Economic Policy Institute

Minimum wage

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Reconciliation 2025

Globalization

Forget ‘no tax on tips’—increasing the minimum wage would deliver dramatically larger raises for millions more workers

The budget reconciliation bill currently being forced through Congress by the Trump regime includes a “no tax on tips” provision that gives the illusion of helping lower-income workers while handing huge giveaways to the rich at the expense of the working class.

We compare the estimated impact of no tax on tips with the Raise the Wage Act of 2025 which would raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 to $17 an hour. Can you guess which one benefits workers far more? Read more

Recession FAQ

Interest in recessions has been elevated lately. Americans often tell pollsters that they think the economy is in recession to express frustration with the ~~unequal distribution~~ state of economic rewards in this country. By economists’ definition, recessions rarely occur. When they do, recessions hurt workers and their families most.

EPI’s Recession FAQ will help you understand what is a recession, what causes a recession, who recessions hurt most and why, among other questions. Get recession informed

The upside-down priorities of the House budget

Six Nobel laureate economists sign on to EPI’s open letter condemning the Republican regime’s destructive debt reconciliation bill.

The United States has…pressing economic challenges to address…The House bill addresses none of the nation’s key economic challenges usefully and exacerbates many of them. The Senate should refuse to pass this bill and start over from scratch.

Read more and join them

The U.S. approach to globalization has gone from bad to worse under Trump

Globalization has created a challenging landscape for U.S. workers. Led by corporate interests, U.S. trade agreements from NAFTA onward have made matters worse rather than improving them.

The Trump regime recklessly promotes historically high, broad-based tariffs as a magic bullet. The reality is that it will take a range of domestic and international policy levers to make the global economy deliver broadly shared benefits to workers in the U.S. and abroad—not a short-sighted reliance on tariffs. Read more

Latest Research

Recession FAQ

June 10, 2025 By Josh Bivens, Elise Gould, Adam S. Hersh, Hilary Wething, and Ben Zipperer Fact Sheet
The upside-down priorities of the House budget: Adding significantly to debt while reducing incomes for the bottom 40%

June 2, 2025 Statement
The U.S. approach to globalization has gone from bad to worse under Trump: How to construct a progressive policy agenda instead

May 29, 2025 By Josh Bivens and Adam S. Hersh Report
EPI condemns House passage of dangerous tax and spending bill

May 22, 2025 By Heidi Shierholz Statement
Trump is enabling Musk and DOGE to flout conflicts of interest: What is the potential cost to U.S. families?

May 7, 2025 By Celine McNicholas and Ben Zipperer Report

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EPI in the news

Educators Warn Against Child Labor Rollbacks

According to the Economic Policy Institute, since 2021, 28 states have introduced or passed laws to weaken child labor protections, a trend the organization says is “deeply disturbing.” In 2024, states including Alabama, Florida, and Kentucky passed laws loosening child labor standards. In 2025, some states have continued the trend.

NEA Today | June 12, 2025
Letters to the editor

On Saturday, Trump is hosting a military parade in our capitol on his birthday costing $45 million at a time when service members, veterans and their families are being harmed by cuts to federal programs and services. Check out the Economic Policy Institute’s report on “100 days, 100 ways Trump has hurt workers.”

Salem Times Register | June 12, 2025
Teacher on $37,000 Salary Shows What Surviving as a Single Mom Really Looks Like

According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average living wage required for a single adult with three children in Alabama is over $78,000 — more than double what Michelle earns.

South Florida Media | June 12, 2025
What do we know about the US-China trade deal?

Adam S Hersh, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, agrees it will lead to more negotiations.

“It seems like the two sides have agreed to postpone facing their deeper disagreements,” Hersh said.

Al Jazeera English | June 12, 2025
How CA ICE Raids Could Affect The State’s Economy: Reports

“Immigration enforcement does not help U.S. workers, it does not open up jobs,” Daniel Costa, the Economic Policy Institute’s director of immigration law and policy research, told Marketplace. “There’s no evidence that that happens.”

Patch.com | June 12, 2025
New federal minimum wage law in the works: Here’s the proposed amount and the path to approval

Sen. Hawley and Sen. Weltch’s bill is not the only one to be introduced that would boost wages for workers with the lowest incomes. The Raise the Wage Act of 2023 was a more generous bill, as it would have increased the federal minimum wage to $17 an hour by 2028, which the Economic Policy Institute estimates would boost incomes for nearly 28 million workers, representing around 19 percent of the U.S. labor force.

El Diario | June 12, 2025
EU and US continue to grapple with child labor

Nina Mast, an analyst with the Washington D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute, told DW that child labor is exploitative or oppressive labor by a minor or “any work that is excessive in the sense that it interferes with a child’s education or health or well-being.”

Deutsche Welle | June 12, 2025

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Latest Research

Recession FAQ

The upside-down priorities of the House budget: Adding significantly to debt while reducing incomes for the bottom 40%

The U.S. approach to globalization has gone from bad to worse under Trump: How to construct a progressive policy agenda instead

EPI condemns House passage of dangerous tax and spending bill

Trump is enabling Musk and DOGE to flout conflicts of interest: What is the potential cost to U.S. families?

Blog

Forget ‘no tax on tips’—increasing the minimum wage would deliver dramatically larger raises for millions more workers without letting employers off the hook

Trump’s crusade against health and safety regulations endangers workers, hobbles the environmental justice movement, and sets the stage for our next public health crisis

Trump’s attacks on the Department of Labor will hurt wages and working conditions

May jobs report sends mixed signals: Solid payroll gains contrast with a weaker household survey and a continued decline in federal government employment

House Republican budget bill gives Trump $185 billion to carry out his mass deportation agenda—while doing nothing for workers: Immigration enforcement would have 80 times more funding than labor standards enforcement

House budget bill would kick 15 million people off health insurance and damage local economies

The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) succeeded in sustaining state and local government services during the pandemic: 99% of ARPA fiscal recovery funds were obligated on schedule

EPI in the news

Understanding immigration

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Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy

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Unequal Power

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Understanding immigration

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