Here’s one idea: is there a correlation between transit share of modes and transit frequencies? (e.g. Would an every-6-minute bus line lead to a 20% increase in transit mode share?) I’d also recommend looking into the state of energy poverty in the U.S., and also whether there’s a negative correlation between poverty and worker cooperative uptake.
Dang, Jeremy - I am fired up for The Dividing Line!
It's incredible and feels so timely and so necessary, especially as access to trusted public data is being quietly eroded. Huge congrats on launching this next evolution of American Inequality. I’m fully in. 👏
A few intersections that might be up your alley:
🧠 The loneliness epidemic: I recently stepped into the U.S./Boston lead role for the Loneliness Action Project, which is tackling the emotional infrastructure crisis beneath so many social issues. Isolation isn’t just a feeling, it’s a systemic condition tied to housing, incarceration, healthcare access, and community disinvestment.
🧑🏽🔧 Microbusiness inequality: I’ve coached nearly 200 microbusiness owners across the U.S., many of them Comcast RISE recipients. The data gaps around how these smallest businesses operate, scale (or fail to), and access capital are enormous. I even wrote a piece on this for Soliscite that I’d love to resurface or build on for your audience.
💡 Emotional labor + energy inequality: My book, Make Your Own Glass Half Full, focuses on optimism and autonomy, but beneath it is a real conversation around whose energy is being drained most by the systems we’ve built and what it takes to lead through that with intention and equity.
I would love to see any of those lenses explored in your work, or better yet, I would be happy to collaborate or contribute in any way that would be helpful. Appreciate how you’re bringing rigor and humanity to this work.
I am a fairly new subscriber, so forgive me if you have already addressed these topics and I missed it. I am really interested in the realities of Social Security, since it looks like it is next on the chopping block for the current administration. Here are a few data points I think are interesting to explore: #1 High-income retirees actually collect more in lifetime SS benefits (per capita, total dollar amount) than low-income retirees for three reasons: (a) High-income earners receive higher monthly benefits (based on life-time higher earnings), (b) High-income earners can afford to delay collecting SS until there is no early claiming penalty (i.e. low income earners tend to claim at earlier ages since they have no other income resources to rely on), (c) high-income earners have longer lifespans; #2 Does the differential in #1 mean that in aggregate, high-earners pull more from SS than low-income earners? Or since the size of the populations are so different (i.e., fewer high income earners than low income earners drawing SS, since low income earners predominate in the US) does it mean that what is true on the per capita level is not true at the aggregate level?; #3 How the SS Retirement Earnings Test penalizes low-income early claimers, since it penalizes only income from earned labor, not income from other sources (investments, etc.); #4 I suspect that self-employed low-income earners are least likely to recover what they've paid in to SS in their lifetime because self-employed people pay both the employer's and employee's share of SS taxes (double what the traditionally employed population pays in to the system) so it takes much longer for them to "recover" what they've paid in; #5 Gender (men v women) differences in (a) median claiming age (b) median earned SS credits (c) median monthly retiree benefit. Okay, that's enough for now. Basically all things social security. Thank you so much for what you do!
These are fantastic points and no we have not yet covered the inequalities in social security payments (you can see the archive of articles here: https://americaninequality.substack.com/archive). The point about low-income vs. high-income and self-employed vs. employed is really interesting to dig into. A long time ago I produced a county-level map on social security benefits so I'll see if I can find some new data and put something together. This will definitely be on the list for articles so keep an eye out!
I hate that there are so many topics available for you to pick from, so that we'll all be engaged at some point. But I'm excited to read your perspectives.
Here’s one idea: is there a correlation between transit share of modes and transit frequencies? (e.g. Would an every-6-minute bus line lead to a 20% increase in transit mode share?) I’d also recommend looking into the state of energy poverty in the U.S., and also whether there’s a negative correlation between poverty and worker cooperative uptake.
Both great ideas. We'll add them to the list
As usual, we are ALL IN —granted you are still good with some of these posts ending up in a few classrooms eventually! 👩🏻🏫🗺️📊📉
It’s fantastic to use them in classrooms. Keep me posted when you do
You are always the first to know! 📊🗺️📉
Awesome.
Always appreciate it Quinn
Great Jeremy—looking forward to your new series!
I think you’ll like this one Joan.
Dang, Jeremy - I am fired up for The Dividing Line!
It's incredible and feels so timely and so necessary, especially as access to trusted public data is being quietly eroded. Huge congrats on launching this next evolution of American Inequality. I’m fully in. 👏
A few intersections that might be up your alley:
🧠 The loneliness epidemic: I recently stepped into the U.S./Boston lead role for the Loneliness Action Project, which is tackling the emotional infrastructure crisis beneath so many social issues. Isolation isn’t just a feeling, it’s a systemic condition tied to housing, incarceration, healthcare access, and community disinvestment.
🧑🏽🔧 Microbusiness inequality: I’ve coached nearly 200 microbusiness owners across the U.S., many of them Comcast RISE recipients. The data gaps around how these smallest businesses operate, scale (or fail to), and access capital are enormous. I even wrote a piece on this for Soliscite that I’d love to resurface or build on for your audience.
💡 Emotional labor + energy inequality: My book, Make Your Own Glass Half Full, focuses on optimism and autonomy, but beneath it is a real conversation around whose energy is being drained most by the systems we’ve built and what it takes to lead through that with intention and equity.
I would love to see any of those lenses explored in your work, or better yet, I would be happy to collaborate or contribute in any way that would be helpful. Appreciate how you’re bringing rigor and humanity to this work.
I am a fairly new subscriber, so forgive me if you have already addressed these topics and I missed it. I am really interested in the realities of Social Security, since it looks like it is next on the chopping block for the current administration. Here are a few data points I think are interesting to explore: #1 High-income retirees actually collect more in lifetime SS benefits (per capita, total dollar amount) than low-income retirees for three reasons: (a) High-income earners receive higher monthly benefits (based on life-time higher earnings), (b) High-income earners can afford to delay collecting SS until there is no early claiming penalty (i.e. low income earners tend to claim at earlier ages since they have no other income resources to rely on), (c) high-income earners have longer lifespans; #2 Does the differential in #1 mean that in aggregate, high-earners pull more from SS than low-income earners? Or since the size of the populations are so different (i.e., fewer high income earners than low income earners drawing SS, since low income earners predominate in the US) does it mean that what is true on the per capita level is not true at the aggregate level?; #3 How the SS Retirement Earnings Test penalizes low-income early claimers, since it penalizes only income from earned labor, not income from other sources (investments, etc.); #4 I suspect that self-employed low-income earners are least likely to recover what they've paid in to SS in their lifetime because self-employed people pay both the employer's and employee's share of SS taxes (double what the traditionally employed population pays in to the system) so it takes much longer for them to "recover" what they've paid in; #5 Gender (men v women) differences in (a) median claiming age (b) median earned SS credits (c) median monthly retiree benefit. Okay, that's enough for now. Basically all things social security. Thank you so much for what you do!
These are fantastic points and no we have not yet covered the inequalities in social security payments (you can see the archive of articles here: https://americaninequality.substack.com/archive). The point about low-income vs. high-income and self-employed vs. employed is really interesting to dig into. A long time ago I produced a county-level map on social security benefits so I'll see if I can find some new data and put something together. This will definitely be on the list for articles so keep an eye out!
I hate that there are so many topics available for you to pick from, so that we'll all be engaged at some point. But I'm excited to read your perspectives.
Mm I know what you mean. I’m hopeful for the day when there will be few or no topics to cover and we can write more about opportunity instead!