Plans for Green Jobs, the Growing Global Consumer Class, and More

July 28, 2023

Many U.S. cities are making bold climate pledges on emissions, infrastructure, and training. But without coordinated, comprehensive plans to retrain and recruit workers in well-defined, green-related careers, city leaders will be unable to achieve their climate ambitions, write Joseph W. Kane and Adie Tomer.

In a new commentary, Wolfgang Fengler, Homi Kharas, Juan Caballero, and Luis Simoes highlight interesting trends in the global consumer class, including where spending is projected to increase and where there may be some declines due to aging populations and lower fertility rates.

“Have you heard about the ‘Wait Longer for Your Tax Refund Act of 2023’? What about the ‘Millionaire Tax Evader Relief’ package? If legislation were named honestly, that’s what would be making its way through Congress right now, because once again the IRS is facing budget cuts.” Vanessa Williamson explains why cutting the budget for the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is a mistake.

The conclusions and recommendations of any Brookings publication are solely those of its author(s), and do not reflect the views of the Institution, its management, or its other scholars.