Media clips

---

• Report: Black adults twice as likely to be denied credit

  Fifty-seven percent of Black adults were denied or approved for less than requested when it comes to credit, as compared with 24% of white adults.

  That’s according to a new analysis by LendingTree of federal data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the 2020 Economic Policy Institute report. LendingTree brings to light a snapshot of the disparities between Black and white Americans when it comes to finances.

  WWBT March 16, 2021
• Experts: Economy will recover faster than expected, but unemployment will not

  “We are in a jobs hole that’s on the order of 12 million jobs,” said Heidi Sheirholz, a labor economist with the Economic Policy Institute. “It’s just enormous.”

  Scripps National News March 16, 2021
• Virginia becomes sixth state to create a worker protection unit

  State attorneys general across the U.S., according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, have stepped in to protect worker rights using their relatively wide range of powers, enforcement and otherwise. Between mid-2015 and the summer of 2020, the EPI said, AG offices in five states — Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania — and the District of Columbia have created worker protection units. California, Massachusetts and New York also have similar enforcement arms.

  Even without special teams, AGs have the power to investigate and prosecute crimes against workers, but creation of these focused units, the EPI said, work as a deterrent to those considering engaging in wage fraud and institutionalizes the work, helping to ensure that the mission of protecting workers survives from administration to administration.

  Construction Dive March 16, 2021
• American Rescue Plan is a watershed moment for US recovery – leading macroeconomic influencers

  Stephanie Kelton, economist and professor of Public Policy and Economics at Stony Brook University American, retweeted an article by the Economic Policy Institute on the recently passed Covid-19 stimulus bill paving the way to recovery for the US. About $350bn of the stimulus bill will support the state and local governments to compensate their revenue losses, restore budget cuts and adjust better to the escalated fiscal demands due to the pandemic.

  The loss of jobs in the state and local public-sector during the Covid-19 pandemic was unprecedented. More than 1.5 million people lost their jobs to the pandemic within the first four months, especially in the education sector, which is still approximately 7% lower than that was in February 2020.

  Pharmaceutical Technology March 16, 2021
• Legislation would end lower minimum wage for tipped employees

  In 2014, the Economic Policy Institute reported that nearly half of tipped workers in the country — 46% — rely on some form of public benefits, such as SNAP (known as Food Stamps) or Medicaid. More than 12% of tipped workers have incomes below the federal poverty line, according to the EPI.

  Wisconsin Examiner March 16, 2021
• A $15 minimum wage would lift millions out of poverty with ‘limited negative effects’ on aggregate income, Morgan Stanley says

  However, an analysis by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute found that in “one-fair-wage” states, where tipped workers are paid the same as the state’s minimum wage, there was actually more restaurant growth than other states. Both the number of full-service restaurants and people employed in them grew.

  Business Insider March 15, 2021
• $15 minimum wage would lift millions out of poverty, says… Wall Street Giant Morgan Stanley

  In its conclusion that a $15 federal minimum wage would provide a major boost to workers currently struggling to survive on starvation-level wages, Morgan Stanley’s report was in line with an analysis released earlier this week by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which found that the pay hike would “raise the pay of essential and frontline workers” and “reduce the number of people living in poverty.”

  Implementing a $15 minimum wage by 2025 as proposed by the Raise the Wage Act would lift 3.7 million people in the U.S. out of poverty, according to EPI.

  “Raising the minimum wage is a no-brainer,” said David Cooper, a senior economic analyst at EPI.

  Common Dreams March 15, 2021
• When it comes to raising the minimum wage, most of the action is in cities and states, not Congress

  Cites EPI’s minimum wage tracker.

  Pew Charitable Trust March 15, 2021
• The public sector we need

  On March 9, the Democratic House passed the first significant legislation in support of labor since the 1930s. The PRO (Protecting the Right to Organize) Act removes obstacles to organizing and joining a union, ensures good-faith bargaining, and punishes employers for violations of the law. A Gallup Poll show public approval of unions at 68 percent—including 45 percent of Republicans. But even so, passing the PRO Act in the Senate will be hard.

  Dissent Magazine March 15, 2021
• Should Massachusetts cancel this year’s MCAS tests?

  A report by the Economic Policy Institute on the effects of toxic stress on children found that “children exposed to more frightening and threatening events are more likely to suffer from academic problems, behavioral problems, and health problems.” It also said “low income children are more likely to be exposed” to this stress.

  Boston Globe March 15, 2021