Wages Grew At 3.2% Year Over Year In July, ‘Well Above The Rate Of Inflation’ And Wages Have Increased The Most For Those Making $12-$14 And Hour.’The average hourly wage increased 3.2 percent in the past year, the Labor Department reported, which is well above the rate of inflation, though below the level of wage growth that was seen at the end of the 1990s boom. Wage gains have been strongest, so far this year, for workers earning $12 to $14 an hour and those at the top end of the pay scale who earn more than $60 an hour, according to a new analysis from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. ‘If you don’t like your job, this is a golden age to find a new one,’ said Ian Siegel, chief executive of ZipRecruiter.’ ( The Washington Post , 8/2/19)
Public
August 12, 2019
Neal has refused to hold oversight hearings that could demonstrate the fraudulence of the claims of the Republican Tax Act, except for one single day, March 27, where the witnesses were mostly academic economists and tax experts (though it did include CWA President Chris Shelton and EPI economist Elise Gould). A progressive chair would have held several rounds of investigative hearings on legal corporate larceny, laying out the case for a repeal. Other areas of inquiry, from the shocking reduction in IRS audits of the rich to offshore tax evasion and rampant tax dodging by estate planners, have been ignored.
The American Prospect
August 12, 2019
On Second Thought hears from Lee Formwalt, a former professor at Albany State University and the author of Looking Back, Moving Forward; Charise Stephens, CEO at Georgia Wellness and Fitness Festival and participant of GPB’s Macon Conversations series; and Richard Rothstein, fellow of the Economic Policy Institute and author of The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How our Government Segregated America.
GPB Radio News
August 12, 2019
According to the Economic Policy Institute, half of American families have zero or nearly-zero retirement account savings. I recently featured a post from my friend Brian at Debt Discipline, who shared that he used to work 75 hours per week — and he did not save any of it. Brian’s story has a happy ending, but working hard yet not saving is the clear pattern in our society.
Semi-Retire Plan
August 12, 2019
But without a reasonable national standard, more people will be living in poverty, even while employed, says Heidi Shierholz, leader of the Economic Policy Institute’s policy team and the former chief economist to the Labor secretary during the Obama administration. “It’s just that basically, there is no county in the United States where somebody can make it month to month” on minimum wage now – even an individual without children, she says.
While the public impression of a minimum wage employee might be a teenager working at a fast-food restaurant, Shierholz says, many older adults work for the minimum as well. There are more people 55 and older earning minimum wage than those 19 or younger, she notes, and the average age of a minimum-wage employee is 35.
US News
August 12, 2019
“Gov. Sununu’s veto displays a misinformed and wrongheaded approach to pressing economic issues in New Hampshire. In a statement he released explaining his veto, he contends that only a minute number of workers would have been affected by a higher wage. According to estimates by the Economic Policy Institute, however, approximately 15 percent of workers would have benefitted from a $12 by 2022 minimum wage
NELP
August 12, 2019
24/7 Wall St. used the Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator to identify the most expensive place in every state. We ranked counties based on the estimated monthly costs for a single adult to maintain a modest yet adequate standard of living.
MSN
August 12, 2019
Many economic development experts – including the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit that studies economic issues for low- to middle-income populations — have concluded that “public education, including the built infrastructure to support it, is key to the economic prosperity of our communities and nation.”
The Twin-City News
August 12, 2019
How acute nationally is the problem this school year? It’s hard to say with certainty. Earlier this year, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute said in a report that the shortage is “real, large and growing, and worse than we thought.” “When indicators of teacher quality (certification, relevant training, experience, etc.) are taken into account, the shortage is even more acute than currently estimated, with high-poverty schools suffering the most from the shortage of credentialed teachers,” the report said.
NELP
August 12, 2019
A recent study from the Economic Policy Institute showed that US teachers are paid a lot less than other college graduates, with weekly wages more than 20% lower than non-teaching professions.
RTÉ
August 12, 2019