy and early infancy, outcomes improve. Birth outcomes strengthen. Maternal mental health improves. Housing instability declines.
For too many families, the moment a child is born is also the moment financial pressure peaks.
Income drops. Costs rise.
What should be a time of bonding becomes a time of stress and uncertainty. 🧵
Excited for this report by my colleague Becky Chao to be out, on where to focus during the AI transition: social insurance, workers, competition, and prices.
And also how: center immediate no-regret reforms, and then expand as we see what the full impact will be. Check it out!
In @nytimes.com, @hillaryclinton.bsky.social centers the affordability crisis and calls on policymakers to lead. We know what works: direct cash and tax credits like the #CTC and #EITC that put real cash back in people's pockets.
The tools exist; it's time to scale them.
7/7 These are just a few ideas to help policymakers, researchers, and advocates ensure the transition to an AI-powered economy benefits us all. Share in the comments ideas you want to see be part of the conversation, too 👇
6/ Reimagining Unemployment Insurance
Our current system isn’t reaching everyone who needs assistance. Strengthening unemployment insurance and closing the gap in uptake, paired with reskilling and upskilling programs, would help workers get back on their feet.
5/ Your health insurance shouldn't depend on your job.
The U.S. is one of the only wealthy nations where losing your job means losing your health insurance, too. Decoupling health coverage from employment would allow people to navigate job transitions without risking their health.
4/ Families shouldn't foot the bill for AI's electricity demand.
Data centers’ electricity demand 3x from 2020 to 2024, w/ families forced to absorb the costs. Lawmakers can shift the burden back to data centers by prioritizing policies that require usage transparency or grid user classifications.
3/ Establish an Income Floor
Even a temporary loss of income can derail a family's financial stability. Creating an income floor would ensure people have a cushion to navigate transitions without having to make impossible choices like paying rent or putting food on the table.
2/ Four-day work week
AI boosts in productivity could help employers shift to a four-day work week, which could also help reduce unemployment from job displacement by sharing the remaining work more widely.
1/ Today, we released a new policy brief, "Ideas for Shared Economic Prosperity in the AI Transition," outlining concrete ideas for policymakers, researchers, and advocates to consider as we build toward an AI-powered economy that benefits us all.
Let’s break down a few of them 🧵
In a new @nytimes.com op-ed, ESP co-founder @c-hughes.bsky.social breaks down how we can redirect FHLB lending towards multifamily construction, produce 200K new units a year, and get more Americans into homes – without any cost to taxpayers.
Read more:
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/08/o...
We teamed up with @economicsecurityproject.org to write "AI & Affordability in California," in which we look at how algorithmic rent-fixing, data center energy costs, and surveillance pricing are driving up costs for Californians—and the policy solutions that can help.
techequity.us/2026/04/01/a...
Why does it seem like our day-to-day tech is actually getting… shittier?
Cory Doctorow calls this phenomenon enshittification, and tech firms are doing it because they can—because we didn’t stop them.
@eff.org @economicsecurityproject.org @consumercal.bsky.social
The next generation of California leaders will take office at the dawn of a new technological age.
From jobs to justice, AI is transforming society, and its use is already creating profound consequences for us all.
techequity.us/2026/01/21/5...
We’re working to scale solutions like this so more families can access the tax credits they have already earned. Read the research and explore the toolkit to bring this approach to your community, too. 4/4
✅ $1.26M in tax credits delivered to filers across just 5 pilot sites
✅ Filers referred by county workers received 48% higher refunds than those accessing free tax help on their own
✅ Those who received a “warm handoff”received 72% more refunds, averaging over $2,000 per household 3/
#ClaimYourCashLA (#CYCLA) is changing that by connecting families directly to free tax preparation through trusted county workers. That simple shift makes a real difference: 2/
Did you know hundreds of millions of dollars in tax credits go unclaimed every year?
Tax credits like the #CTC + #EITC put thousands back into families’ pockets, yet too many never receive what they qualify for.
In LA County alone, nearly $500 million is left on the table each year. 1/
1) When we outsource what makes us human—our ability to think, learn, and love—to technology, that’s a political, economic, and spiritual collapse waiting to happen.
@nataliefoster.bsky.social @economicsecurityproject.org
Watch the full conversation and learn what we can do to demand better from Big Tech.
Why did tech firms "enshittify" their products? Because they can.
We joined @techequity.bsky.social, @consumercal.bsky.social & @eff.org to talk with @doctorow.pluralistic.net on how market consolidation drives enshittification — making platforms worse for everyone but shareholders.
Today in SF: “AI Economy: who wins, who loses, and who decides” Inspiring chat between @chrismurphyct.bsky.social and @catherinebracy.com hosted by @techequity.bsky.social and @nataliefoster.bsky.social @economicsecurityproject.org
Nice to hear a politician openly argue for breaking up big tech
