Economic exploitation adds to the picture. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found violations in 84 percent of its agricultural investigations from 2022 to 2024, recovering over $1 million in back wages and damages for about 1,300 workers. The Economic Policy Institute reports similar results, finding that nearly 70 percent of agricultural investigations uncovered wage-law violations.
The Fulcrum
March 11, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute adds another layer to this picture, documenting how the Southern economic development model, rooted in policies designed to extract labor with minimal compensation, has produced persistently higher poverty rates across the region. In 2023, the South’s poverty rate stood at 12.4%, compared to 11% in the West and 9.8% in the Northeast and Midwest. The South’s child poverty rate of 18% is the highest of any region, with Black children facing a rate of 30.1%, almost three times that of white children.
“Efforts to continue exploiting Black workers have led to racist anti-worker policies that continue to maintain high rates of poverty, low economic mobility, and high levels of inequality for workers of all racial and ethnic backgrounds in most Southern states,” said EPI report author Chandra Childers.
Decked Out Magazine
March 11, 2026
The New Republic
March 11, 2026
…the most affordable county in New York State. According to the Economic Policy Institute’s comparisons of average living costs, however,…[paywall].
Long Island Press
March 11, 2026
A press release from the Washington Senate Democrats cited a study from the Economic Policy Institute that found domestic workers nationally earn 25% less on average than other service workers, and over half report harassment or mistreatment at work.
NBC Right Now (Yakima Washington)
March 11, 2026
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 percent 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.
The Chattanoogan
March 11, 2026
Economic exploitation adds to the picture. The Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division found violations in 84 percent of its agricultural investigations from 2022 to 2024, recovering over $1 million in back wages and damages for about 1,300 workers. The Economic Policy Institute reports similar results, finding that nearly 70 percent of agricultural investigations uncovered wage-law violations.
The Fulcrum
March 11, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute adds another layer to this picture, documenting how the Southern economic development model, rooted in policies designed to extract labor with minimal compensation, has produced persistently higher poverty rates across the region. In 2023, the South’s poverty rate stood at 12.4%, compared to 11% in the West and 9.8% in the Northeast and Midwest. The South’s child poverty rate of 18% is the highest of any region, with Black children facing a rate of 30.1%, almost three times that of white children.
“Efforts to continue exploiting Black workers have led to racist anti-worker policies that continue to maintain high rates of poverty, low economic mobility, and high levels of inequality for workers of all racial and ethnic backgrounds in most Southern states,” said EPI report author Chandra Childers.
Decked Out Magazine
March 11, 2026
The New Republic
March 11, 2026