EPI in the news

• It’s time to focus on wages

  From 1948 until 1960 wage growth matched productivity growth in the U.S. Workers were getting a wage that reflected their contribution to GDP. Since 1960, wage growth has lagged behind. As a result of wage growth not matching productivity, the Economic Policy Institute finds that more than 43 million workers (25 percent of the labor force) in the U.S. are economically insecure. This insecurity shows up in one in four Americans having no savings at all with another 56 percent being unable to cover an unexpected expense of $1,000.

  Jonesboro Sun (Arkansas) | March 18, 2026
• Tyler ISD relaunches school bus driver recruitment campaign designs on buses

  …with 21,200 fewer school bus drivers, according to a 2025 Economic Policy Institutestudy. Hines said Tyler ISD is taking a proactive…[paywall].

  Tyler Morning Telegraph (Texas) | March 18, 2026
• New Labor Department tool available for union members curious about where their money goes

  While NEA’s membership base has decreased since 2022, AFT’s has risen by more than 100,000 members in the same time period.

  In 2025, 14% of its payments went to political activities, with $500,000 going to the “Senate Majority Pac,” which is “dedicated to building a Democratic majority in the U.S. Senate.”

  It also spent $250,000 on a “Democratic legislative campaign committee” and gave another $250,000 to the Economic Policy Institute.

  Deseret News | March 18, 2026
• New York City Council proposes raising minimum wage to $30

  A 2019 study from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York found the state’s earlier minimum wage increases raised pay without a noticeable drop in employment.

  A 2024 review of 88 studies by the Economic Policy Institute and the University of Massachusetts reached a similar conclusion.

  When in Your State | March 18, 2026
• Teaching in Crisis: A Pipeline Run Dry

  And let’s talk about the teachers already in the trenches. They’re leaving in droves, and it’s not because they suddenly discovered a passion for interpretive dance. According to the Economic Policy Institute, teachers earn about 27% less than their college-educated peers. That’s right, folks—after years of study, the reward for shaping young minds is a paycheck that feels more like a participation trophy than a salary.

  Rogersville Review (Tennessee) | March 18, 2026
• Lawmakers, private sector make progress on efforts to lower the cost of child care in Indiana

  The average annual cost of child care for an infant in Indiana last year was $14,471, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute. That’s up 14.7% from 2024 and means the average yearly cost of child care is higher than the average cost of housing or college tuition.

  Indiana Business Journal | March 18, 2026
• Op-ed: The Persian Gulf Oil Crisis Is a Food Crisis

  Research from the Economic Policy Institute, covered by Civil Eats, found that corporate profits accounted for 54 percent of food price increases between 2020 and 2021—compared to just 11 percent in the four decades prior.

  Civil Eats | March 18, 2026

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