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Content creators are finally getting some official backing in the House of Representatives with the formation of the bipartisan Congressional Creators Caucus.
The Big Picture: Content creation is a bona fide cornerstone of the American economy, with Oxford Economics estimating that YouTube’s ecosystem alone was behind 390,000 full-time jobs in 2022. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs believes that the creator economy will be worth $500 billion by 2027. Congress can’t afford to ignore that kind of economic power.
Behind the Support: As long as our members of Congress don’t get involved in any viral dance challenges, the Congressional Creators Caucus is a great idea.
- It was formed by Representatives Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and Beth Van Duyne (R-TX).
- The underlying thesis behind the caucus is that creators represent a modern iteration of small businesses, which include paid employees and clear economic impact.
- The caucus hopes to address unique challenges for the creator workforce, including access to loans, encoding workplace protections, and tweaking the tax code.
The Future: It’s not surprising that Congress (which is, on average, made up of some very old members) doesn’t have a good grasp on the intricacies of the creator economy. That’s why some top creators, like former YouTuber Matthew Patrick (MatPat) and his wife, Stephanie Patrick, have been lobbying Capitol Hill for years on this issue. They’ve affirmed their support for the new caucus (even speaking at the press event), as have YouTube and Patreon.
Prediction: We wouldn’t be surprised if this caucus potentially changes some minds on whether the TikTok ban should actually go through (because, let’s be real, it’s still kind of up in the air).
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