Media clips

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• Coronavirus boosts U.S. layoffs; job openings fall

  “Latest JOLTS data further illustrates the catastrophic COVID-19 labor market,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington.

  Reuters May 19, 2020
• 100% of H-1B Employers Offer Average Market Wages—78% Offer More

  The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) released a report last week that purports to show that “H-1B employers undercut local wages.” Employers use the H-1B program to hire temporary foreign workers in specialty occupations. EPI writes, “By setting two of the four wage levels below the median—and thereby not requiring that firms pay market wages to H-1B workers—the DOL [Department of Labor] has in effect made wage arbitrage a feature of the H-1B program.” This post explains why this is mistaken.

  [critique of report]

  CATO Institute May 18, 2020
• COVID-19 Calls for Strong Federal Response to Address Massive Unemployment

  In a discussion with Heidi Shierholz, senior economist and policy director at the Economic Policy Institute, Vox explains the closure of businesses does not inevitably mean soaring unemployment. There are a variety of policies we could implement to weather the crisis.

  Shierholz explains that up until the Great Depression, you were pretty much on your own if you lost your job or couldn’t find employment. This changed during the 1930s. With help from the federal government, states held back a portion of every worker’s paycheck to contribute to an unemployment fund. These funds were available for workers to tap into if they were temporarily laid off or lost their jobs.

  Shierholz goes on to detail how our unemployment system works, provided there are not too many people who lose employment at the same time, the very situation we currently face. When businesses closed down, millions of workers were laid off in just a few weeks, faster than any time in our history. Across the country, unemployment offices have been unable to handle the influx of new requests.

  Nonprofit Quarterly May 18, 2020
• APHA welcomes essential public health funding, support in COVID-19 bill

  Nearly 1.5 million people have been infected with COVID-19 in the U.S., leading to more than 87,000 deaths. In addition, an estimated 16.2 million workers have lost employer-provided health insurance, according to the Economic Policy Institute. To help address that problem, the HEROES Act would create a two-month open enrollment period through the Affordable Care Act’s federal exchange so people who are unemployed — for any reason — can purchase health insurance coverage.

  News Wise May 18, 2020
• US: A Country Rooted in Unfairness

  The distribution of these benefits has not been a smooth process. One study by analysts at the Economic Policy Institute, for instance, found only half of potential eligible workers are receiving unemployment benefits.

  The Globalist May 18, 2020
• Letter: Medical resources not shared equally

  Last month the Economic Policy Institute analyzed ventilator rationing policies and guidelines from 30 states. All but five took into account factors that disfavored those with disabilities: “patients’ expected lifespan; need for resources, such as home oxygen; or specific diagnoses, such as dementia. Some even permitted hospitals to take ventilators away from patients who use them as breathing aids in everyday life and give them to other patients.”

  Bennington Banner May 18, 2020
• Sanders, Gillibrand, Booker, Warren, Markey, Merkley, Harris Introduce Emergency Health Care Guarantee Act

  Sanders’ bill enjoys the endorsement of 32 national organizations and unions including the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, National Nurses United, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America; Center for Popular Democracy, Indivisible, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), MoveOn.Org, National Domestic Workers Alliance, People’s Action, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Public Citizen, Social Security Works, Sunrise Movement, United We Dream, Working Families Party, Business for Medicare for All, Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute, Democracy for America, Democratic Socialists of America, Economic Opportunity Institute, Economic Policy Institute, Faith Action Network, Healthcare-NOW, Hometown Action, Jane Addams Senior Center, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, Legal Voice, Medicare for All Now, Partners for Dignity & Rights, Presente.org, and Progressive Democrats of America.

  Sen. Bernie Sanders May 18, 2020
• Harris, Sanders, Gillibrand, Booker, Warren, Markey, Merkley Introduce Emergency Health Care Guarantee Act

  The bill enjoys the endorsement of 32 national organizations and unions including the Association of Flight Attendants-CWA, International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, National Nurses United, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), United Electrical Radio and Machine Workers of America; Center for Popular Democracy, Indivisible, League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), MoveOn.Org, National Domestic Workers Alliance, People’s Action, Progressive Change Campaign Committee, Public Citizen, Social Security Works, Sunrise Movement, United We Dream, Working Families Party, Business for Medicare for All, Debs-Jones-Douglass Institute, Democracy for America, Democratic Socialists of America, Economic Opportunity Institute, Economic Policy Institute, Faith Action Network, Healthcare-NOW, Hometown Action, Jane Addams Senior Center, Labor Campaign for Single Payer, Legal Voice, Medicare for All Now, Partners for Dignity & Rights, Presente.org, and Progressive Democrats of America.

  Sen. Kamala Harris May 18, 2020
• Study finds 44% of U.S. unemployment applicants have been denied or are still waiting

  According to research from the Economic Policy Institute released on April 28th, for every 10 people who said they successfully filed for unemployment benefits during the previous four weeks, three to four additional people tried to apply but could not get through the system to make a claim.

  EPI researchers also found that two additional people did not try to apply because it was too difficult to do so.

  “About half of potential UI applicants are actually receiving benefits,” reads EPI’s report.

  NBC News May 18, 2020
• Tackle the financial burden of Covid-19 with patient-tailored payment plans

  Many times a job loss comes with the loss of employer healthcare coverage. According to the Commonwealth Fund, about half of the U.S. population is covered by employer health insurance plans. In fact since the devastating impact of Covid-19 began, the Economic Policy Institute expects an estimated 12.7 million workers to no longer have employer-provided health insurance.

  MedCity News May 18, 2020