We fact-checked their claims by looking at several different measurements that use inflation adjustments, including various versions of the Consumer Price Index, or CPI. One version in particular, called CPI-U-RS is considered the most accurate by researchers and is used to calculate data we cited that is published by the liberal Economic Policy Institute.
Politifact
February 12, 2019
Bank of America, for example, was quick to get its name in the press for doling out $1,000 bonuses for employees before slashing headcount by 4,900. Citigroup cut 5,000 and, per Bloomberg, may get rid of thousands more technology and operations staff. Meanwhile, analysis shows that employees in corporate America at large didn’t fare much better—according to the Economic Policy Institute, “cash bonuses only gave workers an extra 2 cents in average hourly compensation, adjusted for inflation.” But hey, maybe if we wait just a little bit longer, the tax bill will actually do the thing Republicans said it would. Probably not. But maybe!
Vanity Fair
February 12, 2019
To be sure, there are liberal groups pushing their own pro-wage-hike agendas. The Times identified two — the Center for American Progress and the Economic Policy Institute — but concluded that neither had the reach and impact of EPI.
Civil Beat
February 12, 2019
In 2016, the Economic Policy Institute found that, among recipients of public assistance, most work or have a family member who works; and they are concentrated at the bottom of the pay scale. Raising wages for low-wage workers would “unambiguously reduce net spending on public assistance, particularly among workers likely to be affected by a federal minimum-wage increase.”
Oxfam
February 12, 2019
Tipped workers are another story. Their federal wage is $2.13. and it hasn’t been raised since 1991. As most consumers know, customers are expected to make up the rest through tips. In addition to shifting the burden of labor costs in an enormous industry onto the consumer, this forces poverty and instability on many service workers. According to the Economic Policy Institute,
While the poverty rate of non-tipped workers is 6.5 percent, tipped workers have a poverty rate of 12.8 percent. Tipped workers are thus nearly twice as likely to live in poverty as are non-tipped workers. Yet poverty rates are significantly lower for tipped workers in states where they receive the full regular minimum wage.
Nonprofit Quarterly
February 12, 2019
Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2024 would benefit nearly 40 million American adults, according to a new analysis the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Nation of Change
February 12, 2019
The same day as the State of the Union, a group of experts rang in one of the crucial topics Trump didn’t really acknowledge in his annual address: the state of minimum wage in America. Via the Economic Policy Institute, over 100 economists wrote an open letter about minimum wage on Tuesday, signaling their support for a federal minimum wage of $15 by 2024. Of course, this increase would immediately help millions of people across the country — but multiple studies show it would help women and people of color the most.
Bustle
February 12, 2019
Racial minorities make up the majority of the population in the areas Columbia defines as “local.” According to Lawrence Mishel, former president of the Economic Policy Institute and author of a 2017 report on diversity within union and nonunion construction workers, women and racial minorities have historically been excluded from construction unions and therefore from union jobs. These days, as Mishel’s report finds, that is no longer the case for people of color, who now make up over half of the New York City construction industry—though women still hold less than 8% of construction jobs in the city.
Columbia Spectator
February 12, 2019
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a liberal economic research think tank, has analyzed the effects of proposed legislation that lifts the federal wage to $15 an hour by 2024. The group notes the positive effects of the increase on several groups: 39.7 million workers overall would benefit, including 38.6 million adults ages 18 and older, 23.8 million full-time workers, 23 million women, 11.2 million parents, 5.4 million single parents, and the parents of 14.4 million children.
Wall St. 24/7
February 12, 2019
By increasing the federal minimum wage over the next five years, the Raise the Wage Act of 2019 would boost the incomes and improve the lives of an estimated 40 million Americans, according to an analysis out Tuesday from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI).
Common Dreams
February 12, 2019