Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the Labor Department and senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute, said it could take over a year for the agencies to finalize rules and regulations around gig work. And the lawsuits against gig companies could take even longer, especially if they go to the Supreme Court.
Protocol
November 20, 2020
But one of the bleakest aspects of pandemic hazard pay is that it was never actually particularly widespread to begin with. A survey conducted by the Economic Policy Institute in June found that only about 30 percent of people working outside of their homes during the pandemic had received hazard pay increases, and that number is almost certainly lower now that most of the businesses that previously adopted hazard pay have ended the practice.
New Republic
November 20, 2020
Recent studies out of the Economic Policy Institute and McKinsey and Company, nonpartisan think tanks, cite the negative impact of reduced and remote learning for children and their futures. Data shows reduced learning time has likely impeded both the amount and quality of learning time with all students, but with a significant impact noted for low-income, Black and Hispanic students. A loss of learning leads to a loss in future earnings and this loss is projected to have a long-term impact, which includes increased dropout rates, decreased educational engagement and a loss of future earnings impacting an already stressed economy.
Chicago Tribune
November 20, 2020
Janine Jackson interviewed the Economic Policy Institute’s Josh Bivens about pandemic unemployment for the November 13, 2020, episode of CounterSpin. This is a lightly edited transcript.
FAIR
November 20, 2020
The impending disaster is preventable, according to economists at the Economic Policy Institute, but the refusal of Republicans to act is already having spillover effects that are crippling the economy. And unless Congress takes action during the lame-duck session, the pain and suffering to come by year’s end is inevitable.
Common Dreams
November 19, 2020
According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) African Americans make up 12.5% of the population, but account for 22.4% of COVID-19 deaths. Chronic and pre-existing conditions such as asthma, hypertension and diabetes that already exist at higher rates for Black and Brown put us at greater risk for contracting the virus. Also, communities of color tend to be more densely populated therefore making spread of the virus easier in our households. Environmental issues like air pollution put us at increased risk for heart disease, respiratory distress and lung cancer further increasing our susceptibility to the virus. But it is racism and economic inequality that put us at even greater risk.
New York Amsterdam News
November 19, 2020
EPI minimum wage tracker cited.
NPR
November 19, 2020
Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told Newsweek she believes a form of student loan cancellation would be beneficial, particularly amid the widespread economic fallout of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“I think it’s gonna be hugely beneficial to those who have taken on a lot of debt. I’m particularly concerned with those borrowers who didn’t necessarily finish college and are racked with debt that is making their economic lives particularly difficult,” Gould said. The economist pointed out that the burden of debt for a particular individual depends a lot on how much they’ve borrowed and how much their annual income is. She suggested it may be better to find a policy that “balances” these factors instead of blanket loan forgiveness.
Newsweek
November 19, 2020
Under a Joe Biden administration, frontline workers and women – many of them people of color – hope to see the federal minimum wage raised. VOA’s Veronica Balderas Iglesias looks at the pros and cons.
Features interview with Ben Zipperer.
Voice of America
November 19, 2020
New unemployment claims may be declining, but the U.S. economy is still facing a huge jobs shortfall since the number of openings is down 10 million from where it was in February, according to recent data from the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
November 19, 2020