Media clips

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• Extending lockdowns is short-sighted

  This week, the number of jobless claims increased by 3.84 million, bringing the unemployment tally to a whopping 30.3 million, which experts say is an undercount. “The Economic Policy Institute earlier this week estimated that the current claims level probably undercounts by as much as 12 million those who are eligible for benefits but not getting them due to the inability to file or other roadblocks,” reports CNBC.

  The Galesburg Register-Mail May 5, 2020
• Don’t Call Essential Workers Heroes – Have Empathy Instead

  In the article “Social Distancing is a Privilege” by Charles M. Blow, Blow makes the point that, despite how the spread of COVID-19 is being portrayed in the news, poor and working-class Americans are violating shelter in place orders out of necessity. He states that the reason for this is being due to inability not an unwillingness to practice social distancing. Citing statistics from 2 major American cities he points out a statistical correlation between deaths from the virus and race. Though it’s addressed in passing Blow asserts an intersection at race and poverty in America. Blow also notes that in an article by the Economic Policy Institute only 9.2% of workers in the lowest quartile can work from home compared to 61.5% of those in the highest quartile. Another important factor in this, he says is not having access to private transportation which, like social distancing, is a luxury. Blow also believes there is a lack of empathy for those who have to work during shelter in place which stem from a greater lack of empathy towards the poor in America.

  The Arapahoe Pinnacle May 5, 2020
• COBRA Bites

  The Economic Policy Institute estimates that over 12.7 million workers lost employer-provided health insurance as of April 30, and that number is sure to rise.

  The American Prospect May 5, 2020
• A Look at America’s ‘Broken Retirement System’

  “We’ve probably peaked in terms of retirement security — and it’s not great,” Monique Morrisey of the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute tells Englund. “And now it’s all downhill. Unless something changes, we’re going to start seeing much more hardship.”

  The Fiscal Times May 5, 2020
• How to fix the retirement system

  And the people who benefit from 401(k)s most are those who are shielding assets from taxation, said Dan Doonan, head of the National Institute on Retirement Security. Despite limits on contributions, 401(k)s and similar accounts actually increase wealth disparities, the Economic Policy Institute found. “We give the biggest benefit to people who need it the least,” said Monique Morrissey of EPI.

  The Washington Post May 5, 2020
• A Cinco De Mayo virtual concert to aid farmworkers has a star-studded Latino lineup

  The Economic Policy Institute, a think tank dedicated to promoting the interests of workers in economic policy debates, recommends that farm employers “provide adequate safety equipment” such as masks and gloves as well as “ways to disinfect their hands, tools, clothing and machinery.”

  CNBC May 5, 2020
• OPINION: Workers Memorial Day highlights Secretary of Labor Scalia’s failure to protect workers during the coronavirus crisis

  Workers Memorial Day on April 28, was a day observed around the world to remember those workers killed or injured on the job and to fight for strong safety and health protections for all workers. This fight has never been more critical. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed a reality many workers have long confronted — workers are routinely forced to work in unsafe conditions, risking their health and safety for a job.

  St. Louis/Southern Illinois Labor Tribune May 5, 2020
• What happens to your health insurance if you lose your job?

  More than 50 percent of Americans get their health insurance through their employer, and with some experts warning that unemployment could peak at 47 million, millions of Americans could lose their coverage as a result of the virus outbreak. A recent analysis by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute forecast that 3.5 million workers lost their insurance in just the last two weeks of March.

  Fox Business May 5, 2020
• The catastrophic unemployment crisis

  The COVID-19 crisis has led to mass layoffs, putting millions out of work in a country where roughly 80 percent of workers lived paycheck to paycheck even prior to the pandemic. As of May 1, 30 million unemployment claims had been filed, yet the real number of unemployed is likely to be twice that according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute.

  Mundo Obrero Workers World May 5, 2020
• New jobless claims fall, but unemployment rolls keep growing

  “It’s starting to seem like the new normal,” said Julia Wolfe, an analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. “But I think it’s important to ground ourselves in that this is still a huge shock to a lot of workers and their families and also represents a huge strain on the unemployment insurance system.”

  “We are still seeing huge amounts of people continuing to be laid off,” Wolfe said. “It’s not like we’ve plateaued or leveled out and no more workers are being laid off, they’re just continuing their laid-off status.”

  But as initial claims decline, the number of people continuing to get unemployment assistance will rise or stay steady until the economy can recover, Wolfe said.

  “As we see these initial claims, they’re going to be turning into continued claims and very few of those continued claims are going to drop off, because if you’re a restaurant worker who is laid off from your job you can’t go to another restaurant because they’re closed as well,” she said.

  AZ Big Media May 5, 2020