The coronavirus pandemic, and the history-making rise in unemployment, has impacted millions of Americans. But among the worst hit by the economic fallout are black women, according to data from Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg’s nonprofit, Lean In, which is backed up by a new study from left-leaning think tank Economic Policy Institute.
Nearly a third of black women are employed in service jobs compared with just one-fifth of white women, according to Nina Banks, associate professor of economics at Bucknell University. This is due to decades of discrimination, Banks writes for the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit.
Business Insider
June 2, 2020
“We need to recognize that unless we are OK with black and brown families always bearing the burden of these sorts of things, we need to address the underlying disparities,” said Valerie Wilson, an economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute.
The New York Times
June 2, 2020
The “Just Economy” proposal is a grab bag of progressive initiatives, based in part on Green New Deal and the Red Deal political platforms, that have been tried around the country, according to Freeman. The Economic Policy Institute reports that 46 cities across the United States have set minimum wage rates. (Freeman doesn’t suggest a rate in her proposal, she simply wants the city to have the authority to regulate the wage.) The income tax idea comes from Portland, Oregon, where voters just passed a 1% tax on individuals earning $125,000 or more and couples making $200,000 or more. The money will support programs for homeless residents. The just cause firing provision is from an ordinance setting restrictions on Philadelphia parking garage owners. Participatory budgeting was first tried in Chicago and has spread to several cities in the South.
VTDigger
June 2, 2020
Infant child care costs Wisconsin families more than $1,000 a month on average, according to the Economic Policy Institute. Yet early childhood teachers make an average of $10.33 an hourin the state, despite being more educated on average than the typical Wisconsin worker.
Urban Milwaukee
June 2, 2020
The Black backs that white people stepped on to get ahead for all these years makes it impossible for the community to rise to the top without help. In 2019, the Economic Policy Institute established that Black workers are paid roughly 15 percent less than white workers. The median household income for Black American households is $40,000 per year, and the median household income for white American households is nearly twice that: $70,000.
The Independent
June 2, 2020
“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.
AP News
June 2, 2020
During a press call organized by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Mark Zandi, Glenn Hubbard, Jason Furman and Gbega Ajilore and EPI’s own Josh Bivens said there was no logical reason for the federal government to deny much-needed aid to states, cities and towns. Without such aid, they would be forced to continue slashing essential public services that are now, as a result of the coronavirus pandemic, in even greater demand.
AFSCME
June 2, 2020
“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
Black workers make up about 1 in 9 workers in the United States and 1 in 6 front-line industry workers, according to a report released Monday by the Economic Policy Institute. Black workers are disproportionately represented in grocery stores, convenience and drug stores, public transit, health care, child care, and the social services sector, the report found.
The Hill
June 2, 2020