economic mobility

Today, a story about one street in one neighborhood in one of America’s highest-profile cities, and the $23.9 million grant meant to transform it. It’s a 4-mile stretch of Stewart Avenue in East Las Vegas, where more than a quarter of the residents live below the poverty line. But upgrades — like improving bus stops, adding bike lanes and planting trees — could have big implications for the community. It’s part of our series “Breaking Ground,” where we look at how federal infrastructure spending might change the economy.

It boosts economic opportunity and social mobility. It’s good for the environment. So why do we charge people to use it? The short answer: it’s complicated. Also: We talk to the man who gets half the nation’s mass-transit riders where they want to go (most of the time). 

SOURCES:

• Marcus Finbom, traffic planner in Stockholm, Sweden.
• Robbie Makinen, former president and C.E.O. of the Kansas City Area Transportation Authority.
• Janno Lieber, chair and C.E.O. of the M.T.A. in New York City.
• Brian Taylor, professor of urban planning and public policy and director of the Institute of Transportation Studies at U.C.L.A.
• Shashi Verma, director of strategy and C.T.O. at Transport for London.
• Michelle Wu, mayor of Boston.

RESOURCES:

• "Free Bus Service Starts Sunday on 5 Routes in New York City," by Ana Ley (The New York Times, 2023).
• “Vehicle Access and Falling Transit Ridership: Evidence From Southern California,” by Michael Manville, Brian D. Taylor, Evelyn Blumenberg, and Andrew Schouten (Transportation, 2023).
• “Route-28 Fare-Free Pilot Evaluation: Summary Findings,” by the City of Boston Transportation (2022).
• “Forget Fare Hikes — Make the T Free,” by Michelle Wu (The Boston Globe, 2019).
• Traffic Power Structure, by Planka.nu (2016).
• "The Impacts of Neighborhoods on Intergenerational Mobility: Childhood Exposure Effects and County-Level Estimates," by Raj Chetty and Nathaniel Hendren (NBER Working Paper, 2015).
• "Fare, Free, or Something in Between?" by Jennifer S. Perone and Joel M. Volinski (World Transit Research, 2003).
• Planka.Nu.

EXTRAS:

• "Why Is the U.S. So Good at Killing Pedestrians?" by Freakonomics Radio (2023).
• "Should Public Transit Be Free?" by Freakonomics Radio (2022).
• “Should Traffic Lights Be Abolished?” by Freakonomics Radio (2021).
• “The Perfect Crime,” by Freakonomics Radio (2014).
• “Parking Is Hell,” by Freakonomics Radio (2013).

Many companies say they want to create more opportunities for Black Americans. One company is doing something concrete about it. We visit the South Side of Chicago to see how it’s working out.

In this episode, Patrick Bet-David and Sam Seder will discuss:

• If Jordan Peterson is good for society
• If America is the best country to live in
• The terrifying meeting between Xi Jinping and Putin

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If you think about the people in your life, it's likely that they share a lot in common with you. Maybe they like the same kinds of food, or enjoy the same hobbies. But, if you dig a little deeper, you may find that they share much more: they might make the same amount of money as you, or share the same race. This week, we talk with economists Luigi Pistaferri and Matthew Jackson about why we often surround ourselves with people who are just like us — and how we can transform our lives by pushing back against this phenomenon.  

Did you catch last week's episode on the science of figuring out what you want? You can find it  here. And if you'd like to make a financial contribution to support our work, you can do so here. Thanks!

Just a few decades ago, more than 90 percent of 30-year-olds earned more than their parents had earned at the same age. Now it's only about 50 percent. What happened -- and what can be done about it?