EPI in the news

• Quick confirmations set up early NLRB policy shift

  Includes quote from Celine McNicholas…[paywall]

  Law360 | August 2, 2021
• If the minimum wage were $24 an hour and tied to worker productivity, a long-held trickle-down myth might actually come true.

  Virtually every Econ 101 class teaches the trickle-down myth that workers are paid what they are worth, and locking the minimum wage into national productivity numbers would be a way to finally ensure that claim is true.

  This is the figure that would do the most for American workers. As a recent Economic Policy Institute paper found, productivity has increased by over 72% from 1979 to 2019, while worker pay has only increased by 17%. 

  Business Insider | August 2, 2021
• This state has the lowest minimum wage — and these states have none at all

  President Joe Biden and most Democrats have been calling for a drastic increase in the federal minimum wage, to $15 from $7.25. While a handful of states and many prominent companies have taken matters into their own hands, raising their minimum wages well into the double digits, other states are tied to the federal minimum wage, which hasn’t changed since 2009. Where does your state fit in, and are there any changes on the horizon? We examined data from the Economic Policy Institute to find out.

  MSN | August 2, 2021
• Your Odds of Going Back to the Office Are Dropping by the Day

  The closures mark a new, unfortunate, phase in the slow reopening of society. But the reality is that for many people, particularly people of color, working remotely has never been an option. In June, the progressive Economic Policy Institute found that only one in six Latinx workers and one in five Black workers have been able to telework during the pandemic, compared to one in four white workers. 

  The disparities are even more severe along educational lines. In April, a third of workers with a bachelor’s degree or higher were teleworking. Only one in twenty workers with a high school degree or less were able to do the same. 

  Mother Jones | August 2, 2021
• Editorial: Tax credits are boon to families

  Costs in Virginia were already high before the pandemic. In 2019, the Economic Policy Institute said that Virginia ranked No. 10 on the list of states with the most expensive child care. That year the average annual cost of infant care in Virginia was more than $14,000. For a 4-year-old, the annual cost was nearly $11,000.

  The Virginian-Pilot | August 2, 2021
• Is the middle class okay? Half of Americans don’t think so

  Within the American economy, hourly compensation and the productivity of workers have grown disproportionately. Between 1979-2019, the Economic Policy Institute found, employees have increased productivity by 72%, but their wages have only increased 17% in the last forty years. 

  Fast Company | August 2, 2021
• Quick confirmations set up early NLRB policy shift

  Includes quote from Celine McNicholas…[paywall]

  Law360 | August 2, 2021

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