Media clips

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• Eliminating the Black middle class: The government shutdown

  The Economic Policy Institute (2025) reported that the median wealth of Black federal employees is 29% lower than their white counterparts, despite equal or higher education levels. 

  Black Lens News November 3, 2025
• Judge Orders Feds to Use Emergency Funds to Keep SNAP Afloat

  About one in four Black households relies on SNAP to avoid food insecurity, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute.

  Word in Black November 3, 2025
• Income Inequality Is Surging In The U.S., New Oxfam Report Shows

  In 2024, analysis by the Economic Policy Institute found that the wages of the top 1% had risen by 182% since 1979 while those of the bottom 90% had grown by just 44%.

  Forbes November 3, 2025
• The US has become ‘a nation of economic pessimists,’ says WSJ report — why many Americans have given up on getting ahead (and how to regain control)

  Article sources:

  [3]. Economic Policy Institute. “Wage Stagnation in Nine Charts”

  MoneyWise November 3, 2025
• Report: Immigrants key to sustaining Social Security, Medicare

  As President Donald Trump makes good on campaign promises to deport immigrants living in Colorado and across the U.S. without proper documentation, a new report spotlights the economic risks to Social Security and other programs that rely on payroll tax revenues.

  As America’s baby boomers continue to retire, the number U.S.-born workers is expected to dramatically decrease over the next decade.

  Report Author and Chief Economist for the Economic Policy Institute Josh Bivens said historically normal Gross Domestic Product growth rates will be impossible to maintain without immigrant workers.

  “It does make things like Social Security and Medicare a little harder to sustain,” said Bivens. “If we have a steady flow of younger immigrant workers coming in, that just makes it much easier to sustain those really important social insurance programs.”

  Public News Service November 3, 2025
• Don’t Let New York City Become a Museum of the Working Class

  The alternative is dire. Without a policy change, the Economic Policy Institute found that 1.68 million New Yorkers would earn less than $30 an hour in 2030. This means 36.7% of the city’s workforce would not be earning a livable wage, without accounting for inflation or the rising costs of American goods. If anything, $30 by 2030 is not ambitious enough.

  Next City November 3, 2025
• What we’re reading

  What we’re reading:

  Under the government shutdown, NLRB cases are on hold and the future of the agency remains uncertain offsite

  HR Dive November 3, 2025
• Portland voters set to decide on minimum wage hike

  Paywall.

  Portland Press Herald November 3, 2025
• Human Interest Accuses Guideline of Corporate Espionage

  In September, Monique Morrissey, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, told PLANSPONSOR that the limitation of investing Trump Account funds into U.S. equities goes against traditional investment advice that prioritizes diversification. While she praised the creation of the accounts for its potential to introduce more families to investing, she warned that limiting the investments would be detrimental.  

  “The accounts seem to be designed to make people fixate on the stock market,” she said. “They’re designed to make people see U.S. stocks as the most important thing in the economy, even as—ironically—the stock market represents a shrinking share of the overall economy.” 

  PlanSponsor November 3, 2025
• Employment and Health Care Take Center Stage in Virginia Governor’s Race

  Virginia’s search for a governor comes at a tumultuous time for the state. It’s been hit especially hard by the federal government shutdown and the slashing of federal jobs. Black Americans are about 26% of the federal workforce in Virginia, according to the Economic Policy Institute, and account for approximately 18% of the total state population, making Virginia one of the states with the highest Black populations.

  Capital B November 3, 2025