Robert Reich, the U.S. Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton, tweeted Tuesday: “Capitalism is off the rails.” That was in reaction to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), which found that the average CEO compensation in 2019 at one of America’s top 350 firms was $21.3 million, up by 14% from the year prior—and up 1,167% from 1978. A typical worker at one of these top companies now earns $67,000 per year.
Fast Company
August 20, 2020
The consequences of inaction – additional layoffs and slashed public services – will result in a deeper and more painful downturn. Experts from Moody’s Analytics suggested that without additional aid, state and local budget shortfalls would create a drag on the nation’s recovery; GDP would be reduced by more than three percentage points and more than four million jobs would be lost. Another study from the Economic Policy Institute found that without additional aid, 5.3 million Americans would likely lose their jobs by the end of 2021.
House Committee on the Budget
August 20, 2020
The virus has also exposed economic disparities as well as cracks in the American healthcare system as it relates to restaurant workers. Pre-pandemic, The Economic Policy Institute reported in 2014 that only 14% of restaurant workers receive health insurance from their employer. They also go without guaranteed wages or access to professional counseling.
The Dallas Morning News
August 20, 2020
Even before Covid-19, teachers were leaving the profession in droves. According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, the national teacher shortage is looking dire. Every year, fewer and fewer people want to become teachers.
The New Yorker
August 20, 2020
Few have that level of savings built up. The most current research from the Economic Policy Institute shows that for a family with a head of house age 44-49, median retirement account savings totaled only $13,000. According to research cited by CNBC in 2019, the annual cost of living in retirement exceeds $50,000 in all 50 states.
Nasdaq
August 20, 2020
In the U.S., education doesn’t always result in higher wages for all workers. According to the Economic Policy Institute, Black workers, for example, face significant and growing wage gaps, with Black men paid only 71 cents and Black women just 64 cents for every $1 White men earn. These gaps are found at every job level, from low wage to high wage, but are highest in top-paid fields because of lack of representation of Black workers in those professions. The gaps also persist across all levels of education: Black workers who have high school, college, and advanced degrees earn just 81.7%, 77.5%, and 82.4%, respectively, of what White workers with the same degree earn.1 And the unemployment rate of Black workers who have a bachelor’s degree is similar to that of White workers without a college education.2
Investopedia
August 20, 2020
Rothstein, a distinguished fellow of the Economic Policy Institute, spoke during the National Association of REALTORS® Leadership Summit in a session titled “Shoring Up Our House: Addressing Historical and Current Issues of Racism, Bias, and Intolerance.”
Realtor Magazine
August 20, 2020
Average CEO compensation at the top 350 U.S. firms grew 14% to $21.3 million on average, according to an analysis from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a think tank based in Washington, D.C.
Industry Week
August 20, 2020
Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and policy director with the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal-leaning think tank, said she considers the extra $300 a distraction and a poor substitute for a more comprehensive solution. Unlike the extra $600 in weekly benefits, it is unclear how many states or how many unemployed people will receive the lesser amount, she said.
“People are going to have to cut back,” Shierholz said. “People’s living standards will drop. Evictions will happen. Hunger will happen. This will create a lot of deeply unnecessary suffering.”
The Baltimore Sun
August 20, 2020
Now is still a good time to raise the minimum wage: As cities and states reopen their economies, the central challenge for businesses and economic policymakers will be restoring consumer demand and making regular economic activity safe in the face of continued legitimate concern over the virus. From a general macroeconomic perspective, raising the minimum wage in a period of depressed consumer demand is smart policy. [Economic Policy Institute]
Oklahoma Policy Institute
August 20, 2020