Media clips

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• Are SWFL schools doing enough to keep good teachers?

  Another major reason is teacher pay. The average teacher salary in the United States was $74,495 in 2024-25. On average, teachers earned 73.1 cents per dollar compared with professionals with similar experience and education in 2024, according to a study from the Economic Policy Institute. Back in 1996, that number was at 93.9 cents. 

  Gulfshore Business September 1, 2026
• Opinion – Why we should care about what’s happening with Donald and Natalie

  In his first year since returning to power — even before his reckless decision to go to war against Iran had hiked gas prices and economic uncertainty —Trump had “actively made life less affordable for working people,” according to the Economic Policy Institute.

  The Hill September 1, 2026
• Federal rollbacks strip protections from direct care workers, PHI brief says

  A second DOL proposal would make it easier for employers to classify workers as independent contractors, a change the organization said is risky for home care workers, who already face a heightened chance of being misclassified. The Economic Policy Institute estimates misclassification costs a worker between $7,719 and $10,963 a year in lost wages, benefits and protections

  McKnight’s Senior Living September 1, 2026
• Richard Stern and Josh Bivens on the Economy and Campaign 2026

  Richard Stern and Josh Bivens talked about the how the U.S. economy and its impact on Americans could influence the 2026 midterm elections.

  C-SPAN Washington Journal September 1, 2026
• Editorial

  When you read above that Texas is fighting to stop drag shows and keep acclaimed literature out of kids’ hands, was your first thought, Wow, what a waste of tax dollars? If so the Economic Policy Institute has news that’ll make your fiscally conservative heart hurt even more. The think tank released a Deportation Calculator to show exactly what taxpayers in different parts of the country are paying for Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign. According to the EPI, the mass-deportation spending Congress approved in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act will cost the average taxpayer in the city of Houston around $3,683. You didn’t need that for anything else, did you?

  Houston Chronicle August 31, 2026
• Congress built a 401(k) tax break that missed its mark

  A decade ago, Economic Policy Institute economist Monique Morrissey warned that the shift to 401(k)s had turned the retirement system into one that magnifies inequality rather than reducing it. Vanguard’s 2026 data shows the trajectory hasn’t reversed.

  The Street August 31, 2026
• The teacher pay penalty, Meta’s major settlement, and a footwear flop

  WONG: All right, well, school is back in session, and so my indicator is thematically appropriate. It is 74.8 cents on the dollar. That is the average wage that public school teachers in the US earned in 2025, compared with similar college graduates working in other professions. 74.8 cents on the dollar. The data from the Economic Policy Institute, which is a left-leaning think tank that focuses on low- and middle-income working families. And EPI economist Sylvia Allegretto published a report this week about what she calls the teacher pay penalty.

  NPR Planet Money August 31, 2026
• Understanding The Dissolution of Federal DEI Offices and Initiatives: Debate and Implications

  Critics of federal DEI rollbacks contend that dissolving DEI initiatives is an economic attack on Black American communities. Opponents draw attention to data from the Economic Policy Institute, which showcases the change in employment rates of Black women between 2024 and 2025; the net decrease in employed Black women was driven primarily by the loss of public-sector jobs, especially within the federal government. This trend is also noticed in metro areas in the U.S., coinciding with the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI through federal hiring. The Economic Policy Institute also found that 10 different metro areas making up 38.6 percent of the black labor force have experienced increased job losses, as well as a decrease in median household income.

  The Fulcrum August 31, 2026
• The political battle over grocery prices is here

  “The reason typical families have faced an affordability crunch in recent decades is not because prices have grown exceptionally fast, it’s because incomes for the vast majority have grown too slowly,” argues Josh Bivens with the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank focused on working families.

  The Washington Post August 31, 2026
• CTA campaigns for Prop. 3, renewal of income tax for high earners

  The California Teachers Association called for more funding for public schools and campaigned for Proposition 3 at a Thursday morning news conference.

  The CTA presented a joint report from the Economic Policy Institute, a research organization focused on labor and working-class issues, and the CTA Institute for Teaching. The report compared the amount states spent on education in 2022, compared to their gross domestic product, and concluded that California was in the bottom third in student spending. The state spent 20.3% of its GDP on education that year, according to the study.

  Researchers spoke to educators, school staff, administrators and youth advocacy groups to determine the state’s needs, said Hilary Wething, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute.

  “The need for greater funding for California public schools is felt across all of those stakeholders that I just mentioned, not just for the teachers facing crowded classrooms and not just from students suffering dilapidated buildings, but also superintendents, staff, and really everyone in between,” Wething said. 

  EdSource August 31, 2026