EPI in the news

• What left and right alike get wrong about ‘late’ capitalism

  The economic observation that seems to obviously confirm this conclusion is the longtime and growing gap between worker productivity and worker pay. Perhaps the most frequently cited version of this supposed economic reality comes from the left-wing Economic Policy Institute, which calculates a 70 percent rise in worker productivity since 1979 versus a mere 12 percent rise in pay, all adjusted for inflation. As EPI explains the big disparity, “This means that although Americans are working more productively than ever, the fruits of their labors have primarily accrued to those at the top and to corporate profits, especially in recent years.”

  The Week | November 20, 2019
• The best way for Democrats to defeat Trump

  When corporations dictate the rules, one can generally bet that executives will receive large bonuses, investors will receive dividends, and workers will receive nothing. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the payout ratio between executives and workers has skyrocketed from 20 to 1 in 1965 to 278 to 1 in 2018.

  La Opinion | November 20, 2019
• Unions play an important role in economy, helping workers

  Unfortunately, billionaire corporations have been very successful in pushing their agenda. As the national Economic Policy Institute reports, CEO compensation has grown 940 percent since 1978, while typical worker compensation has risen only 12 percent (meanwhile national union density has declined from about 25 percent to about 10 percent over the same period).

  West Virginia Record | November 20, 2019
• Nonprofit workers join the movement to unionize

  As my colleague Michelle Chen noted on a recent episode of our podcast Belabored, “Nonprofit is a legal and financial designation, it’s not a stamp of ethical quality.” In that same episode, Kayla Blado, president of the NPEU and a staffer at the Economic Policy Institute, explains in an interview that nonprofit workers are often willing to work harder and longer in the service of the mission, and that their drive to organize is often coming from that same place of commitment to that mission. “They don’t want to jump ship,” she says, if the working conditions leave something to be desired, they want to stay and make the workplace better.

  The Progressive | November 20, 2019
• Latinas stand to lose over $1.1 million in lifetime wages due to the pay gap—here’s what can be done to fix it

  According to a 2017 report from the Economic Policy Institute, unionized working women, on average, are paid 94 cents to every dollar earned by unionized working men. Additionally, according to EPI, unionized working women are more likely to have access to paid leave, paid sick days and vacation time.

  CNBC | November 20, 2019
• Has Trump helped U.S. manufacturing?

  If President Trump has failed to provide meaningful help for U.S. manufacturers, it’s partly because he’s overlooking a larger problem. What’s really hurting America’s manufacturers is that the U.S. dollar has become substantially overvalued. In fact, since 2014, the dollar has risen in value by more than 20 percent, including 8 percent since March 2018 alone — when the China tariffs were first imposed.

  Morning Consult | November 20, 2019
• Record inequality and corporate profits are what media call a ‘strong economy’

  The long-term trend of wages not keeping up with the prices of essentials hasn’t improved much, as it’s been reported that minimum-wage workers can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment anywhere in the US. (The Economic Policy Institute—7/19/18, 2/5/19—found that if the minimum wage tracked productivity growth since the 1960s, it would now be over $20 an hour.)

  Common Dreams | November 20, 2019

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