Economist Josh Bivens at the progressive-leaning think-tank Economic Policy Institute seized upon today’s data to argue for an extension of the federal top-up to unemployment benefits. “The economy’s growth will continue to be tightly constrained by insufficient demand for goods and services, and cutting off a policy support that helps households maintain spending is a terrible idea,” Bivens wrote in a blog post.
“We estimate that extending the $600 UI [unemployment insurance] benefits through the middle of 2021 would provide an average quarterly boost to gross domestic product (GDP) of 3.7% and employment of 5.1 million workers,” he added.
Al Jazeera
June 26, 2020
There’s also implications for the health care industry, which as a whole is about 18% of the nation’s gross domestic product. The Economic Policy Institute estimated a loss of more than 1 million jobs if the Affordable Care Act is repealed.
Marketplace
June 26, 2020
Economic Policy Institute (EPI) research director Josh Bivens, in an analysis of new personal income data released Friday by the Commerce Department, said not extending the enhanced unemployment insurance (UI) past July 31 “would be both cruel and bad economics.”
“The economy’s growth will continue to be tightly constrained by insufficient demand for goods and services, and cutting off a policy support that helps households maintain spending is a terrible idea,” Bivens wrote, “both for these households’ welfare and for macroeconomic stabilization.”
Common Dreams
June 26, 2020
“Letting this extra $600 in unemployment insurance benefit expire at the end of July would by itself cause more job loss than was seen in either of the recessions of the early 1990s or early 2000s,” writes Josh Bivens, director of research for the Economic Policy Institute.
Going forward, Bivens predicts that extending the $600 unemployment benefits through the middle of next year would provide an average GDP quarterly boost of 3.7% and employment of 5.1 million workers.
CNBC
June 26, 2020
According to Valerie Wilson from the Economic Policy Institute, in 2018, a median Black worker only earned about 75 percent of what a White person does (USD 14.92 per hour to USD 19.79), and The Economist reported that in 2019 mean household wealth was USD 138,000 for Blacks, and USD 933,700 for Whites. While more than 72 percent of Whites own homes usually in nice neighbourhoods, only 42 percent of Blacks do so usually in shabbier environments. Unemployment rates are typically twice that of Whites.
The Daily Star
June 26, 2020
“Without a doubt, Indian nationals are likely to be the most impacted group when it comes to H-1B,” said Daniel Costa, director of immigration and law policy research at the Economic Policy Institute.
Politico
June 26, 2020
Virtually everyone is struggling in the pandemic, but child care shows us how unevenly the challenges fall. Women are hit harder than men. Black women and other women of color are hit harder than white women. And if it doesn’t get fixed, the consequences will be dire. “We need to stabilize the childcare system or we won’t have a robust economic recovery,” said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici. “Not getting this stuff in place will mean women will be the ones who are more likely to have to stay home,” said the Economic Policy Institute’s Heidi Shierholz—and if women who have previously worked are pushed to stay home while hundreds of thousands of jobs disappear from an industry dominated by women and with many many Black, Asian, and Latina workers, decades of efforts toward equality get wiped out.
Daily Kos
June 26, 2020
Deeper dive: The film’s blistering depiction of growing up in inner-city Los Angeles raises questions about the impacts of growing up in economically challenged areas, which the Economic Policy Institute has examined. If you want to know more about the backstory and what went into the making of Boyz n the Hood, which Singleton directed when he was just 23 years old, watch the documentary Friendly Fire: Making an Urban Legend.
Entrepreneur
June 26, 2020
A recent report by the Economic Policy Institute stated that “African Americans have disproportionately high COVID-19 death rates and are more likely to live in areas experiencing outbreaks.” Deaths of blacks from COVID through May 13, 2020 represent 22.4% of all deaths while black Americans represent just 12.5% of the population.
The Orange County Register
June 26, 2020
Thomas Kennedy, Florida state coordinator for the immigrant rights group United We Dream, suggested expanding the popular Medicare program to cover all Americans would be an effective lifeline for the 43 million people who could lose their employer-based health insurance during the pandemic, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Common Dreams
June 26, 2020