In “50 years after the Kerner Commission,” a 2018 Economic Policy Institute report, Janelle Jones, John Schmitt and Valerie Wilson found that “African Americans today are much better educated than they were in 1968” and that this development “has been accompanied by significant absolute improvements in wages, incomes, wealth, and health.”
New York Times
September 9, 2020
The ruling came in the case of New York et al v Scalia et al., brought in February by New York Attorney General Letitia James, Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro and 16 other attorneys general. In challenging the rule, they argued that it would impose significant regulatory burdens on states and would harm states’ economies and residents. The Economic Policy Institute estimated that the rule would cost workers more than $1 billion annually, Woods noted.
McKnight’s Senior Living
September 9, 2020
Despite its unique history, Boston Public Schools isn’t alone in trying to diversify its workforce. Eleven states have pledged to increase their numbers of teachers of color to match student populations by 2040, but a recent report predicted that these gaps will persist or grow through 2060.
Boston’s push is occurring against the backdrop of a nationwide shortage of teaching candidates. From 2008 to 2015, there was a 15 percent drop in the number of students who earned an education degree, according to a 2019 study from the Economic Policy Institute.
The 74
September 9, 2020
Between 2016 and 2018, the most recent year for which data is available, the U.S. lost 1,800 factories to offshoring and outsourcing, according to the progressive Economic Policy Institute
Bloomberg
September 9, 2020
The racial wealth gap is an issue that has persisted from generation to generation in the U.S. The Economic Policy Institute stated in 2017 that average wealth for white families was seven times higher than average wealth for Black families. The median wealth, or wealth in the family in the exact middle of the overall distribution, of white families was 12 times higher than that of Black families.
Forbes
September 9, 2020
Let’s see … we’re almost entering month seven of the pandemic. So it makes sense that many furloughs are now becoming layoffs. But Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, said we’re at a new turning point. Job losses are spreading from industries decimated by lockdowns — like hospitality and tourism — and into others that weren’t initially as sensitive.
“Businesses that maybe thought they were going to be fine, unaffected by any social distancing measures are looking up and saying ‘Yeah, we didn’t have a problem then, but now we’re just seeing demand for goods and services has just been depressed,’” Shierholz said.
She said at this point in the pandemic, minimizing job loss is about boosting spending — something that became more difficult for families once that extra $600-a-week in unemployment benefits went away.
Marketplace
September 9, 2020
Less government spending in turn feeds a negative economic spiral, driven by lost government worker incomes and reduced purchases of private goods and services. So lower government spending adds up to large direct and indirect job losses. In June, the Economic Policy Institute estimated that “without aid to state and local governments, 5.3 million workers will likely lose their jobs by the end of 2021.”
Forbes
September 9, 2020
But childcare providers perform this crucial service for pennies on the dollar. The average daycare operator grosses just $48,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, whereas the standard daycare worker makes just $24,000. Usually these jobs come with little or no paid time off, and no employee-sponsored healthcare. Only 15% of childcare workers receive health insurance sponsored by their employer versus 50% of workers from other occupations, according to a 2015 Economic Policy Institute report. The lack of healthcare benefits is problematic in normal times, as children unwittingly bring their stomach bug or pink eye to their daycares. But during a pandemic, it’s potentially lethal. Daycare providers who make an average of just $11.65 an hour may be unable to risk seeking treatment for any disease, much less COVID-19.
Time
September 9, 2020
A reality you may be somewhat more aware of is that unions benefit their members and other workers covered by union contracts. Which they do—to the tune of an 11.2% wage boost for a worker under a union contract as compared to an equivalent worker in a nonunion workplace. But it’s important to understand that unions help nonunion workers, too. “Research shows that deunionization accounts for a sizable share of the growth in inequality between typical (median) workers and workers at the high end of the wage distribution in recent decades—on the order of 13–20% for women and 33–37% for men,” the Economic Policy Institute reports.
Daily Kos
September 8, 2020
As the nation celebrates workers this labor day weekend, a new study shows Union membership often pays off and higher wages. A new study from the left-leaning economic policy Institute finds unionized workers typically earn 11% more than their nonunion counterparts and enjoy better benefits as well. Heidi Shierholz one of the authors of the study says the union premium is even bigger for Black and Brown workers.
NPR
September 8, 2020