Media clips

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• Democrats want to pass a $15 minimum wage through reconciliation. It’s unclear if they can

  Another study from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning research group, and shared with CNBC, found that a $15 minimum wage would reduce expenditures on public assistance programs by $13.4 billion to $31 billion. It would also boost payroll tax revenue by $7 billion to $13.9 billion.

  “These are sizeable figures that would have a meaningful impact on the federal budget,” said David Cooper, who co-authored the EPI report with Ben Zipperer and Josh Bivens.

  …

  But the CBO’s estimates about job losses are more negative than expected, according to Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

  “The benefits of the policy far outweigh the potential costs,” he said, adding that it would also help the most vulnerable Americans hit by the pandemic, especially people of color. An EPI analysis of the 2019 Raise the Minimum Wage Act found it would help 25% of Black workers and 19.1% of Hispanic workers. By comparison, it would affect 13.1% of White workers and 10.8% of Asian workers.

  CNBC February 1, 2021
• The economic fallout of the pandemic has had a profound effect on women

  NPR’s Lulu Garcia-Navarro asks Economic Policy Institute Senior Economist Elise Gould about the pandemic’s economic effects on women and minorities.

  NPR Weekend Edition February 1, 2021
• The three biggest lessons of the coronavirus economy

  “There are now 26.8 million workers—15.8% of the workforce—who are either unemployed, otherwise out of work because of the virus, or have seen a drop in hours or pay because of the pandemic,” Heidi Shierholz, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, wrote earlier this week. “Further, we started losing jobs again in December.”

  The New Yorker February 1, 2021
• Effort to include $15 minimum wage in relief bill poses test for Democrats

  Another report, produced by three economists at the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank and a longtime advocate for increasing the minimum wage, found that there would be “significant and direct effects” on the federal budget by increasing payroll tax revenue by $7 billion to $13.9 billion and reducing expenditures on public assistance programs by $13.4 billion to $31 billion.

  “This is a sizable chunk of money, no matter how you look at it,” said David Cooper, who wrote the report with Ben Zipperer and Josh Bivens. They determined that increased revenue would prevent many workers and their families from qualifying for assistance programs, reducing expenses.

  New York Times February 1, 2021
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  February 1, 2021
• “We do a lot of work”: Texas’ low-wage workers hope for more as Biden, Congress push minimum wage hike

  About 4.5 million Texans’ wages could benefit from a minimum wage increase to $15 an hour, according to 2019 data from the nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute. And while there is mostly consensus that $7.25 an hour is not a livable wage, economists and independent analysts don’t universally agree on whether raising it would be a net positive for the Texas economy.

  The Texas Tribune February 1, 2021
• Should we raise the minimum wage?

  Articles on minimum wage:

  Minimum Wage Tracker, from The Economic Policy Institute

  NPR Planet Money February 1, 2021
• Economics in Brief: Congress tries again to raise the minimum wage

  The nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute (EPI) notes that the federal minimum wage has not changed for a decade — the longest it has remained the same since the minimum wage was established in 1938. According to the EPI, the increase would affect some 32 million workers, representing 21% of the U.S. workforce. Not only would the change overwhelmingly benefit essential workers, it would work to close the racial wealth gap; EPI says that 31% of Black workers and 26% of Latino workers would get a pay raise if the higher minimum wage takes effect.

  Next City February 1, 2021
• Why the minimum wage won where Biden couldn’t

  David Cooper, a senior economic analyst at the labor-backed Economic Policy Institute, told me the phase-in schedule was “perfectly reasonable” and agreed businesses need time to adjust without negative consequences.

  …

  David Cooper, the labor-backed EPI economic analyst, acknowledged this issue but agreed with policy that gradually reaches $15 by 2025. “What experience with higher minimum wages and a lot of research has shown, when you phase in increases over time, businesses are able to adjust without there being any of the dire consequences that opponents always claim are going to happen,” said Cooper.

  He was hopeful about future legislation, adding, “There’s nothing that says we have to stop at $15 once we get there.”

  Jacobin February 1, 2021
• Young adults are pretty pessimistic about retirement

  Pessimism about retirement abounds for young people, who were more likely than older age cohorts to lose their jobs when the pandemic hit, an October paper from the Economic Policy Institute said.

  The Balance February 1, 2021