EPI in the news

• David C. Datelle (opinion): Reversing Republicans’ unfair tax policies

  According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), as countries grow wealthier and populations grow older, there is a greater demand for a larger public sector. However, the share of national income collected in taxes by the U.S. government has stagnated – leaving both revenue and public spending in the U.S. at levels far below other advanced nations. Starting in the 1970s, Republicans at the federal level have pursued an anti-tax and anti-government movement that has lowered tax rates on the wealthiest Americans and large corporations, while low- and middle-income households have experienced declining living standards and a diminished public sector.

  CT Insider | December 15, 2025
• Trump asks when polls will ‘reflect’ his ‘greatness’

  Yes, we know it’s an outright lie that there has been “no inflation” over the last year, and that actual economists, including those at the Economic Policy Institute, said in January that Trump inherited a strong economy from Biden, not the “MESS” of a hand he claims he got dealt. 

  NewsOne | December 15, 2025
• 72% of people say they’d be happier if they saved or invested more money. Far fewer said spending more would bring happiness.

  Data from the Economic Policy Institute show that from 1979 to 2023, the share of all wages held by the bottom 90% by income fell by 9.1 percentage points.

  MarketWatch | December 15, 2025
• Tennessee’s voucher caps under fire less than a year after passage

  Sources:

  Economic Policy Institute. (2024). How vouchers harm public schools: Calculating the cost of voucher programs to public school districts. https://www.epi.org/publication/vouchers-harm-public-schools/

  Tennessee Stands | December 15, 2025
• Suddenly, Colorado has a private school choice program

  Per-pupil state and local spending on public schools has indeed decreased in states that have adopted voucher programs. In 2021, states with voucher programs spent $10,054 per pupil, and states without voucher programs spent $12,820 per student, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.

  Colorado Politics | December 15, 2025
• The US labor market ground to a halt in 2025. The risk in 2026 is that it ‘cracks.’

  The low-hire, low-fire labor market, which has been difficult for job seekers, looks likely to persist.

  “It is concerning to me that we’re starting the year weaker than we were the prior year,” Economic Policy Institute senior economist Elise Gould said. “Do I think a recession is necessarily coming? I don’t know, but I think that I have concerns — and it’s important to remember that even a mild recession can hit historically disadvantaged groups a lot.”

  Yahoo Finance | December 15, 2025
• These LinkedIn tweaks could get you noticed faster after a layoff

  “It’s much harder to break into the labor market right now,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at Economic Policy Institute. “Employers just aren’t hiring at the rate that they did last year or the previous years.”

  The Washington Post | December 15, 2025

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