Media clips
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But progressive groups like the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the National Employment Law Project say the rule lacks a safeguard to stop an employer from stealing a percentage of the workers’ tips.
The Hill March 22, 2018 -
But while paying too much for a pillow or a television is one thing, the stakes get a lot higher when the misleading product you’re buying is financial advice. In fact, undisclosed conflicts of interest cost savers an estimated $17 billion annually, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute. EPI arrived at that figure by estimating the investment losses for people who were unwittingly buying retirement products from a financial planner who was paid on commission — and thus incentivized to recommend products that might be more expensive or risky than they needed to be. (Map included)
Mic March 22, 2018 -
The progressive critique of globalization and trade deals has, in fact, received extensive validation in a number of recent studies by top economists. David Autor and Daron Acemoglu of MIT, along with a series of co-authors, have found strong statistical evidence confirming that the “shock” of increased imports from China caused massive job losses (up to 2.4 million) and significantly depressed wages for US workers, especially those with less education. Chinese imports, they found, have affected workers not only in the manufacturing industries that directly compete with imports, but also in local service sectors that serve communities impacted by the imports, as well as “upstream” industries that supply inputs to the import-competing firms. Estimates from Robert E. Scott of the Economic Policy Institute show even larger job displacement due to higher US trade deficits with Mexico and China. Whichever estimates one believes, free-trade advocates who ignore or deny these huge social costs have clearly brought the current wave of anti-trade backlash on themselves. (Rob cited throughout)
Jacobin March 22, 2018 -
One of the first things you might do when thinking about moving (or actually moving) to a new place is get a rough estimate of how much it costs to live there. Any number of cost-of-living calculators might help you find that out, considering how far your current salary might go, or even comparing the costs of groceries. But if you want to project a little farther into the future, try taking a look at the Economic Policy Institute’s (EPI) budget fact sheets and family budget calculator. The EPI’s data measures how much money a family might need “in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living.” You might be surprised at how much your financial outlook changes as your household grows. (whole story)
Refinery 29 March 22, 2018 -
Cost of living can look drastically different depending on where you are. It will cost a single person about $29,118 a year to live in Brownsville, Texas, for example, but in San Francisco, California, that expense more than doubles, to $69,072. That’s according to the Economic Policy Institute’s newly updated family budget calculator, which shows the income differently sized families need in order to attain a baseline standard of living across the U.S. In other words, it measures “what families need to get by,” says EPI Senior Economist Elise Gould. (whole story)
CNBC March 22, 2018 -
All U.S. residents have skin in this game. Just ask Elise Gould, Zane Mokhiber and Kathleen Bryant at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a think tank based in Washington, D.C. The EPI just updated its Family Budget Calculator to reveal what families require to meet their living costs in all 3,142 counties and 611 metro areas across the nation. According to the EPI researchers, their report provides more comprehensive economic data than the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure. The key takeaway: Minimum wage is not a livable wage. While the EPI data adjusts for increased city and state minimum wages, “there is nowhere in the country where a minimum-wage worker — even a single adult without children — earns enough to meet the requirements of their local family budget,” according to Gould, Mokhiber and Bryant. (whole story)
MultiBriefs March 22, 2018 -
Yet, when you look at the Economic Policy Institute’s interactive Family Budget Calculator, the cost of living in Philly presents a grim picture for those least able to afford it. For one adult, the average monthly cost of living is near $2,800 or more than $33,000 annually (cruel pocket book calisthenics when per capita income is just $24,000). Add a child to it, and the cost of living soars to more than $4,700 a month—or $57,000 a year. Watch the average monthly taxes go from $460 to nearly $700. Add another child and it’s nearly $75,000 a year in average living costs; two adults and two children it’s about $85,000, including nearly $1,000 a month in taxes alone.
Charles Ellison March 22, 2018 -
Saying “there is no free lunch or road or bridge,” in paying to fix or improve the nation’s roads, bridges, subways, buses, airports and other infrastructure, the Economic Policy Institute is calling for raising the federal gas tax, retaining the key federal role and funding for such projects – and for keeping worker rights as part of the package. Those positions, laid out by EPI President Thea Lee at a March 7 House Transportation panel hearing, agree with those of transportation, building trades and other unions, but fly in the face of the anti-tax, anti-worker, anti-federal orthodoxy of Congress’s ruling Republicans. Lawmakers called two sessions on the GOP Trump administration’s $1.5 trillion 10-year infrastructure outline. Lee was the only witness the Democratic minority was allowed to invite.
Press Associates Union News March 22, 2018 -
The President of AASHTO and a member of its board of directors testified this week at a hearing on Capitol Hill. In this Transportation TV News Brief on you’ll learn why AASHTO President John Schroer, commissioner of the Tennessee Department of Transportation and Michael Lewis, executive director of the Colorado Department of Transportation were invited to speak before the Highways and Transit Subcommittee of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Also testifying Wednesday, March 7, were Chris Spear, President and CEO of the American Trucking Associations, Ed Mortimer, executive director for transportation and infrastructure at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Ms. Thea Lee, president of the Economic Policy Institute. Watch this News Brief and use this link to watch the entire hearing.
Transportation TV March 22, 2018 -
There are numerous new condos and townhomes under construction in Downtown Sarasota, but can everyone afford them? A new study by the Economic Policy Institute estimates it costs a family of four living in Sarasota and Manatee counties over $80,000 to live adequately, but modestly. (whole story)
ABC 7 March 22, 2018