In 2019, the median Black household earned just 61 cents for every dollar of income for the median Caucasian household, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Public News Service
January 8, 2021
The Economic Policy Institute reports that this makes the 42nd straight week in which claims were greater than the worst week of the Great Recession. If Pandemic Unemployment Assistance isn’t counted, then jobless claims were greater than the second worst week of the Great Recession.
EPI’s analysis estimates that millions of people have exhausted their unemployment benefits — some of whom can reapply now that Congress has extended certain benefits through March — but such extensions “just kick the can down the road,” EPI says.
Next City
January 8, 2021
“Rising COVID-19 caseloads, hospitalizations and deaths means our health and economic woes are far from over,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. “President-elect Biden is inheriting an exceedingly troubled economy with millions of families just trying to stay afloat.”
CNN Business
January 8, 2021
Over the last 40 years, incomes of the top 1% of American households have risen by about 160%, according to the labor-oriented Economic Policy Institute; those of the bottom 90% by only 26%.
LA Times
January 8, 2021
What’s the solution to that? A strong union movement is the irrefutable answer — especially in the wake of the pandemic. “During the crisis, unionized workers have been able to secure enhanced safety measures, additional premium pay, paid sick time, and a say in the terms of furloughs or work-share arrangements to save jobs,” wrote researchers at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning, Washington, D.C., think tank, highlighting the benefits of a union.
Truthout
January 8, 2021
In the meantime, the latest COVID relief package will have a positive effect on the economy as soon as this month, said Heidi Shierholz, at the Economic Policy Institute.
“Without that stimulus package, over 10 million people would have lost unemployment insurance benefits at the end of December,” Shierholz said. “That would have been a huge drag on the economy that we will not see.”
And, with the Democrats soon to be in charge, Shierholz said there is likely more relief on the way.
Marketplace
January 8, 2021
Economic Policy Institute
“This is a terrifying, but not surprising, way to end President Trump’s term, which has been bolstered by white supremacists who have sought to overturn the election results based on a massive misinformation campaign. Trump should be removed from office for his seditious actions, either by invoking the 25th Amendment or through impeachment.”
Common Dreams
January 8, 2021
As much as $3 trillion could be needed to ensure a swift economic recovery, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The left-leaning think tank noted that the most recent stimulus package omitted funding for state and local governments, which have seen a plunge in tax revenue due to the crisis.
CBS Moneywatch
January 8, 2021
Research by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute and Howard University professor Ron Hira, who studies the H-1B, found that in 2019, IT staffing companies such as Infosys, Deloitte and Cognizant had applied for large numbers of H-1B workers at the second-lowest wage levels, while Bay Area technology giants Google, Apple, Cisco and Oracle had a mix of higher and lower levels.
The Mercury News
January 8, 2021