Furthermore, many tipped workers already have little or no federal income tax liability: an estimated 37% of tipped workers earn so little that they pay no federal income tax under current law (due to the standard deduction and credits), according to an analysis by the EPI. For those workers, eliminating taxes on tips would not increase their take-home pay because they weren’t paying income tax on those earnings. (Notably, tips would presumably still be subject to payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare unless specifically exempted).
Economic Implications: Analysts across the political spectrum have raised red flags that no tax on tips is more of a political gesture than sound policy, notes the Brookings Institution. Similarly, the EPI warns that exempting tips from taxation could “harm more workers than it helps.” In summary, EPI finds such a policy would help very few workers while undermining pay increases for many more, expand the use of tipped work (a system often rife with instability and abuse), and deplete federal and state budgets while creating new avenues for tax avoidance.
Forbes
March 10, 2025
The practice of misclassifying workers as independent contractors is a pervasive trend that gives workers all the obligations of a job without the labor rights and compensation they deserve.
Previous estimates suggest 10–30 percent of employers misclassify at least some employees as independent contractors — and it costs workers and our social safety net thousands of dollars per year.
Inequality.org
March 10, 2025
Childcare costs are out of control. In 2023, a study published in the Economic Policy Institute found that in 34 U.S. states, the average cost of infant care exceeds in-state college tuition at public four-year universities.
Motherly
March 10, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, tariffs benefit domestic producers by raising the U.S. prices of foreign goods relative to comparable goods produced domestically. Domestic companies also do not have to pay tariffs on the goods they produce and sell within the country.
Entrepreneur
March 10, 2025
Millions of workers across the country regularly experience similar violations, amounting to tens of billions of dollars in illegally withheld wages every year, according to an Economic Policy Institute report.
Capital & Main
March 10, 2025
Electrical equipment, machinery and parts is one of Minnesota’s top nonagriculture export categories. Most products contain at least some foreign-made components, with many relying on Canada and Mexico, according to an Economic Policy Institute Analysis of USITC Dataweb data.
“Nothing is 100% made in America. We live in a globally integrated economy,” said Adam Hersh, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
March 10, 2025
…International Economic Emergency Powers Act, according to the Economic Policy Institute website [paywall].
Houston Chronicle
March 10, 2025
In South Dakota, there are over 10 thousand federal employees, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute. It’s unclear how many have been affected by the layoffs, but there have been cuts.
KELO
March 10, 2025
As of September 2024, there were 12.2% fewer bus drivers compared to September 2019, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Mustang News
March 10, 2025
Since 2000, Americans’ median household income “barely rose over the whole time period,” according to a report from the U.S. Treasury. Wages for the lowest 90% of earners have risen by 15% since 2000, according to the Economic Policy Institute, while hourly wages have risen around 22% over that period.
Salon
March 10, 2025