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Public Impact Explorer

The same policy can help one household and cost another. Explore how 8 example policies across 4 categories could add up for a typical household in each income bracket. The policies are hypothetical and the dollar figures are made up to show the idea.

Illustrative

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income bracketsone district each
5
policy categoriesone tower each
4
example policiesall hypothetical
8
a year per floorone linear scale
$100

Fig. 1

Brackets as a city

Illustrative

Pick a bracket or a category. The model lights it; the readout gives the numbers.

Income bracket

Fig. 1: the illustrative examples as a model city. Every figure is in the readout and in Fig. 2 below.

  • Above the street: gains

    Towers in ledger teal rise from the paper street when the household comes out ahead.

  • Below it: costs

    Towers in ember amber hang from the street into the glass when it pays more.

  • One floor = $100 a year

    Every height is on one linear scale: the tallest tower is +$770/yr, the deepest −$290/yr.

  • The band: its category

    A thin band at each tower’s far end, in the color of its category: Taxes, Healthcare, Housing, Employment.

Fig. 2 · Every figure

Illustrative

Example impact by income bracket

Each figure is the sum of a category’s example policies for a typical household in the bracket, on the same scale as the city.

  • Right of the line: the household gains
  • Left: it costs the household
  • $/yr, illustrative

  • Under $25k

    Net, all 8 policies: Gain+$940 per year
    • TaxesCost−$290 per year
    • HealthcareGain+$420 per year
    • HousingGain+$40 per year
    • EmploymentGain+$770 per year

  • $25k–$50k

    Net, all 8 policies: Gain+$820 per year
    • TaxesCost−$280 per year
    • HealthcareGain+$650 per year
    • HousingGain+$150 per year
    • EmploymentGain+$300 per year

  • $50k–$75k

    Net, all 8 policies: Gain+$360 per year
    • TaxesCost−$220 per year
    • HealthcareGain+$420 per year
    • HousingGain+$240 per year
    • EmploymentCost−$80 per year

  • $75k–$100k

    Net, all 8 policies: Gain+$160 per year
    • TaxesCost−$120 per year
    • HealthcareGain+$100 per year
    • HousingGain+$270 per year
    • EmploymentCost−$90 per year

  • $100k+

    Net, all 8 policies: Gain+$610 per year
    • TaxesGain+$340 per year
    • HealthcareCost−$290 per year
    • HousingGain+$680 per year
    • EmploymentCost−$120 per year

The docket

The 8 example policies behind the city

Each card shows how one policy spreads across the brackets, every card on the same scale, and the bracket it affects most. Amounts are $ per year from the household’s side: + is a gain, − is a cost.

  • TaxesFederal example

    Income tax rate cut

    Hypothetical: lowers every federal income tax rate by one percentage point.

    Under $25k households
    +$20 a year, gain
    $25k–$50k households
    +$150 a year, gain
    $50k–$75k households
    +$320 a year, gain
    $75k–$100k households
    +$520 a year, gain
    $100k+ households
    +$1,200 a year, gain

    Largest effect: $100k+ households, Gain +$1,200/yr

  • TaxesFederal example

    Tariff on imported goods

    Hypothetical: a new tax on most imported consumer goods, partly passed on to shoppers as higher prices.

    Under $25k households
    −$310 a year, cost
    $25k–$50k households
    −$430 a year, cost
    $50k–$75k households
    −$540 a year, cost
    $75k–$100k households
    −$640 a year, cost
    $100k+ households
    −$860 a year, cost

    Largest effect: $100k+ households, Cost −$860/yr

  • HealthcareFederal example

    Premium subsidy extension

    Hypothetical: keeps larger premium tax credits for people who buy their own health insurance.

    Under $25k households
    +$420 a year, gain
    $25k–$50k households
    +$690 a year, gain
    $50k–$75k households
    +$540 a year, gain
    $75k–$100k households
    +$310 a year, gain
    $100k+ households
    +$90 a year, gain

    Largest effect: $25k–$50k households, Gain +$690/yr

  • HealthcareFederal example

    Cap on tax-free health benefits

    Hypothetical: taxes the part of employer-paid health premiums above a set limit.

    Under $25k households
    $0 a year, no change
    $25k–$50k households
    −$40 a year, cost
    $50k–$75k households
    −$120 a year, cost
    $75k–$100k households
    −$210 a year, cost
    $100k+ households
    −$380 a year, cost

    Largest effect: $100k+ households, Cost −$380/yr

  • HousingFederal example

    Higher state and local tax deduction cap

    Hypothetical: raises the limit on property and other state and local taxes that itemizers can deduct.

    Under $25k households
    $0 a year, no change
    $25k–$50k households
    $0 a year, no change
    $50k–$75k households
    +$20 a year, gain
    $75k–$100k households
    +$90 a year, gain
    $100k+ households
    +$610 a year, gain

    Largest effect: $100k+ households, Gain +$610/yr

  • HousingState example

    First-time homebuyer credit

    Hypothetical: a one-time credit for first-time buyers, spread here over all households in a bracket.

    Under $25k households
    +$40 a year, gain
    $25k–$50k households
    +$150 a year, gain
    $50k–$75k households
    +$220 a year, gain
    $75k–$100k households
    +$180 a year, gain
    $100k+ households
    +$70 a year, gain

    Largest effect: $50k–$75k households, Gain +$220/yr

  • EmploymentState example

    Minimum wage increase

    Hypothetical: raises the state minimum wage in steps; higher pay for some, slightly higher prices for others.

    Under $25k households
    +$1,150 a year, gain
    $25k–$50k households
    +$420 a year, gain
    $50k–$75k households
    −$60 a year, cost
    $75k–$100k households
    −$90 a year, cost
    $100k+ households
    −$120 a year, cost

    Largest effect: Under $25k households, Gain +$1,150/yr

  • EmploymentFederal example

    Work requirements for food aid

    Hypothetical: more adults who get food assistance must work, train or volunteer part-time to keep it.

    Under $25k households
    −$380 a year, cost
    $25k–$50k households
    −$120 a year, cost
    $50k–$75k households
    −$20 a year, cost
    $75k–$100k households
    $0 a year, no change
    $100k+ households
    $0 a year, no change

    Largest effect: Under $25k households, Cost −$380/yr

About this data

What these examples are, and aren’t

Illustrative examples, not real analyses — sign up to see estimates for your situation.

  1. Hypothetical policies, not real bills

    Each example is a kind of policy that comes up from across the political spectrum. None is a real bill, and none quotes a real rate, threshold or amount.

  2. Made-up round numbers

    The dollar figures are invented to show the idea: the same policy can help some households and cost others, and every bracket gains in some categories and pays in others.

  3. A typical household per bracket

    Each amount is for a typical household in the bracket, averaged over the households a policy reaches and the ones it doesn’t, in dollars a year.

  4. Signed from the household’s side

    + is a gain (lower taxes, a benefit, higher pay); − is a cost (taxes, prices, premiums). Gains are teal, costs amber, and both always carry a sign and a word.

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