Media clips
-
Economic inequality cannot be cured by education because, as we discussed earlier, blacks are paid less at every educational level. In fact, the Economic Policy Institute says that wealth and pay disparity increases as education increases. The notion that black people don’t study hard enough, pay attention in school or value learning is a fallacy perpetuated by white supremacy to salve the pain that they created the wealth disparity and perpetuate it intentionally.
The Root July 2, 2019 -
According to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute of employment statistics and population data, the unemployment rate for white workers in South Carolina during the first quarter of this year was less than the statewide average, about 2.4 percent. The jobless rate for black residents was about double that at 5 percent.
That’s reflective of figures seen across the country, said Valerie Wilson, the director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Program on Race, Ethnicity, and the Economy. Black workers had unemployment rates at least twice that of white workers in 16 states and the District of Columbia during the first quarter of 2019.
The Post and Courier July 2, 2019 -
On What’d You Miss This Week, Facebook’s Head of Calibra David Marcus joined to discuss why the social media company is launching the cryptocurrency Libra and the subsequent regulatory pushback. Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana, who sits on the Banking Committee, came on to talk about why he is skeptical of Libra and President Trump’s renewed attacks on Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. Skanda Amarnath, Director of Research & Analysis at Employ America, joined to explain why he thinks the Federal Reserve can learn a lot from Canada. Then Josh Bivens, Director of Research & Policy at the Economic Policy Institute, came on to talk about Sen. Bernie Sanders’ plan to wipe out $1.6 trillion of student debt.
Bloomberg July 2, 2019 -
New research from the Economic Policy Institute offers solid evidence on high school grads’ experience over the past 20 years. Using the Current Population Survey, EPI studied the experience of recent high school grads, aged 18 to 21. The good news is that your job prospects are better now than they were for grads during the Great Recession of 2007-9. But not as good as they were for those who graduated in 2000. A troubling development is the rise of underemployment: Not being able to find full-time work. And black workers face a widening gap with others.
Herald Review July 2, 2019 -
The Economic Policy Institute points to reasons that hotels are clustered away from residential areas, and finds a “strong possibility that (Airbnb) units are indeed imposing large costs on neighbors.” According to the Williams College Department of Economics, there are “mechanisms that may cause property values to decrease” and “might make living near concentrations of Airbnb units unpleasant.” Realtors are debating whether proximity to commercialized homes should be added to disclosure forms.
Cape Cod Times July 2, 2019 -
But June 17 marked the longest period of stagnation in the history of the federal minimum wage. It hasn’t been raised since 2009 — and that neglect has created real economic hardship for low-wage workers. When the minimum wage doesn’t keep pace with inflation, the purchasing power of that wage shrinks; by failing to act, the federal government has essentially cut real wages for these workers. In February, economist Ben Zipperer of the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute testified before Congress that workers who make “the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour are, after adjusting for inflation, paid 29 percent less than their counterparts 50 years ago.” For workers, then, wage hikes aren’t about moral posturing but about the living more dignified lives, and now they have even more proof that an increase in the minimum wage makes them materially more secure. On Tuesday, economists at the University of California at Berkeley’s Institute for Research on Labor and Employment released a new study that directly undercuts common conservative arguments against a higher minimum wage: Policies that raise minimum wages don’t appear to cause significant job loss. In fact, they reduce poverty.
NY Mag July 2, 2019 -
Last week, Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), speaking at an event on income inequality hosted by the Economic Policy Institute, spoke in favor of making the tax code much more progressive. Arguing against a “dynastic economy based on existing wealth,” he promised to introduce a surtax bill later this summer.
Tax Foundation July 2, 2019 -
But that tells only part of the story. Teachers’ salaries in the United States vary greatly from state to state, according to the National Center for Educational Statistics. In 2017, the blended national average of elementary and secondary teacher salaries was $58,950, but as high as $79,637 in New York and as low as $42,668 in South Dakota and $42,925 in Mississippi. The Economic Policy Institute noted that professionals with comparable education and skills earn 19 percent more than do the country’s educators. The result of relatively poor pay is declining enrollment in teachers’ colleges, and a high turnover among those employed, both of which are, in turn, creating worrisome teacher shortages in poor areas.
Otras Voces en Educación July 2, 2019 -
Because of racial residential segregation, low-income African Americans are much less likely to be afforded the opportunity to attend socioeconomically integrated schools—where low-income students perform as much as two grade levels higher than low-income students in high-poverty schools. According to a 2017 analysis by Emma García of the Economic Policy Institute, less than one in five poor black children had access to a predominantly middle-class school, compared to almost half of poor white children.
The American Prospect July 2, 2019 -
The Economic Policy Institute think tank reports that teachers make 19% less than people with similar educations. When benefits are included, the figure is 11%. The authors of the study, EPI Distinguished Fellow Lawrence Mishel and UC Berkeley Economist and EPI Research Associate Sylvia Allegretto, looked at the potential crisis of the pay gap as its effects the ability to build a solid teacher workforce. They were quoted as saying, “Deteriorating teacher pay is not just a fairness issue. Eliminating the teacher pay penalty is crucial to building the teacher workforce we need. In order to recruit and retain talented teachers, school districts need to address the inadequacy of teacher pay.”
24/7 Wall St. July 2, 2019