November 12, 2019
The bottom line is that, as Monique Morrissey at the Economic Policy Institute has written: “The biggest problem with the tax system is that it encourages sheltering not saving.” This is not a call to eliminate federal help. There remains a role for tax incentives in increasing retirement savings, especially for low- and middle-income households. But I am calling for a major overall, specifically a refundable retirement credit.
Forbes
November 12, 2019
Despite these contributions to Boston’s population and economy, Latinx residents in Boston and the state fare worse than their white counterparts on almost every metric, from household income and homeownership, to education and access to leadership roles. Indeed, in early 2018, Massachusetts was ranked the worst state in the country by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank, for economic and social disparities between white and Latinx residents.
WBUR
November 12, 2019
Why it matters: Previously a rare clause, companies have recently been instituting noncompete agreements into the contracts of “janitors, receptionists, customer service workers, fledgling journalists, even employees of a day care center,” according to analysis from the Economic Policy Institute.
Axios
November 12, 2019
Another consideration is that the CBO’s estimated net poverty effect is likely overstated because the model uses the official poverty rate, which does not consider government benefits as income. In this case, the official poverty measure not only overstates the baseline poverty level before implementing a $15 minimum wage, it also overstates the poverty-reducing effects of this measure. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that “Among workers in the bottom three wage deciles, every $1 increase in hourly wages reduces the likelihood of receiving means-tested public assistance by 3.1 percentage points.” Thus, even as minimum-wage workers receive a pay raise, many will lose access to means-tested benefits. This would make the anti-poverty implications of a $15 federal minimum wage look even worse.
AEI
November 12, 2019
Economist Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute, in Washington, D.C., said, “Black men’s June 2019 unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since the early 1970s. However, the lower unemployment rate was accompanied by a decrease in the black labor force participation rate. That means the decline isn’t due to black men finding jobs, but rather a function of them leaving the labor force.”
Los Angeles Wave Newspapers
November 12, 2019
The term “top 1%” gets thrown around a lot in the news, but who exactly makes the cut? Estelle Sommeiller and Mark Price of the Economic Policy Institute broke it down at the state level in this map.
Considerable
November 12, 2019
Bloomberg
November 12, 2019
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that about two-thirds of California employers require their employees to arbitrate employment-related disputes, giving up the right to submit those claims to a judge or jury.
The San Diego Union-Tribune
November 12, 2019
The Illinois State Board of Education recently reported that there were more than 1,400 unfilled teaching positions in 2018, and projected that at least 20,000 more educators will be needed by 2020. Nationally it’s no better, with the Economic Policy Institute forecasting a national teacher shortage of at least 200,000 by 2025. The crisis is real, and growing.
Forbes
November 12, 2019