A blog earlier this week from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that state and local governments could need as much as $1 trillion in federal aid by the end of next year to keep them afloat and serving their constituents.
Additionally, with unemployment forecast to remain quite elevated – even in double digits – by the end of 2021, federal aid should continue so long as economic conditions warrant, and not be set by arbitrary timelines, EPI noted.
Teamsters
May 19, 2020
Presenting two projections from early March, Rupert reported that, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), Americans would lose 19.8 million jobs by the end of June 2020. In contrast, the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis believed that there would be 47 million jobs lost. This projected range of unemployment, according to Rupert, averages to somewhere between 10 to 40% — not sufficient to predict the future of the economy.
Daily Nexus
May 19, 2020
However, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) estimates that figure is far lower than the true number of Americans out of work. Nearly 14 million additional people could have filed if unemployment processes were easier, EPI calculates.
Kitsap Daily News
May 19, 2020
A study by the Economic Policy Institute shows that 16% (one in six Latinos) have jobs where they can work from home.
ABC 8 News
May 19, 2020
“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
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
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
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
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
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