Media clips

• Biggest Wage And Hour Legislation Of 2021
  Island and Delaware, passed or amended laws raising minimum wages, according to a tracker by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. (paywall).
  Law360 December 23, 2021
• The Perfect Christmas Gift? Cash.

  Teresa Ghilarducci is the Schwartz Professor of Economics at the New School for Social Research. She’s the co-author of “Rescuing Retirement” and a member of the board of directors of the Economic Policy Institute.

  Bloomberg December 23, 2021
• Improving Equity in Financial Benefits

  The share of Hispanic families with savings in retirement accounts declined in the wake of the Great Recession, from 38% in 2007 to 35% in 2016, while the share of Black families with retirement savings declined from 47% to 41%, according to an Economic Policy Institute (EPI) analysis of 2016 Consumer Finance data. In contrast, two-thirds (68%) of white non-Hispanic families had retirement savings in 2016, a share that was not much affected by the Great Recession (it was 67% in 2007).

  PlanSponsor December 23, 2021
• Raise teacher salaries to be more comparable to other college-educated workers

  The COVID-19 pandemic has only amplified teachers voicing their concerns about being undervalued and overworked. While teachers aren’t the only ones leaving at a higher rate during the pandemic, they experience some of the most severe and unique problems. To start, they are already paid less than other college graduates: According to the Economic Policy Institute, the teacher pay penalty — the percentage difference between teachers and other college-educated workers — is almost 19%.

  South Bend Tribune December 23, 2021
• Using APIs to bridge the gap between old technology and new needs

  According to a study conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, for every 10 people who said they successfully filed for unemployment benefits between March 22 and April 18, 2020, three to four additional people tried to apply but could not navigate through the system to file a claim. Further, two additional people for every 10 successful filers did not even try to apply because it was too difficult to do so. Even more recently, backlogs in application processes for affordable housing programs have made headlines, with millions of dollars available to help individuals in need, but distribution of those funds lagging.

  GCN December 23, 2021
• Jayapal and Mosqueda Tell Manchin to Think of the Goddamn Children

  Even before the onset of the COVID-19 health crisis, childcare in Seattle and statewide was expensive and hard to come by. The Economic Policy Institute ranked Washington the ninth least affordable state for child care in 2019. Right now, childcare costs Washington families almost $8,000 more per year than in-state tuition at our public colleges. And that’s if you can even find childcare. At the presser, Mosqueda described Seattle as a “childcare desert.”

  The Stranger December 23, 2021
• Major provider of immigrant tech workers committing ‘wage theft,’ report alleges

  Internal documents on worker wages at outsourcer HCL Technologies, a leading provider of IT contract workers, are central to the allegations in the report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, based on documents obtained via a federal government whistleblower lawsuit against HCL in a federal court in Connecticut.

  Seattle Times December 23, 2021
• High-skilled guest-worker visas used to undercut Americans: Study

  HCL Technologies, based in India, wields the H-1B skilled-worker visa as a way to undercut competition and find the cheapest workers, according to the study by the Economic Policy Institute.

  News Nation Now December 23, 2021
• Guest View: Don’t be swayed by Amazon’s aggressive investment in Oregon

  In Oregon alone, Amazon has four warehouses, from Troutdale to Hillsboro. Oregon also has provided Amazon with more than $342 million in subsidies in recent years, rewarding one of our nation’s most profitable companies with lucrative tax breaks. While lawmakers may view this exchange as beneficial for Oregon’s economic growth, research shows that’s not the case. A report by the Economic Policy Institute found the opposite — states have more to lose by offering Amazon tax incentives to bolster job creation.  

  The Register-Guard December 23, 2021
• Tornados Can Kill. So Can Amazon’s Business Model.

  The even bigger picture: Since 1978, the Economic Policy Institute reported earlier this year, CEOs at major U.S. corporations have now realized, after inflation, a pay hike of a whopping 1,322 percent. The typical worker earnings bump over the same four-plus decades: just 18 percent.

  Inequality.org December 23, 2021