Keynes famously wrote, “When the facts change, I change my mind. What do you do?” But this alibi doesn’t excuse Summers, because he ignored facts that were palpable decades ago. Summers’s recent heresies as a dissenter from the church of corporate market worship seem more cases of political expediency than intellectual conversion. Research by the Economic Policy Institute has been linking union bashing, declining worker power, and income inequality since its founding in 1986. It must be satisfying for EPI’s former president and chief economist Larry Mishel for Summers to admit he was right all along. But that doesn’t make Summers a trustworthy ally.
The American Prospect
July 13, 2020
Showdown coming soon: Dems versus Republicans over extending enhanced unemployment benefits past July 31. Including gig workers and freelancers, another 2.3 million filed for unemployment benefits it was announced last week. So the pressure is on. “Letting the extra $600 expire would be a disaster for (unemployment insurance) recipients, who would have to drastically cut their spending, and for the economy, which is being held afloat by this spending,” says Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
Newsweek
July 13, 2020
So, what does all this have to do with your business? Systemic racism is still doing extreme harm to my community. But not discussed nearly enough is what it’s doing to this country overall. It’s a big factor in income inequality, which is suppressing growth in demand. The nonprofit, nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute warns that “inequality-induced drag on demand translates directly to slower economic growth overall.”
Arkansas Business
July 13, 2020
The data show lower-income people at higher risk of hospitalization for a variety of reasons. Minorities are more likely than whites to be employed in essential jobs and have less ability to telecommute or be paid time off when sick, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. In general, they have higher levels of pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, putting them at greater risk of severe coronavirus infection, Dr. Anthony Fauci has said in recent interviews.
The Wall Street Journal
July 13, 2020
According to an analysis conducted by the Economic Policy Institute, 10.7 percent of the U.S. workforce has been permanently laid off from their jobs prior to the coronavirus pandemic. Millions of other workers may still return to their jobs but remain furloughed, as several industries still continue to be shut down or are operating at reduced capacity. Depending on the state workers live in, those still relying on unemployment will experience a cut in benefits ranging from 50 to 85 percent.
Failure to extend the CARES Act unemployment benefits could cost 5.1 million jobs in the U.S., according to EPI. Around 24.5 million Americans still remain officially unemployed or out of work due to the coronavirus and rely on those benefits for income. If they have less to spend, that could roll back purchases throughout the country and further depress an already reeling economy.
The American Prospect
July 13, 2020
About 30% of Unfair Labor Practice (ULP) charges analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) were about employer improper surveillance, harassment or threats against workers. Some 30% involved allegations of illegal discipline, with one in five elections affected by charges of illegally firing workers for supporting unionization.
The Register-Mail
July 13, 2020
The economists pushed for a number of other measures, including extended unemployment benefits, enhanced SNAP benefits, additional child care funding and more. According to the Economic Policy Institute, approximately 11% of the workforce in America is unemployed and unlikely to get back their previous job in the near future.
heavy.com
July 13, 2020
In framing a recent webinar on the topic, the Economic Policy Institute said the “police murders of Black people, and the demonstrations against systemic racism that followed, placed a spotlight on the nation’s long history of anti-Blackness.”
Women's Wear Daily
July 13, 2020
As the virus has raged longer than first expected, some companies are concluding that they just don’t need as many workers as they did in February, said Heidi Shierholz, former chief economist at the Labor Department. “These are more of a normal recession layoff. It definitely has a more permanent feel to it,” said Shierholz, now with the Economic Policy Institute.
The Washington Post
July 13, 2020
That’s according to the Economic Policy Institute, an independent, nonprofit think tank that researches the impact of economic trends and policies on working people. The actual rate of May’s unemployment was a staggering 19.7%. What the official 21 million worker employment rate fails to include are the 4.9 million furloughed workers (misclassified as “employed, not at work”) and the 6.6 million who have dropped out of the labor force as a result of the virus. Add it all up and it means 32.5 million people are jobless—nearly one in five workers.
Globe St.
July 10, 2020