For years, wages stagnated, and the federal government did little in response. The last time Congress raised the federal minimum wage was more than 13 years ago. The Economic Policy Institute in a recent analysis found that, “(a)ccounting for price increases in June, the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is now worth less than at any point since February 1956.”
MinnPost
August 12, 2022
Features Heidi discussing inflation and the jobs report.
CNN
August 11, 2022
A report by the Economic Policy Institute in September 2021 noted federal legalization proposals have emphasized investing and prioritizing communities of color that have been hit the hardest by cannabis criminalization, but have failed to ensure that workers are supported in their ability to organize and work in jobs with quality wages, protections and benefits.
The report noted workers in cultivation, processing and retail could make thousands of dollars more on average annually with a union or high job quality standards.
The Guardian
August 5, 2022
Heidi Listed (Heidi Shierholz, Economic Policy Institute)
Office of Speaker Pelosi
August 5, 2022
This rapid inflation could lead to even greater financial strain for these more vulnerable groups. The Economic Policy Institute reports that “the current federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour is now worth less than at any point since February 1956.” In 1956, the minimum wage was $0.75 an hour.
Deseret News
August 5, 2022
“The Fed’s actions to date do not guarantee a recession, but they have already made one more likely,” wrote Josh Bivens, the director of research at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, in a blog post earlier this month.
CNN Business
August 5, 2022
Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, said he thinks the bill will have a “small sort of deflationary nudge” by way of reducing the deficit, but he added that he thinks “there are questions about how quickly that takes hold.”
The Hill
August 5, 2022
share of workers say they have or plan to request higher salaries. … U.S. was 22.1% last year, according to the Economic Policy Institute. (paywall).
Fortune
August 5, 2022
The second statistic Kaine cited didn’t come from Bloomberg Law. In fact, I’m not sure where it originated. I’ve traced it back to a mention in a 2009 Economic Policy Institute paper, but it might be even older.
Bloomberg Law
August 5, 2022
As research from the Economic Policy Institute recently documented, wage suppression “was generated by policy choices that resulted in excessive unemployment, eroded unionization, corporate globalization, lower labor standards (e.g., lower minimum wage), new imposed contract terms (e.g., noncompete) and corporate structure changes that pushed down wages and profits in supply chains to the benefit of large firms.”
Industry Week
August 5, 2022
“We’re ensuring that they’re not going to be worse off year after year, but as noted, that doesn’t necessarily mean that their standard of living is rising,” said David Cooper, director of the Economic Analysis and Research Network coordinated by the Economic Policy Institute.
NJ Monitor
August 5, 2022
Those are the conclusions of a study recently published by the Economic Policy Institute, and they are not likely to be countered anytime soon. After the Raise the Wage Act failed in the U.S. Senate last year, experts say there’s been no push to update the federal minimum to reflect the drastic changes in the economy since 2009.
Capital and Main
August 5, 2022
According to the Economic Policy Institute, Tennessee’s average monthly child care cost is anywhere between $700 to $800 per child. With high child care costs coupled with inflation at a 41-year high, TDHS said it is trying to keep more money in working families’ pockets.
ABC 24 Memphis
August 5, 2022
Josh Bivens, research director at the Economic Policy Institute, said he thinks the bill will have a “small sort of deflationary nudge” by way of reducing the deficit, but he added that he thinks “there are questions about how quickly that takes hold.”
The Hill
August 5, 2022
Just 35% of Hispanic families and 41% of Black families have savings in a 401(k) or IRA account, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Forbes
August 5, 2022
To further prove her point, she brings up data from The Economic Policy Institute, which found “that public school teachers nationally make about 19 percent less than employees in commensurate professions, or about 81 cents on the dollar.” According to the data, the wage penalty has increased significantly, compared to only 6% in 1996.
Forbes
August 5, 2022
One, Matt Stoller of the American Economic Liberties Project, predicted continuing higher inflation last December and said 60% of it is due to corporate thirst for ever-rising profits. Others, including the Economic Policy Institute, agree. They just differ on numbers.
People’s World
August 5, 2022
Since 2009, when the federal minimum rose to $7.25 an hour, it’s lost more than one-fourth of its purchasing power. When factoring in inflation, today’s minimum wage hasn’t been worth this little since the 1950s, according to calculation from the Economic Policy Institute.
CBS News
August 5, 2022
“Layoffs continue to be low in historical terms and high levels of quits signal workers seeking [and finding] better opportunities,” Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said in a note on Tuesday.
Al Jazeera
August 5, 2022
Then comes the multiplier effect, which refers to the impact an investment will have on jobs and an economy. According to the Economic Policy Institute, for every 100 direct jobs created in semiconductor manufacturing, there are 192.2 indirect jobs created.
The Huntsville Item
August 5, 2022
Inflation is impacting Ohio’s teachers, too. They spent an average of $444 to stock their classrooms in 2018, per the Economic Policy Institute — or $555 in today’s dollars.
Axios
August 5, 2022
Researchers at the Economic Policy Institute recently noted that after adjusting for inflation data, the minimum wage sits at its lowest point in 66 years. Put another way, in 1956, the 75 cents per hour wage bought someone as much as $7.25 does today.
Route Fifty
August 5, 2022
A 1% increase in pay would amount to an 8% decline in purchasing power, according to Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, who served as the Labor Department’s chief economist under President Barack Obama. And some economics research suggests inflation won’t ease in the near future.
Bloomberg
August 5, 2022
As the cost of everything from fuel to food increases, the value of the dollar decreases. That means workers are seeing the purchasing power of their paychecks shrink. In fact, the value of the federal minimum wage is now at its lowest point since 1956, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Forbes
August 5, 2022
“It’s a huge problem,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. “Inadequate pay has been a huge reason teachers and support staff in state and local government have quit. In order to attract and retain workers they need, they will have to not just hire workers but raise pay.”
The Washington Post
August 5, 2022
It’s also especially crucial for Black workers and those of several other marginalized demographics. According to the Economic Policy Institute, on average, Black workers are paid 73 cents on the white dollar. Black women make even less—64 cents for every white male dollar. Even with advanced degrees, Black people still see a significant wage gap compared to their white counterparts.
Thegrio.com
August 4, 2022
Like workers of all education levels, college graduates experience considerable wage inequality depending on their race. White workers’ salaries, on average, outpace those of both Black and Hispanic workers at each level of educational attainment beyond high school. Black master’s degree holders earn just $0.28 more per hour than white bachelor’s degree holders, for instance, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
Forbes
August 4, 2022