Two researchers with the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank in Washington D.C., come down on the side of the benefits of wage increases. They wrote that three academic studies published in 2020 did historical analyses of wage increases and concluded that they raised consumer spending in local markets. “Raising the minimum wage directly pushes back against the consumer demand shortfall by providing low-wage workers with money to boost the broader economy,” the Sept. 14 post stated.
Roswell Daily Record
January 4, 2021
A 2014 Economic Policy Institute analysis found that fewer people in the lower- and middle-classes were actually climbing the economic ladder today. In turn, they made less than their parents. As Intelligence Squared reported, “In the last 30 years, the wages of the top 1% have grown by 154%, while the bottom 90% has seen growth of only 17%.” What led to this phenomenon? Unequal income distribution, where those at the top receive much more than those on the bottom.
Entrepreneur
January 4, 2021
According to the Economic Policy Institute, 25.7 million workers in the US remain officially unemployed, otherwise out of work due to the pandemic, or have experienced a reduction in work hours or pay.
The Guardian
January 4, 2021
New Jersey is particularly pricey for child care. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual cost of infant care in the state is $12,988.
NJ.com
January 4, 2021
39. Black women, on average, earn 64 cents for every dollar a white man earns, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute.
New York Times
January 4, 2021
Heidi Shierholz, a scholar at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist at the Labor Department under President Obama, told The Hill, “Reasonable time’ is not defined, and its ambiguity will make it difficult to enforce, providing employers an immense loophole and leaving workers behind.” She predicted the change could cost tipped workers a collective $700 million a year, and shift more jobs from non-tipped to tipped.
FSR Magazine
January 4, 2021
The disparities run even deeper: Research shows that Black workers’ benefits are less likely to include paid sick days and the ability to work from home, and according to data from the Economic Policy Institute, access to paid sick days is “vastly unequal.” And that’s just about sick days.
NBC News
January 4, 2021
People who live in states that did not expand Medicaid, including Florida, Georgia, and other southern states, are less likely to have affordable care, says Reinert. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the pandemic has widened this access gap: As many as 12 million Americans lost employer-sponsored health insurance between February and August.
National Geographic
January 4, 2021
12 million more Americans may have lost health insurance since February, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, and a poll done in October by CNN found that 61% of Americans say they don’t want the Supreme Court to overturn the ACA.
CNN International Amanpour
December 24, 2020
The Economic Policy Institute has estimated the rule would let employers take $700 million from tipped workers each year. That’s based on numbers before the industry suffered under the pandemic.
Scripps National News
December 24, 2020