EPI in the news

• Texas isn’t raising the minimum wage like other states. That’s a good thing.

  The article leaves out Bureau of Labor Statistics data but quotes the aptly described “progressive think tank” Economic Policy Institute, known as EPI. The think tank states that raising the federal minimum wage is “critical for improving affordability.”

  It’s simple enough to say, but it isn’t that easy.

  San Antonio Express-News | January 18, 2026
• Mark Cuban’s Most Outdated Piece of Advice (But Can It Still Work?)

  Even entry-level workers have seen some progress. According to the Economic Policy Institute, real wages for young adults have grown 9.1% since 2020, faster than for older workers. However, those gains haven’t translated into stability.

  GO Banking Rates | January 18, 2026
• Student success requires insurance equity for educators

  The teacher pay penalty — the relative gap between the weekly wages of teachers and other college graduates — grew to a record 26.9% in 2024, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute and the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR). 

  Las Cruces Sun News | January 18, 2026
• Sluggish job growth and rising prices have workers stitching together multiple gigs

  Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, noted that as more workers grab more positions, it could become even more difficult for the unemployed to break into a labor market where the hiring rate is at its lowest since April 2020 and, absent the pandemic, at a level not seen since 2013.

  Yahoo Finance | January 18, 2026
• Black Women Turn to One Another as Their Career Paths Suddenly Recede

  The job market is not great right now. Hiring has slowed. Artificial intelligence is replacing some knowledge workers. But Black women have been hit especially hard. The unemployment rate for Black women rose significantly from the start of 2025 to December, where it stood at 7.8 percent. That pattern of dramatic job loss was not seen for other groups.

  “You don’t see that same loss with Black men, you don’t see that same loss with other groups of women,” said Valerie Wilson, a labor economist and director of the program on race, ethnicity and the economy at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “It was a sharp and unique decline in employment for Black women.”

  New York Times | January 18, 2026
• Trump Vineyard seeks foreign workers at lower wages after Trump administration policy shift

  Some labor advocates and economists say the rule change would push wages downfor both U.S. and foreign farmworkers. The Economic Policy Institute estimates the revised wage methodology could reduce total farmworker pay by about $3 billion a year—roughly 9% of aggregate wages. In November, the United Farm Workers and 18 individual farmworkers sued the Department of Labor, arguing the rule violates federal law by failing to prevent an “adverse effect” on U.S. workers’ wages and working conditions.

  Forbes | January 18, 2026
• The Ethical Debate on School Vouchers and Public Education

  First, these programs drain money from public schools—institutions built to serve all children regardless of zip code, income, or background. When a student leaves a public school with a voucher, the district loses funding tied to that enrollment, often without a corresponding reduction in fixed costs like building maintenance and teacher salaries. This creates a fiscal burden that ultimately affects the students who remain in public schools. (Economic Policy Institute)

  Granite State Report | January 18, 2026

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