With all this interest, let me suggest the next blockbuster antihero origin story: the story of the tech skills gap denier. The skills gap denier is now a multi-headed hydra. There are journalists like Matt Yglesias: “The skills gap was a lie… a consequence of high unemployment rather than its cause. With workers plentiful, employers got choosier. Rather than investing in training workers, they demanded lots of experience and educational credentials.” There are academics like Andrew Weaver of UIUC and Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute: “no matter how you cut the data, there is no evidence of skills shortages.” And there are academics turned journalists like Paul Krugman: “By blaming workers for their own plight, the skills myth shifts attention away from the spectacle of soaring profits and bonuses.”
Forbes
November 1, 2019
- Heidi Shierholz of the Economic Policy Institute said the report reflected well on the Federal Reserve. “Today’s jobs report strongly suggests the Federal Reserve has done the right thing by lowering interest rates to help ensure that the recovery, which began more than 10 years ago, is sustained, rather than dying out before many low- and middle-income households get a chance to really feel its benefits,” she said.
MarketWatch
November 1, 2019
I’ve been reading everything from Teen Vogue to the Economic Policy Institute to understand what people are saying about economic inequality. The challenges are nuanced, but the primary concerns young people have are crystal clear—it’s all about power.
Foundation for Economic Education
November 1, 2019
The screen shot below is data from the Economic Policy Institute. They offer an interesting cost of living calculator that allows you to compare your city to other regions across the country.
Prince William Living
November 1, 2019
Economics alumna Thea Lee has been a gladiator in trade and labor policy debates for nearly 30 years. As global relationships and alliances continue to shift, she’s still ready for a fight.
ISSUU
November 1, 2019
The current strike wave is certainly not limited to teachers. About two dozen sanitation workers for Republic Services in Marshfield, Massachusetts, have been on strike since August 29. They’re demanding affordable health care and a living wage. Teamsters 25, the union that represents the employees, cites Economic Policy Institute data which shows that the workers with one child are making 40% less than the state’s living wage. Republic Services’ biggest single shareholder is billionaire Bill Gates, who makes $100 million annually off dividends from his shares. Last month, two dozen of the striking workers protested outside of a Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation gala in New York City, holding signs that read, “Bill Gates treats kids like trash.” Striking employee Bernard Egan-Mulligan told New York Daily News, “We’re here because Bill Gates is a 32% stockholder in our company. We figure our shareholders would like to know what’s going on.”
Salon
October 31, 2019
The RAs and TAs disagree with the board majority’s view of their jobs. So did the National Employment Law Project, which sounded the alarm about the NLRB majority’s scheme, as did AFT, the Jewish Labor Committee, the Economic Policy Institute, and the Service Employees. In so many words, the RAs and TAs said, “We do most of the work.”
People’s World
October 31, 2019
According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute, a correlation exists between diminished union power and stagnating wages. Indeed, the decline of union membership over the years has given rise to dramatic increases in income inequality. But there is also good news.
Amsterdam News
October 31, 2019
That’s what happened under the federal rule that’s been in place, research has shown. In 1975, over 60% of full-time salaried workers in the U.S. earned below the overtime pay threshold. By 2016, the share of workers covered had dropped to less than 7%, according to estimates from the Economic Policy Institute.
Route Fifty
October 31, 2019
And with full-time employment hard to come by, many have been pushed to take part-time jobs. According to a study on underemployment by The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), in 2018, 11.1% of young college graduates were underemployed, up from 9.4% in 2007 and 6.9% in 2000.
Motley Fool
October 31, 2019