Elise Gould and Hilary Wething at the Economic Policy Institute have put together a must-read article that you should bookmark. It’s titled “Wage Suppression in 10 Charts,” and it helps to dimensionalize the cost that Americans have paid out of their paychecks for fifty years of trickle-down policies that invest in the wealthy and powerful corporations.
I would argue that the most important chart in this series is the first one, which directly shows the cost that typical American workers are paying out of their paychecks: In 2022, incomes had shrunk by $30,676 annually when compared to what incomes would be, had inequality stayed constant from the late 1970s. EPI cleverly calls this $30,000 payment an “inequality tax.”
The Pitch from Civic Ventures
September 28, 2026
Research has also found that physical work can become an obstacle to remaining employed into a person’s 60s. An Economic Policy Institute and Schwartz Center analysis found that 31.6 percent of workers ages 55 to 64 were in physically demanding jobs, rising to 41.1 percent among those without a college degree.
Newsweek
September 28, 2026
And what did these laws accelerate? Wisconsin’s union membership collapsed from 17.8% in 2000 to 6.4% today. Mix calls this “freedom to choose,” but skips the wage data: Right-to-work states pay workers 6.7% less on average, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Wisconsin State Journal
September 28, 2026
Sources
MINIMUM WAGE Economic Policy Institute, “The value of the federal minimum wage is at its lowest point in 66 years,” 2022.
The EPI Family Budget Calculator, http://epi.org/resources/budget/
Politizane (YouTube)
September 28, 2026
Studies by the Economic Policy Institute show that the class of 2026 is graduating into a labor market that has “notably weakened” in the past two years.
NOLA.com
September 28, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that it takes $122,000 for a family of two adults and two children to live in Beaufort County. It estimates it costs a single adult about $64,000 to live here. That is a problem for a new teacher this year who is getting paid $62,587, especially when EPI estimates housing will take $19,000 of that salary.
The Island News (SC)
September 28, 2026
Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, said slower wage growth, along with generational pressures like …[paywall].
Minnesota Star Tribune
September 28, 2026
Collective bargaining is associated with higher educator pay. NEA data and Economic Policy Institute research show teachers in states with bargaining rights earn substantially more—on the order of 20–26 percent in some comparisons—than those without.
Foster Folly News (FL)
September 28, 2026
According to a study by the Economic Policy Institute, the average cost of childcare for an infant is over $28,000 annually across Massachusetts — equivalent to over $2,300 per month. This means infant care in Massachusetts costs over $13,000 more per year than tuition does at an in-state, four-year public college.
The Inquirer and Mirror (Massachusetts)
September 28, 2026
Instead, experts look to the Supplemental Poverty Measure (SPM) to discover what’s really squeezing family budgets.
It’s an annual, comprehensive scorecard that captures more of the resources families receive, including tax credits, SNAP and school meals. It also accounts for expenses such as childcare, medical care and work costs.
“The Supplemental Poverty Measure is a lot richer because it looks at a broader basket of goods and services,” said Ismael Cid-Martinez, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
MoneyLion
September 28, 2026