Suzanne Kahn
@suzmkahn.bsky.social
Historian of social insurance and feminism. VP Think Tank @rooseveltinstitute.org & Roosevelt Forward. Previously @32bjseiu.bsky.social, @seiu.org, @columbiauniversity.bsky.social History Dept
linktr.ee/suzmkahn
linktr.ee/suzmkahn
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
Today, New Mexico launched its universal childcare initiative. Last month I wrote about it for Roosevelt Institute -- historic state endeavors like this should show lawmakers at all levels of government that Americans are sick and tired of waiting for bold action on childcare. shorturl.at/Sm2tZ
November 3, 2025 at 6:07 PM
Today, New Mexico launched its universal childcare initiative. Last month I wrote about it for Roosevelt Institute -- historic state endeavors like this should show lawmakers at all levels of government that Americans are sick and tired of waiting for bold action on childcare. shorturl.at/Sm2tZ
Excited that my new book review came out at the same time as Corrine Low's essay on what the medical professions can teach us about how to organize jobs to be family friendly. There's a lot to be learned by looking at how women organize work when they have numbers.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
November 3, 2025 at 3:19 PM
Excited that my new book review came out at the same time as Corrine Low's essay on what the medical professions can teach us about how to organize jobs to be family friendly. There's a lot to be learned by looking at how women organize work when they have numbers.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/02/o...
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
a sharp @suzmkahn.bsky.social review in @washingtonmonthly.com on After the Spike. Parenting will always have something of an "opportunity cost" but that doesn't mean there's not a lot policy can do to make it a better option
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/a...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/a...
Running Out of People
In After the Spike, two economists make a provocative case that population decline could stall innovation and human progress.
washingtonmonthly.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:49 PM
a sharp @suzmkahn.bsky.social review in @washingtonmonthly.com on After the Spike. Parenting will always have something of an "opportunity cost" but that doesn't mean there's not a lot policy can do to make it a better option
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/a...
washingtonmonthly.com/2025/11/02/a...
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
NEW 📰: Building a more effective government that moves beyond the status quo requires honest reflection.
Drawing on interviews with more than 45 former senior Biden officials, our latest report offers 161 practical recommendations for better governance.
https://bit.ly/4312Zid
Drawing on interviews with more than 45 former senior Biden officials, our latest report offers 161 practical recommendations for better governance.
https://bit.ly/4312Zid
October 28, 2025 at 1:02 PM
NEW 📰: Building a more effective government that moves beyond the status quo requires honest reflection.
Drawing on interviews with more than 45 former senior Biden officials, our latest report offers 161 practical recommendations for better governance.
https://bit.ly/4312Zid
Drawing on interviews with more than 45 former senior Biden officials, our latest report offers 161 practical recommendations for better governance.
https://bit.ly/4312Zid
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
No jobs data. No inflation report. No roadmap. This isn’t a technical glitch, it’s a threat to democratic governance.
In #FiresideStacks🔥, @mikemadowitz.bsky.social warns how the shutdown has silenced the federal stats that keep our economy functioning.
bit.ly/4726aag
In #FiresideStacks🔥, @mikemadowitz.bsky.social warns how the shutdown has silenced the federal stats that keep our economy functioning.
bit.ly/4726aag
October 16, 2025 at 8:49 PM
No jobs data. No inflation report. No roadmap. This isn’t a technical glitch, it’s a threat to democratic governance.
In #FiresideStacks🔥, @mikemadowitz.bsky.social warns how the shutdown has silenced the federal stats that keep our economy functioning.
bit.ly/4726aag
In #FiresideStacks🔥, @mikemadowitz.bsky.social warns how the shutdown has silenced the federal stats that keep our economy functioning.
bit.ly/4726aag
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
Americans' trust in media hit an all-time low this week. But the trust numbers for public media look totally different. The public is wary of how commercial pressures impact news fairness and accuracy — and for good reason.
rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/trust-i...
rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/trust-i...
Americans’ Trust in Media Hit a Record Low This Week. Only Public Media Can Restore It. - Roosevelt Institute
Wednesday’s government shutdown was the final nail in the coffin of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which officially closed after having its funding rescinded by the Trump administratio...
rooseveltinstitute.org
October 3, 2025 at 8:58 PM
Americans' trust in media hit an all-time low this week. But the trust numbers for public media look totally different. The public is wary of how commercial pressures impact news fairness and accuracy — and for good reason.
rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/trust-i...
rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/trust-i...
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
Even before the admin went after higher ed, public colleges faced 50 years of decline—hollowed out by privatization, financialization, and disinvestment.
@lookheron.bsky.social’s new report traces that history & shows how we can build a more equitable education system today:
https://bit.ly/3WlV9vv
@lookheron.bsky.social’s new report traces that history & shows how we can build a more equitable education system today:
https://bit.ly/3WlV9vv
September 30, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Even before the admin went after higher ed, public colleges faced 50 years of decline—hollowed out by privatization, financialization, and disinvestment.
@lookheron.bsky.social’s new report traces that history & shows how we can build a more equitable education system today:
https://bit.ly/3WlV9vv
@lookheron.bsky.social’s new report traces that history & shows how we can build a more equitable education system today:
https://bit.ly/3WlV9vv
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
New Mexico is making history: the first state to guarantee no-cost universal childcare.
💡 A bold step toward affordability that shows what’s possible when leaders prioritize families.
@lbilik.bsky.social on why federal lawmakers should take note. rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/new-mex...
💡 A bold step toward affordability that shows what’s possible when leaders prioritize families.
@lbilik.bsky.social on why federal lawmakers should take note. rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/new-mex...
New Mexico Offers Free Childcare for All. The Federal Government Should Follow Suit. - Roosevelt Institute
Last week, New Mexico announced that it will become the first state in the nation to provide no-cost universal childcare for all its residents. This comes as welcome news in a country in the throes of...
rooseveltinstitute.org
September 18, 2025 at 5:43 PM
New Mexico is making history: the first state to guarantee no-cost universal childcare.
💡 A bold step toward affordability that shows what’s possible when leaders prioritize families.
@lbilik.bsky.social on why federal lawmakers should take note. rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/new-mex...
💡 A bold step toward affordability that shows what’s possible when leaders prioritize families.
@lbilik.bsky.social on why federal lawmakers should take note. rooseveltinstitute.org/blog/new-mex...
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
You are going to hear a lot over the next few years about how SS is doomed and we need to privatize it or whatever. But it is not doomed. We have already figured out several possible ways to right to the ship. And we could have done so at any time in the last 2 decades. We knew this was coming...
September 19, 2025 at 6:31 PM
You are going to hear a lot over the next few years about how SS is doomed and we need to privatize it or whatever. But it is not doomed. We have already figured out several possible ways to right to the ship. And we could have done so at any time in the last 2 decades. We knew this was coming...
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
👇🏾right here. We need to understand the machine behind the machine - corporate consolidation means fewer heads to knock together when out of control state power comes knocking. It means a small group of wealthy individuals doing deals with a corrupt set of leaders. Consolidation is bad for democracy.
Yesterday, a late-night show vanished with a simple directive from 2 of the largest media companies you’ve never heard of (Nexstar & Sinclair), backed by the FCC. That’s not “the market at work.” It’s concentrated corporate power cooperating with an authoritarian. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/17/b...
ABC Pulls Jimmy Kimmel Off Air for Charlie Kirk Comments After F.C.C. Pressure
www.nytimes.com
September 18, 2025 at 8:45 PM
👇🏾right here. We need to understand the machine behind the machine - corporate consolidation means fewer heads to knock together when out of control state power comes knocking. It means a small group of wealthy individuals doing deals with a corrupt set of leaders. Consolidation is bad for democracy.
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
Truly wild stuff going on tonight in DC
White House pushing congress to get an unprecedented Fed Nominee confirmed late tonight (around 8PM per @vtg2.bsky.social / @politico.com )
1/
White House pushing congress to get an unprecedented Fed Nominee confirmed late tonight (around 8PM per @vtg2.bsky.social / @politico.com )
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September 15, 2025 at 3:48 PM
Truly wild stuff going on tonight in DC
White House pushing congress to get an unprecedented Fed Nominee confirmed late tonight (around 8PM per @vtg2.bsky.social / @politico.com )
1/
White House pushing congress to get an unprecedented Fed Nominee confirmed late tonight (around 8PM per @vtg2.bsky.social / @politico.com )
1/
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
Exciting news from New Mexico, proving that states continue to innovate in the face of the federal government's decades of inaction on childcare. Don't let anyone tell you there isn't nationwide demand for childcare as a public good. shorturl.at/tTENi
September 9, 2025 at 2:17 PM
Exciting news from New Mexico, proving that states continue to innovate in the face of the federal government's decades of inaction on childcare. Don't let anyone tell you there isn't nationwide demand for childcare as a public good. shorturl.at/tTENi
"People are experts on what’s not working in their lives. And when so many say they don’t have the time to both care for their loved ones and make a living, policymakers need to take that cue." - @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social is essential reading.
democracyjournal.org/magazine/78/...
democracyjournal.org/magazine/78/...
Winning a People-Powered Future
By bringing the public into the policymaking process, we can shape a better economy and rebuild faith in democracy.
democracyjournal.org
September 3, 2025 at 8:40 PM
"People are experts on what’s not working in their lives. And when so many say they don’t have the time to both care for their loved ones and make a living, policymakers need to take that cue." - @elizabethwwilkins.bsky.social is essential reading.
democracyjournal.org/magazine/78/...
democracyjournal.org/magazine/78/...
"Childcare undergirds everything we care about as Americans." - Great conversation between @lbilik.bsky.social and @ehaspel.bsky.social in today's Fireside Stacks.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/raising-a-...
www.firesidestacks.com/p/raising-a-...
Raising a Nation: Elliot Haspel on What a Universal Childcare Movement Will Take
It is no secret that childcare in the US is, as Elliot Haspel puts it, “a hellscape.” Elliot’s new book, Raising a Nation: 10 Reasons Every American Has a Stake in Child Care for All, is a welcome add...
www.firesidestacks.com
August 28, 2025 at 4:41 PM
"Childcare undergirds everything we care about as Americans." - Great conversation between @lbilik.bsky.social and @ehaspel.bsky.social in today's Fireside Stacks.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/raising-a-...
www.firesidestacks.com/p/raising-a-...
"The program my grandfather signed into law on this day in 1935 is under attack—not just in rhetoric, but through deliberate acts of administrative sabotage."
Today on Fireside Stacks, a warning and a call to action.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/social-sec...
Today on Fireside Stacks, a warning and a call to action.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/social-sec...
Celebrate Today but Fight Tomorrow: Social Security’s Anniversary Is a Call to Action
This should be a moment of celebration. But instead, on Social Security’s 90th anniversary, I find myself sounding an alarm. The program my grandfather signed into law on this day in 1935 is under att...
www.firesidestacks.com
August 14, 2025 at 4:00 PM
"The program my grandfather signed into law on this day in 1935 is under attack—not just in rhetoric, but through deliberate acts of administrative sabotage."
Today on Fireside Stacks, a warning and a call to action.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/social-sec...
Today on Fireside Stacks, a warning and a call to action.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/social-sec...
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
Trump’s second term is about consolidating power through sabotage and deregulation.
The latest #FiresideStacks 🔥 offers a path for how we can challenge and move beyond the myths that have made the Right's harmful vision a reality. www.firesidestacks.com/p/reclaiming...
The latest #FiresideStacks 🔥 offers a path for how we can challenge and move beyond the myths that have made the Right's harmful vision a reality. www.firesidestacks.com/p/reclaiming...
July 31, 2025 at 6:01 PM
Trump’s second term is about consolidating power through sabotage and deregulation.
The latest #FiresideStacks 🔥 offers a path for how we can challenge and move beyond the myths that have made the Right's harmful vision a reality. www.firesidestacks.com/p/reclaiming...
The latest #FiresideStacks 🔥 offers a path for how we can challenge and move beyond the myths that have made the Right's harmful vision a reality. www.firesidestacks.com/p/reclaiming...
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
Widening inequality, broken systems, and rising discontent aren’t isolated issues.
Americans are navigating economic precarity, failing institutions, and fractured communities. When institutions fail to deliver, people seek alternatives.
Roosevelt Fellow Daniel HoSang with a sobering op-ed.
Americans are navigating economic precarity, failing institutions, and fractured communities. When institutions fail to deliver, people seek alternatives.
Roosevelt Fellow Daniel HoSang with a sobering op-ed.
In @nytopinion.nytimes.com:
“The rightward drift of minority voters is not a story of just one election. It is a phenomenon years in the making," Daniel Martinez HoSang writes. "And to understand this movement, you must understand the transformations in the places they are happening."
“The rightward drift of minority voters is not a story of just one election. It is a phenomenon years in the making," Daniel Martinez HoSang writes. "And to understand this movement, you must understand the transformations in the places they are happening."
Opinion | Obama Won Record Numbers of Nonwhite Voters. This Is How the Democrats Lost Them.
One in five voters who cast a ballot for Donald Trump in 2024 was a person of color. Why?
www.nytimes.com
July 28, 2025 at 8:45 PM
Widening inequality, broken systems, and rising discontent aren’t isolated issues.
Americans are navigating economic precarity, failing institutions, and fractured communities. When institutions fail to deliver, people seek alternatives.
Roosevelt Fellow Daniel HoSang with a sobering op-ed.
Americans are navigating economic precarity, failing institutions, and fractured communities. When institutions fail to deliver, people seek alternatives.
Roosevelt Fellow Daniel HoSang with a sobering op-ed.
After a long break, @ericarstern.bsky.social and I are back with some very personal book recommendations.
books4endofworld.substack.com/p/birth-trau...
books4endofworld.substack.com/p/birth-trau...
Birth Trauma Edition
Better late than never
books4endofworld.substack.com
July 22, 2025 at 4:59 PM
After a long break, @ericarstern.bsky.social and I are back with some very personal book recommendations.
books4endofworld.substack.com/p/birth-trau...
books4endofworld.substack.com/p/birth-trau...
Parents and providers know what they need in a childcare system: something simple & safe where all kids have a high quality spot. We worked with Community Change on a new paper w/ research rooted in conversations with stakeholders about these simple demands.
NEW📃: The US childcare system is failing families. It's unaffordable, unsustainable, & susceptible to corporate interests.
Today, we offer a bold vision to build a public, universal ECE system that puts children, families, and workers first. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
Today, we offer a bold vision to build a public, universal ECE system that puts children, families, and workers first. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
July 21, 2025 at 5:24 PM
Parents and providers know what they need in a childcare system: something simple & safe where all kids have a high quality spot. We worked with Community Change on a new paper w/ research rooted in conversations with stakeholders about these simple demands.
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
New in @msnbc.com from me & @suzmkahn.bsky.social:
Don't let the messaging fool you: a few tax credits (that don't even reach the poorest families) will never solve the childcare crisis. Americans need and deserve historic investment in public universal childcare, and we should demand nothing less.
Don't let the messaging fool you: a few tax credits (that don't even reach the poorest families) will never solve the childcare crisis. Americans need and deserve historic investment in public universal childcare, and we should demand nothing less.
OPINION by @suzmkahn.bsky.social & @lbilik.bsky.social:
“For too long, U.S. policymakers have treated child care as a problem primarily for the private market. But child care is a broken market.”
READ MORE:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
“For too long, U.S. policymakers have treated child care as a problem primarily for the private market. But child care is a broken market.”
READ MORE:
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
Opinion | JD Vance is putting a new spin on Trump’s wildly unpopular megabill
It’s true that the law will provide modest support for child care costs, yet it’s anything but pro-family.
www.msnbc.com
July 21, 2025 at 1:20 PM
New in @msnbc.com from me & @suzmkahn.bsky.social:
Don't let the messaging fool you: a few tax credits (that don't even reach the poorest families) will never solve the childcare crisis. Americans need and deserve historic investment in public universal childcare, and we should demand nothing less.
Don't let the messaging fool you: a few tax credits (that don't even reach the poorest families) will never solve the childcare crisis. Americans need and deserve historic investment in public universal childcare, and we should demand nothing less.
Reposted by Suzanne Kahn
New Roosevelt report out today! How AI is changing the jobs of the govt employees Americans interact with most: the folks who process your marriage license, unemployment insurance, driving tests. Upshot: new tech is just transferring more work onto citizens rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
AI and Government Workers: Use Cases in Public Administration - Roosevelt Institute
In a new analysis Samantha Shorey explores how AI tools in state and local government can burden public workers and undermine service quality—posing risks to equity, efficiency, and job stability.
rooseveltinstitute.org
July 15, 2025 at 1:53 PM
New Roosevelt report out today! How AI is changing the jobs of the govt employees Americans interact with most: the folks who process your marriage license, unemployment insurance, driving tests. Upshot: new tech is just transferring more work onto citizens rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
I loved talking to @jessicacalarco.com for this weeks Fireside Stacks. Read to the end for her fascinating take on Christian mom's groups as models for succesful organizing.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/other-coun...
www.firesidestacks.com/p/other-coun...
“Other Countries Have Social Safety Nets. The US Has Women.”: A Conversation with Jessica Calarco
On July Fourth, President Trump signed his budget bill into law. Americans now face cuts to our already meager social safety net. The widening holes in our safety net fall especially hard on women, wh...
www.firesidestacks.com
July 11, 2025 at 1:50 PM
I loved talking to @jessicacalarco.com for this weeks Fireside Stacks. Read to the end for her fascinating take on Christian mom's groups as models for succesful organizing.
www.firesidestacks.com/p/other-coun...
www.firesidestacks.com/p/other-coun...
Private equity is moving into childcare; private chains help small providers sell when they are ready to retire -- that's no small thing. That's why @ehaspel.bsky.social new brief on how the public sector can support childcare ownership transitions to better serve providers and kids is so critical.
June 26, 2025 at 3:09 PM
Private equity is moving into childcare; private chains help small providers sell when they are ready to retire -- that's no small thing. That's why @ehaspel.bsky.social new brief on how the public sector can support childcare ownership transitions to better serve providers and kids is so critical.
New piece from @lbilik.bsky.social previews what we've been working on together. People love Head Start. When we asked folks about a public option for childcare they were skeptical, then they told us how much they loved Head Start. We should build on it!
www.firesidestacks.com/p/the-right-...
www.firesidestacks.com/p/the-right-...
The Right Has Bleak Plans for Childcare. The Left Needs a Bold Vision to Rally Around.
Head Start turned 60 last month, but it was the early childhood program’s darkest and most precarious birthday yet. In the budget conversations leading up to its 60th anniversary, the program was on t...
www.firesidestacks.com
June 19, 2025 at 6:14 PM
New piece from @lbilik.bsky.social previews what we've been working on together. People love Head Start. When we asked folks about a public option for childcare they were skeptical, then they told us how much they loved Head Start. We should build on it!
www.firesidestacks.com/p/the-right-...
www.firesidestacks.com/p/the-right-...
Schools out for the summer as of yesterday, so we started this morning with a kid on the floor shouting "but i'll be bored!" as she realized that grown-ups don't have summer vacation. If you too are spending June remembering that summer is a nightmare, we have got the policy paper for you!
NEW: Too many families rely on a patchwork of care—unpaid, informal, unaffordable.
In a new report, @kedseconomist.com lays out federal, state, and local paths to a Child Development System that meets families’ real needs: whole child, whole day, whole year. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
In a new report, @kedseconomist.com lays out federal, state, and local paths to a Child Development System that meets families’ real needs: whole child, whole day, whole year. rooseveltinstitute.org/publications...
June 12, 2025 at 2:53 PM
Schools out for the summer as of yesterday, so we started this morning with a kid on the floor shouting "but i'll be bored!" as she realized that grown-ups don't have summer vacation. If you too are spending June remembering that summer is a nightmare, we have got the policy paper for you!