Many economists question whether this poses a threat to national security, but, as trade expert at the Economic Policy Institute Robert Scott says, “The WTO can’t really force you to change your trade policy.” In fact, they have never ruled on such a case because either the tariff was dropped or the cases never moved forward. No previous case has been as significant as President Trump’s though.
The Inquistr
June 11, 2018
Lawrence Mishel, an economist for the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute and a long-time skeptic of the significance of the gig economy, said it wasn’t surprising that the report showed relatively little impact from online marketplaces. “A lot of this hype has been driven by the tech world believing that they are the center of the universe,” Mr. Mishel said. But Mr. Mishel said he was surprised by the slower growth in other areas. And he wasn’t the only one perplexed by the report.
The New York Times
June 11, 2018
“What this says to me is the vast majority of workers in the United States still have traditional jobs as their main source of income,” said Heidi Shierholz, a former chief economist at the Labor Department. “We should be spending most of our time thinking about boosting wages in traditional jobs so people don’t need a side hustle.”
The Washington Post
June 11, 2018
Not everyone agrees the government’s latest report is misleading. “The whole idea that we’re all becoming freelancers is just that much: hype,” said Lawrence Mishel, a fellow at the Economic Policy Institute. But Mishel does agree many more workers are using contract work to supplement their income. And that, he says, speaks to other problems in the job market. “The fact that alternate work has not grown does not diminish one iota the fact that we really need to pay attention to wage stagnation and deteriorating job quality,” Mishel says.
NPR
June 11, 2018
As has been pointed by out by Larry Mishel and others, most of the people doing gig economy work do it as a sidebar, in addition to their main jobs. But it is worth noting that even here the data points to a decline in the percentage of workers employed in multiple jobs over the last quarter century.
Common Dreams
June 11, 2018
Not all of the skepticism has been grounded in reality—when dramatic figures out of MIT and Stanford’s Center for Automative Research indicated that Uber driver wages were sub-$4 an hour, Uber quickly pointed out errors in their math. But another report from the Economic Policy Institute published last month has an updated, and more robust analysis, based on data from Uber’s chief economist. According to author Lawrence Mishel, Uber driver compensation averages $11.77 an hour, placing them in the lowest 10 percent of paid U.S. workers. (Larry quoted throughout)
CityLab
June 11, 2018
Restaurants say a higher minimum wage drives up employers’ costs, and those costs need to be covered somehow — most likely by a mandatory service charge, whose proceeds go to the house, not workers. Diners probably wouldn’t tip if they’ve already paid a service charge, Hollinger reasons, so tipping dries up. This is why RAMW has stuck with the slogan “save our tips.” But research from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute tells a different story about workers’ income in one-wage states. According to the think tank, tipped employees have higher median incomes in states where there is no separate tipped wage.
WAMU
June 11, 2018
Of course, Uber drivers also don’t have it easy. Treated as independent contractors and lacking traditional benefits or employment protections, Uber drivers earn less than $10 an hour after expenses, according to a study by the Economic Policy Institute.
CBS Moneywatch
June 11, 2018
A decision against unions in Janus v. AFSCME could affect women and minorities disproportionately, according to figures released today by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. According to EPI’s analysis, 58 percent of the 6.8 million local and state workers covered by collective bargaining contracts are women. One-third are black, Latino, Asian American or Pacific Islander. AFSCME is defending its right, affirmed by the Supreme Court in 1977’s Abood v. Detroit Board of Education, to collect “fair share” fees from employees to cover collective bargaining costs. Attorneys for Mark Janus, an Illinois state employee, say that the mandatory fees violate workers’ First Amendment rights. The court’s conservative majority is expected to rule in favor of Janus.
Politico Pro
June 8, 2018
“This should throw some cold water on those hyping the explosion of freelancing and the rapidly changing nature of work,” said Lawrence Mishel, a liberal-leaning economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “Freelancing and gig work are not taking over.”
The Wall Street Journal
June 8, 2018