Ben Wilterdink

Director of Programs Ben Wilterdink reviews the literature and examines recent studies on the connections between minimum wage increases, the availability of entry-level work, and trends in teenage employment. He finds that the current discussions about increasing the minimum wage overlook some far-reaching consequences for individuals and their ability learn the skills needed for future economic success.

Archbridge Director of Programs Ben Wilterdink explains the difference between artificial and natural barriers that are preventing people from lifting themselves out of poverty. At the local level, many groups have seen this issue and implemented programs that are tailored to the specific needs of individuals with spectacular results.

Archbridge Director of Programs Ben Wilterdink argues for the importance of soft skills in our increasingly service-based economy. With minimum wage increases and helicopter parenting becoming the norm, Wilterdink argues that children and young adults are missing opportunities to gain the soft skills that employers want in today’s labor market. INTERSTATE COMPACTS AREN’T THE RIGHT W

In a Wall Street Journal op-ed, Secretary of Labor Acosta and South Dakota Governor Daugaard outline their plan for interstate compacts that allow holders of an occupational license in one state to receive a temporary license for that occupation when moving to another state within the compact. Archbridge Director of Policy Research Ben Wilterdink explains why this does nothing to resolve the barriers to mobility caused by occupational licensing.

Ben Wilterdink, Director of Outreach and Policy Research, reviews Dream Hoarders by Richard V. Reeves, senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. By focusing on relative economic mobility, Reeves determines that the advantages upper middle class parents give their children are disadvantaging other children. Wilterdink asserts that Reeves’s focus is misplaced: Public policy should aim to increase absolute economic mobility.