Conservative Ben Shapiro and Progressive Scott Galloway face off in fact-based debate on cost-of-living issues with data provided by USAFacts

Today, the nonpartisan civic data organization USAFacts released The American Dream at 250: Data doesn’t argue. They do, a debate featuring the conservative political commentator and Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro with Scott Galloway, the progressive NYU Stern professor and author. Moderated by PBS News Hour’s co-anchor and managing editor, Geoff Bennett, the 75-minute debate focuses on the cost of living and homeownership. USAFacts supplies the data, using visualizations from only government sources as the foundation for contrasting perspectives on the role of government and markets in American life.

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Conservative Ben Shapiro and Progressive Scott Galloway face off in fact-based debate on cost-of-living issues with data provided by USAFacts

“Americans can disagree about the role of government in their lives, but productive debate begins with a shared understanding of the numbers,” said USAFacts president Lauren Woodman. “This is why USAFacts exists: to make government data accessible and understandable so Americans can form their own opinions. By bringing two very different perspectives to the same set of numbers, we can debate the choices before us and make better ones.”

The debate centers on three questions:

• Is government or capitalism better serving the American Dream?
• Is the government doing too little or too much?
• Is owning a home still part of the American Dream, and should the government do more to make homeownership attainable?

“Cost of living is shaping how Americans think about their own circumstances and the direction of the country, but there is no single interpretation of what is driving those pressures or what policymakers should do about them,” said Bennett. “A debate like this creates room to test competing ideas against the same evidence. That matters at a moment when questions about affordability, opportunity and the role of government are central to the national conversation.”

“The American Dream isn’t a guarantee that everyone gets the same house, the same income or the same outcome,” said Shapiro. “It’s the promise that if you work hard and make good decisions, you get a real shot at building a better life than the generation before you. That only works if we preserve free markets, private property, free speech and equal justice under the law.”

“For a lot of younger Americans, the basic math has changed,” said Galloway. “A good job once put milestones like buying a home and raising a family within reasonable reach. Housing costs have raced so far ahead of income that many people are doing what previous generations were told to do and still can’t get onto the same economic ladder. We should be arguing about the policies that created that imbalance and what it will take to give the next generation a stronger hand.”

With USAFacts founder Steve Ballmer running the Fact Desk, the debate draws on data examining how income, government benefits, federal spending and housing costs have changed over time, giving both participants a common factual foundation for their arguments. As the country approaches a midterm election year, the debate offers a data-grounded look at how the definition of the American Dream is evolving and what it may mean for the decade.

The debate is now available to stream on the USAFacts YouTube page.

About USAFacts

USAFacts is a nonpartisan civic organization making government data easy for all Americans to access and understand. USAFacts provides an online resource of well-visualized data and trends in US spending, revenue, demographics to help ground public debate in facts. It produces topical content each week and produces three annual reports: State of the Union, 10-K and America in Facts: A Data-Driven Report to Congress. Follow @USAFacts on X, TikTok, Instagram and sign up for the data-driven newsletter at https://usafacts.org/signup/

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USAFacts launches its first debate special, featuring conservative political commentator and Daily Wire founder Ben Shapiro and Scott Galloway, a progressive NYU Stern professor and author.