Media clips

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• US Racial Inequality: Bank Of America Pledges $1 Billion To Help Communities Hurt By Coronavirus

  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported that African-American workers and their families have been particularly hit hard by the pandemic.

  “Black workers and their families were economically insecure before the pandemic tore through the United States,” a report from EPI on Monday said. “The pandemic and related job losses have been especially devastating for black households because they have historically suffered from higher unemployment rates, lower wages, lower incomes, and much less savings to fall back on, as well as significantly higher poverty rates than their white counterparts.”

  International Business Times June 3, 2020
• Here’s How State, Local Funding Shortfalls Could Affect GDP

  “State and local governments desperately need financial support,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics, as part of a bipartisan conference call sponsored by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) on the topic.

  Think Advisor June 3, 2020
• Airbnb struggles amid travel downturn

  Josh Bivens is author of a report by the Economic Policy Institute, which explores the upward pressure on local rental costs a surge in Airbnb properties can cause.

  BBC News June 3, 2020
• Black Kos, Tuesday’s Chile. We’ll be running out of wall space soon.

  A new report from the Economic Policy Institute delves into the myriad ways racial and economic inequality have exacerbated the impact of the coronavirus crisis on black communities.

  Daily Kos June 3, 2020
• More than words? Racial unrest raises questions for Corporate America

  In 2018, the average income for a white household in the US was $70,642, compared with $41,692 for African American families, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank.

  Agence France Press (AFP) June 3, 2020
• Regional: The Pandemic’s Impact On Immigration Policy

  In 2018, the budget for labor standards enforcement was only $2 billion, according to an analysis by Daniel Costa with the Economic Policy Institute.

  In the report, Costa concludes: “A comparative analysis of 2018 federal budget data reveals that detaining, deporting and prosecuting migrants, and keeping them from entering the country, is the top law enforcement priority of the United States – but protecting workers in the U.S. labor market and ensuring that their workplaces are safe and that they get paid for every cent they earn is barely an afterthought.”

  SF Gate June 3, 2020
• Economy in recession? Depression? A blip? All of the above — or none?

  Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said she can “think of only one word” to describe the current economy: “devastation.”

  “I try to come up with another word, but ‘devastation’ — the loss to the economy and jobs and the loss to the people,” Gould said, “and the amount of pain that is causing to people.”

  Catholic News Service June 3, 2020
• D.C. Ranks in Bottom Quintile of New Save the Children Childhood Report

  And while D.C. is renowned for its universal pre-K program, which began in 2009, raising children in D.C. is still incredibly difficult for families, with a top barrier being the cost of childcare. According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average annual cost of infant care in D.C is $24,243—or $2,020 per month.

  Washington City Paper June 3, 2020
• Congress confronts dual crises of protests, virus outbreak

  “This is about as close to a no-brainer that you could do as possible,” Glenn Hubbard, an economist at Columbia University and a former economic adviser to President George W. Bush, said on the conference call organized by the liberal Economic Policy Institute.

  Associated Press June 2, 2020
• George Floyd: America’s racial inequality in numbers

  SOURCES: Pew Research Center; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC); The Economic Policy Institute; APM Research Lab; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

  Thomson Reuters Foundation News June 2, 2020