The compensation gap between public school teachers and other college graduates is wider now than it was 20 years ago. A report released Wednesday from the Economic Policy Institute shows average weekly wages of public school teachers fell $27 from 1996 to 2017. The same figure for other college graduates went up $137. The wages were adjusted for inflation. (whole story)
WYFF
September 7, 2018
The trade war has escalated in recent months, with a number of separate announcements of tariffs on various goods. However, the tariffs imposed so far affect only a “narrow sliver” of the U.S. economy, according to Thea Lee, president of the Economic Policy Institute. They affect only 0.1 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product and the effect may rise to 0.8 percent at most, if all proposed tariffs are implemented, Lee said in her testimony. “Tariffs, used strategically, can be an important and useful tool,” she argued, adding that steel tariffs are useful in addressing a problem of global excess capacity.
The Epoch Times
September 7, 2018
Are teachers in the U.S. paid enough? It sure doesn’t look that way: They’re crowdfunding and panhandling to fund school supplies, going on strike in state after state, and leaving the profession entirely (not one state had enough teachers to serve all its students at the start of the 2017-2018 school year). But critics of efforts to boost teacher wages often point out that educators enjoy benefits that should balance out their lower take-home pay. Teachers, after all, enjoy hefty retirement plans, health and life insurance, and payroll taxes. (And they take three months off each summer!) But according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute, teacher pay is indeed lower than ever, and boosted benefits aren’t enough to balance out ebbing salaries. In many cases, stable or slightly improved benefits are being offered instead of raises—“making benefits a larger share of the overall compensation package for teachers than for other professionals,” the report reads, but in the process driving down wages even more. (whole story)
CityLab
September 6, 2018
The wage gap between teachers and comparable professionals has grown over time, with teachers now earning 18.7 percent less than other college-educated workers, according to a new analysis. A new paper published by the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank supported by labor unions, found that the “teacher wage penalty” has increased significantly—teachers earned just 1.8 percent less than comparable workers in 1994. And although teachers do receive better benefits packages than their college-educated peers, those benefits only mitigate part of the gap: Including benefits, teachers face an 11 percent compensation penalty. (whole story)
Education Week
September 6, 2018
Teachers are making less today than they did more than 20 years ago and their wages have fallen relative to comparable workers, according to a new research paper by the labor-friendly Economic Policy Institute. When adjusting for inflation, teacher pay has decreased by $27 a week since 1996, falling from $1,164 weekly to $1,137 in 2017. Meanwhile, the study found, other college graduates’ average weekly wages have increased from $1,339 to $1,476 over the same time period. (whole story)
The Houston Chronicle
September 6, 2018
When researchers at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) looked deeper at these trends, they found that female, senior teachers had been most affected by declining wages. In 1996, teachers in this group earned 8% more than similarly qualified females in other professions. By 2015, that had become a wage penalty, as female, senior teachers earned 14% less than their peers in other jobs. The institute flags this as a particular concern given that these employees are “some of the most experienced in the profession” and are having to delay retirement as a result of falling wages. (EPI research/charts cited throughout)
The Guardian
September 6, 2018
Educators and students across the country have headed back to school. But a new study finds more and more teachers are struggling as the gap widens between what they’re paid and what they could be making in other lines of work. A report out today from the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute shows, on average, U.S. teachers make about 24 percent less than professionals with similar levels of education who work in other fields. The report shows the pay gap began growing in late 1990s as wages in other labor markets were increasing, but education wasn’t keeping up. (whole story)
WXPR
September 6, 2018
Wages and compensation for public school teachers in the U.S. have eroded over the past two decades relative to other comparable professions, according to new research. The liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute released a paper on the topic on Wednesday, noting that teacher pay took center stage earlier this year in strikes by educators in states including West Virginia, Oklahoma and Arizona. (whole story)
Route Fifty
September 6, 2018
Arizona teachers make 36 percent less than comparable workers in other professions, according to the Economic Policy Institute. It’s the largest teacher-pay gap in the nation. In other words, if you’re willing to pay for four (or six or eight) years of college in Arizona, you’ll probably make a lot more doing anything else other than teaching. (whole opinion)
Arizona Republic
September 6, 2018
A new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that the gap between wages for teachers and wages for other college graduates has grown to its highest-ever levels. According to the report, wages for American teachers are now 18.7 percent below the wages of their college-educated peers in other industries. This teacher wage penalty has grown substantially: the teacher wage penalty was just 1.8 percent in 1994, but has since grown to a record 18.7 percent in 2017. (whole post)
The Progressive Pulse
September 6, 2018