Media clips

• It Turns Out That Getting $600 A Week Doesn’t Make You Lazy
  The Economic Policy Institute also released data last week showing that 7.5 million people returned to work in May and June despite receiving the supplemental $600 a week. It notes that around 70% of them probably would have made more on unemployment than at their current job. The EPI also makes the crucial point that for many people, there currently aren’t jobs to return to. Jobs, like money, apparently don’t grow on trees.
  Refinery29 July 30, 2020
• More help coming, but $600 unemployment bonus will shrink first

  Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute and former chief economist of the Department of Labor, tweeted that as the coronavirus crisis drags on, more than 17 million people are expected to switch to PEUC.

  Las Vegas Review-Journal July 30, 2020
• Race is not the reason Black Americans have a higher risk of dying from the coronavirus. It’s racism.

  People of color make up a disproportionate number of essential workers. According to the Economic Policy Institute, there are 55.2 million essential workers in the US. Half of those in food and agriculture, and 53% in industrial, commercial, residential facilities and services, are people of color.

  Business Insider July 30, 2020
• Reed Dismisses Trump-McConnell COVID Bill as Short on Relief & Harmful to Public Health & Economic Health

  THE ECONOMIC POLICY INSTITUTE ESTIMATES THAT GOP’S PROPOSED CUTS TO UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS ALONE WOULD COST THE ECONOMY 3.4 MILLION JOBS

  Sen. Jack Reed July 30, 2020
• GOP’s jobless benefit plan could mean delays, states warn

  He pointed to an analysis from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute that found cutting the boost to $200 a week would result in 3.4 million more layoffs.

  Associated Press July 30, 2020
• Republicans want to cut unemployment aid. Here’s how it would work

  The 70% replacement rate would result in an average benefit of about $310 nationwide, according to Heidi Shierholz, senior economist with the Economic Policy Institute, a think tank. But it would vary by individual and be capped at $500 per week.

  San Francisco Chronicle July 30, 2020
• Second stimulus checks: States warn GOP’s jobless plan could mean months of delayed payments

  He pointed to an analysis from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute that found cutting the boost to $200 a week would result in 3.4 million more layoffs.

  WKRN July 30, 2020
• The Republicans’ $1 trillion stimulus proposal isn’t nearly enough — here’s what economists say it should be to avoid a jobs catastrophe

  Cutting unemployment insurance by $400 could cost 3.4 million US jobs over the next year, per data from Economic Policy Institute. The extra income helped low-income Americans rebound consumer spending and kept laid off workers afloat when only about half of American adults were employed as of June.

  Business Insider July 30, 2020
• This Is Not a Disaster Movie. If Congress Doesn’t Act, Though, It Could Start to Feel That Way

  Unemployment payments aren’t simply replacing lost income. They also serve as economic stimulus. Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and director of policy at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank in Washington, points out that the $600 in additional unemployment benefits that workers have been getting actually supports millions of jobs. “Killing the $600 payment entirely would cost the U.S. 5.1 million jobs,” she says. People who are getting relief payments, Shierholz explains, spend it on basics like food and shelter. By contrast, people with higher incomes are now saving more.

  Inc. July 30, 2020
• EPI Clips: 7/29/20
  July 29, 2020