As the recession grinds on, many are calling for a new round of tax cuts as a solution to mounting job losses. But EPI and many other prominent economists have repeatedly demonstrated that tax cuts are a very ineffective form of stimulus. READ MORE
President-elect Obama is right to warn about a deep and prolonged recession, and to urge bold, immediate action to counter distressing trends in the economy and the jobs market. EPI experts Lawrence Mishel and John Irons show that unemployment could top 10% in 2010, but a major public investment could reduce the pain, with the jobless rate peaking at about 7%. READ MORE
EPI Vice President Ross Eisenbrey applauds Obama's proposed stimulus plan except for the business tax cuts, which will do little or nothing to create jobs or spur demand for consumption. "Most of the stimulus plan proposed by the incoming Obama administration is exactly what is needed," he writes in a piece for the Huffington Post. "However, the tax portions of the package are a mixed bag...The job creation potential of a one-time $3,000 tax credit for hiring new workers is questionable, at best, as are the stimulus effects of accelerated depreciation and reducing past income tax liabilities by taking into account recent business losses." READ MORE
EPI Research and Policy Director John Irons makes the case for including school repairs in a federal stimulus package. "Significant funding for school repair would create lasting and tangible assets...which would be a welcome, confidence-boosting departure from other recovery efforts," Irons writes in the National Journal. More than four in ten schools report that poor facilities interfere with learning. READ MORE
EPI researchers Ross Eisenbrey and Robert Scott offered their vision for a better trade policy to the transition committee for the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, and submitted their brief for the record on Dec. 24. Specifically, they recommended a temporary freeze on new trade agreements while existing pacts are reviewed. Going forward, new competitiveness policies and a restoration of the social contract are needed. READ MORE
After 16 years at EPI, senior economist Jared Bernstein has been tapped to become the Chief Economist for Vice President-elect Joe Biden. EPI will miss Jared deeply, but is thrilled that his voice will be heard in the Obama-Biden administration. READ MORE
At long last, the center of economic thinking in the United States has shifted, and we can declare with confidence and relief that the conservative era is over. It is now possible to build an economy with widely shared prosperity. READ MORE
Read testimony of Jared Bernstein, Senior Economist, Economic Policy Institute, before the House Committee on Education and Labor on Friday, October 24, 2008. READ MORE
The U.S. government's plan to spend $700 billion to buy up shares of financial insitutions and their toxic assets was imperfect but necessary, argues EPI Research and Policy Director John Irons. In a debate with the Cato Institute on Google's interactive Knol, Irons says vigilance is now needed to ensure that taxpayers are protected as much as possible. READ MORE
The old Republican mantra -- cut taxes and the economy will grow -- has been uttered so many times, it has the ring of truth. But it's wrong. History shows that just the opposite is true. READ MORE
Former Clinton speechwriter David Kusnet examines the speech delivered by Sen. John McCain to the Republican Convention, and finds what's most interesting is what McCain left out. His economics come down to this: cut taxes. READ MORE
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