Daniel Costa, an immigration policy expert at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said the index preferred by the Trump administration might produce bigger increases for some higher-skilled workers on farms. But the vast majority of guest workers would see smaller wages than they would have under the current system, hence the “transfer payments” going to employers.
In an analysis, Costa found that fieldworkers’ wages rose an average of 3.6% each year between 2010 and 2019 based on the survey; under the index proposed in the new rule, they would have risen at an annual rate of just 2.3%.
Over time, Costa said, the impact could be significant. The fact that guest workers would receive smaller pay hikes could soften wage increases for U.S. workers as well. The change would also allow farms to advertise lower pay than they would have under the survey, making the positions less attractive to U.S. workers.
Huffpost
November 9, 2020
Supporters of Amendment 2 say the increase gives workers fair pay for their hard work, a chance to save for unexpected expenses or time off, and the ability to put more money into the local economy. An economist with the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute says that gradually increasing the minimum wage to $15 by 2024 would be good for businesses, employees, and the economy. Higher wages would also reduce reliance on food stamps and other forms of government financial assistance, supporters say.
Miami New Times
November 6, 2020
Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, said the colder months could mean less outdoor dining and subsequent cuts to food service staff at a time when there are already millions more unemployed job-seekers than positions available in the U.S.
San Francisco Chronicle
November 6, 2020
However, as important as savings may be, many Americans simply aren’t making it happen. One study from GOBankingRates showed that 57% of the 8,000 people it polled had under $1,000 in savings and 39% had nothing saved at all. And, according to the Economic Policy Institute, almost half of American families have nothing in retirement savings.
The Daily News
November 6, 2020
The sum total of all this? Heidi Shierholz, Policy Director for the Economic Policy Institute, who also objected, calculated workers would lose at least $3.3 billion each year in overtime and minimum wages and that Social Security, Medicare, unemployment insurance, and workers comp would take a combined $750 million hit.
People’s World
November 6, 2020
Even before Newcomb came aboard, one of the issues facing the school was fair pay. Teaching faculty at the OTS are hourly workers. The highest earners among them receive an average of $45.30 per hour per group class and $37.30 per hour for teaching privately. Those numbers represent 21 percent and 19 percent increases, respectively, since 2010. Yet according to the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan Washington think tank, the average increase in hourly earnings for private employees during the same time period is 32 percent. The teachers have not had a pay raise since January 2018.
Chicago Reader
November 6, 2020
“The primary obstacle to a higher minimum wage throughout the country is Republican control of legislatures,” said David Cooper, senior economic analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, a non-profit think tank.
“Any time this question is put before voters, they overwhelming say they want a higher minimum wage,” he told the Thomson Reuters Foundation
Reuters
November 6, 2020
By the numbers: Expect 5.3 million workers to lose their jobs by the end of 2021 if state and local governments don’t get a bailout, per the Economic Policy Institute.
Those jobs are in dense urban centers — the engine of the national economy. If that engines start to sputter, the whole country is likely to fall into a recession.
McConnell and the Republicans are convinced that state and local governments are simply using the coronavirus as an excuse to get bailed out of their overspending ways. There’s no way McConnell will finance a local-government rescue via a Biden-backed spending bill.
Axios
November 6, 2020
“Last week was the 33rd straight week total initial” jobless benefit “claims were far greater than the worst week of the Great Recession,” Economic Policy Institute Policy Director Heidi Shierholz commented.
People’s World
November 6, 2020