Jacob Hacker

Jacob S. Hacker

Stanley B. Resor Professor of Political Science & Director of the Institute for Social and Policy Studies, Yale University
Chapter Leader: Connecticut SSN

About Jacob

Hacker is known for his research and writings regarding inequality and health policy, especially his development of the so-called public option. A regular policy advisor and expert commentator, he is the author or co-author of six books, numerous journal articles, and a wide range of popular writings on American politics and public policy. A member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, Hacker's recent honors include election to the American Academy of Political and Social Science and the 2020 Robert Ball Award of the National Academy of Social Insurance.

Contributions

The Two Electorates

Building an Economy for All

    Nathaniel Loewentheil

The Ryan Republican Budget: A Blueprint for Permanent Austerity

  • Paul Pierson

In the News

"The New Blue Divide," Jacob S. Hacker (with Paul Pierson), Boston Review, February 28, 2024.
"401(k)s Will be Considered Unthinkable 50 Years from Now," Jacob S. Hacker, Vox, April 3, 2019.
"The Lost Opportunity of Trump's Tax Cuts," Jacob S. Hacker, Washington Post, January 30, 2018.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted by Chris Woodward, "Single Payer: No Choice, No Competition, No Freedom" OneNewsNow, January 9, 2018.
Jacob S. Hacker's research on Leslie Small, "Democrats Mull ‘Next Big Idea’ for Healthcare Policy," FierceHealthcare, January 8, 2018.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on universal healthcare by Michael Hiltzik, "Here's How Expanding Medicare Could Set Us on the Path to Universal Health Coverage" Los Angeles Times, August 18, 2017.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on public-option strategy by Ezra Klein, "Republicans are about to Make Medicare-for-All Much More Likely" Vox, June 16, 2017.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on the state of the Democratic Party, "The Split: 19 Reasons the Democrats Will Remain Divided - and What It Means for the Party's Future" The New Republic, June 14, 2016.
"Don't Dismantle Government - Fix It," Jacob S. Hacker (with Paul Pierson), The American Prospect, April 1, 2016.
"Clinton’s Bold Vision, Hidden in Plain Sight?," Jacob S. Hacker (with Paul Pierson), New York Times, March 17, 2016.
"The Real Cause of the Flint Crisis," Jacob S. Hacker (with Paul Pierson), The Atlantic, March 7, 2016.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on money in elections by Sean McElwee, "The Democratic Primary’s Ugly Truth: Hillary vs. Bernie Doesn’t Matter until We Change Our Electoral System" Salon, October 19, 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on America's extreme right by David Roberts, "Tech Nerds are Smart. But They Can't Seem to Get Their Heads around Politics." Vox, August 27, 2015.
"The ACA Has Survived Yet Again. Now What?," Jacob S. Hacker, American Prospect, June 29, 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on Republican opposition to the ACA by Jonathan Oberlander and Eric M. Patashnik, "Conservatives Worry that ObamaCare is a ‘Super-Statute.’ It Isn’t Quite One Yet." The Washington Post, June 28, 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on economic pressures on individuals resulting from the widespread erosion of social insurance. by Thomas B. Edsall, "Why Don’t the Poor Rise Up?" New York Times, June 24, 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on median voter theorem by Lee Drutman, "Can Unlimited Contributions to Political Parties Really Reduce Polarization?" The Washington Post, June 23, 2015.
"No Cost for Extremism: Why the GOP Hasn't (Yet) Paid for Its March to the Right," Jacob S. Hacker (with Paul Pierson), The American Prospect, Spring 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on support for the G.O.P. in an era of runaway inequality by Thomas B. Edsall, "Obamacare, Hands off My Medicare" New York Times, April 22, 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on comparing public attitudes with inequality trends by Thomas B. Edsall, "Has Obamacare Turned Voters against Sharing the Wealth?" New York Times, April 15, 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on the failure to revise a policy to keep its effects constant in the face of environmental change by Eric Patashnik, "Five Key Lessons about the Welfare State" The Washington Post, April 6, 2015.
Jacob S. Hacker quoted on the relationship between corporations and the Republican Party, "Business Losing Clout in a GOP Moving Right" New York Times, September 3, 2013.
Jacob S. Hacker's research on the challenges of implementing ObamaCare for mid-sized employers discussed by Michael Tomasky, "The ObamaCare Delay," The Daily Beast, July 3, 2013.
"How Big Money Corrupts the Economy," Jacob S. Hacker (with Nathaniel Loewentheil), Democracy, Winter 2013.
"What Obama Needs to Do Now," Jacob S. Hacker (with Nathaniel Loewentheil), Salon, November 8, 2012.
"U.S. Growth in 'Prosperity Economics'," Jacob S. Hacker (with Nathaniel Loewentheil), Politico, August 2, 2012.
"Romney is the Right Man for America. George Romney, That Is," Jacob S. Hacker (with Paul Pierson), Washington Post, February 10, 2012.
"Jacob Hacker and Paul Pierson on Engineered Inequality," Jacob S. Hacker, Interview with Bill Moyers, Moyers and Company, January 13, 2012.
"Unbalanced Democracy," Jacob S. Hacker (with Oona Hathaway), New York Times, July 31, 2011.
"Washington’s Revolving Wall Street Door," Jacob S. Hacker, Interview with Tom Ashbrook, On Point, April 13, 2011.
"Unions and the Middle Class," Jacob S. Hacker, The Agenda, March 23, 2011.
"The Wisconsin Union Fight isn’t about Benefits. It’s about Labor’s Influence," Jacob S. Hacker (with Paul Pierson), Washington Post, March 6, 2011.

Publications

"American Amnesia: How the War on Government Led Us to Forget What Made America Prosper" (with Paul Pierson) (Simon and Schuster, 2016).

Explains how political elites have enabled and propelled plutocracy. Traces the economic and political history of the United States over the last century and show how a viable mixed economy has long been the dominant engine of America’s prosperity.

"Prosperity Economics: Building an Economy for All," (with Nate Loewentheil), Prosperity for America, 2012.
Provides a comprehensive blueprint to grow our nation’s economy, strengthen our economic security, and rescue our democracy from powerful special interests. Argues that the only way to achieve sustainable, long‐term growth is to build an economy in which the benefits of growth are broadly shared. Challenges “austerity economics" and presents a bold alternative to the status quo to rebuild a strong, secure middle class and grow our economy now and for future generations.
"Drift and Democracy: The Neglected Politics of Policy Inaction," Working Group for Institutional Change, February 2011.
Looks at America’s failure to update many areas public policy in the face of societal changes that shift the needs the policies are suppose to address.
"Economic Security at Risk: Findings from the Economic Security Index," (with Gregory A. Huber, Phillip Rehm, Mark Schlesinger, and Rob Valetta), Rockefeller Foundation, July 2010.
Measures the share of Americans who, from one year to the next, have experienced at least a twenty-five percent decline in income, without adequate wealth or savings to buffer the effects.
"Winner-Take-All Politics: How Washington Made the Rich Richer – and Turned Its Back on the Middle Class " (Simon-Schuster, 2010).
Investigates the political and financial forces that have undermined the economic well-being of the middle class over the last three decades.
"The Great Risk Shift: The New Economic Insecurity and the Decline of the American Dream " (Oxford University Press, 2006).
Looks underneath the so-called healthy economy (as it seemed before the recent recession) and reveals how ordinary American families are suffering from the weakening of safety nets and the institutions that once kept them financially secure.