Media clips
-
Other cities, especially major hubs like Washington, D.C. and New York City, could cost parents well into the six figures to raise a family, according to a separate report by the nonprofit think tank Economic Policy Institute.
MarketWatch August 6, 2018 -
“Our Family Budget Calculator goes beyond traditional measures like the poverty line to paint a detailed picture of what families need to get by,” EPI Senior Economist Elise Gould said in a release. “The latest update provides even greater detail on how costs vary throughout the country. It is above all else a tool for policymakers to advocate for ways to raise wages and make their communities more affordable.” (whole story, Zane quoted)
New York City Patch August 6, 2018 -
Pitkin County has the highest income inequality in the state of Colorado, with the top 1 percent making 72.2 times more than the bottom 99 percent, according to a just-published report from the Economic Policy Institute, a think thank based in Washington D.C. In data from “The New Gilded Age: Income Inequality in the U.S. by State, Metropolitan Area and County,” the average income of the top 1 percent in Pitkin County was $6,620,969. The average income of the bottom 99 percent was $91,714. (whole story)
Aspen Daily News August 6, 2018 -
“Poor wage growth has persisted even as we’ve hit 4 percent unemployment, and that’s particularly true for workers in the middle,” said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank. Economists cite a number of factors, including a decline in union jobs and fewer opportunities to move up within the industry. Add to that high turnover rates and a trend toward part-time work, and the result has been a growing group of retail workers who may be making higher minimum wages but continue to feel stuck in low-paying positions. Wages for the country’s lowest-paid workers have increased 0.7 percent per year since 2007, while those in the middle — the 50th percentile — have gained 0.3 percent annually, according to an analysis of Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the Economic Policy Institute. (Also worth noting: The country’s highest-paid workers, those in the top 5 percentile, received wage increases of 1.3 percent per year during that period.)
The Washington Post August 3, 2018 -
RTW laws prohibit “fair-share fees.” A report by the Economic Policy Institute found that “unions in RTW states are the only organizations in the country that are forced to provide all benefits for free to people who opt not to pay for them,” which leads to a decline in union participation and thus unions. The decline in unions is what leads to lower wages across the board, according to Economic Policy Institute, which typically leans in favor of unions. (EPI cited throughout)
The Missouri Times August 3, 2018 -
Chances are if you’re reading this article and you work for a private company, you probably signed one too (check our interactive tool below to see if your employer has one). About half of non-unionized workers at US companies are subject to these agreements — more than double the share in the early 2000s. America’s most well-known companies, including Walmart, Starbucks, Macy’s, Uber, Google, and McDonald’s, now require all their workers, or some of them, to sign them. (Full disclosure: Vox Media does too.) The rise of mandatory arbitration has made it nearly impossible for workers to seek legal justice for wage theft, overtime violations, and job discrimination. This secretive system also has the potential to hamper the #MeToo movement. Women are coming forward, often for the first time, with stories of widespread sexual harassment at work, only to discover that they’ve been shut out of the court system because they signed an arbitration agreement. The practice is particularly harmful to women and black employees, as they are more likely to be subjected to arbitration agreements because they make up a large share of workers in the industries that require arbitration the most: education and health care.
VOX August 3, 2018 -
We already let you in on how much the top 1 percent earn, but the top 0.01 percent of U.S. earners are in an entirely different league. According to a new Economic Policy Institute (EPI) report, to be in the top 0.01 percent nationally, a family needs an annual income of $9.77 million. And that number just represents the threshold — the average income of this elite group nationwide is $32.32 million. Read on to see just how much money the 1 percent of the 1 percent make a year in each U.S. state.
CNBC August 3, 2018 -
Income and wealth inequality are at extraordinary levels. A study by the Economic Policy Institute—called “The New Gilded Age”—shows that income inequality is at levels not seen in the United States since the Great Depression of 1928. The costs of that inequality are borne on the backs of the working class—people who struggle with debt at every turn. Merely a third of Americans have enough money saved for a $1,000 emergency room visit or for the repair of their car. Boots gets under the skin of that debt. It frames his film. It—in the absence of worker power—constrains the imagination, forces ethics to go out of the window, strains the basic bonds of human fellowship.
AlterNet August 3, 2018 -
Doesn’t everyone want to be in the “one percent” club? It’s becoming more exclusive: 82 percent of the global wealth generated last year went to just one percent of the world’s population. According to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, the top one percent of families living in the Evansville metro area had an average income of $891,861.
Evansville Courier & Press August 3, 2018 -
Between 2009 and 2015, 81 percent of Nevada income growth was captured by the top 1 percent, according to the Economic Policy Institute. In its report on The New Gilded Age released last month, EPI found that income for the top 1 percent in Nevada was 33 times that of the average earned by the 99 percent. Only in three states (New York, Connecticut and Florida) was wealth more concentrated at the top.
The Nevada Current August 3, 2018