Media clips
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San Francisco is the priciest metro area in the country, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The think tank recently released its 2018 family budget calculator that estimates how much it really costs to live in each of America’s 3,142 counties and 611 metro areas. The group estimates a family of two adults and two children in the San Francisco metro area would need to earn a whopping $148,440 per year, or $$12,370 a month, to live comfortably. Much of those costs are driven by high housing costs and taxes. (whole story)
Across America Patch March 22, 2018 -
People in Michigan know this: It’s an affordable place to live and raise a family. According to one economic think tank, the cost of living in Metro Detroit, as well as most other metropolitan areas in Michigan, is far more affordable than east and west coast cities. And, it’s certainly not Brownsville, Texas, either. Families with two adults and two children in the Detroit-Livonia-Warren metro need an annual income of $79,308 – or $6,609 per month – to live comfortably, according to the Economic Policy Institute. The data was included in the organization’s recently released 2018 family budget calculator that estimates how costly it is to live in each of America’s 3,142 counties and 611 metro areas. (whole story)
Grosse Pointe Patch March 22, 2018 -
For those of us who live in the Miami area, we’re accustomed to paying a little more for the privilege of calling the Magic City home. After all, we live in a place that many people save up all year to visit, not to mention the countless special events and things to do. Unfortunately, a new study confirms everything we suspected about the high cost of living. The Miami-Dade metropolitan area ranks as one of the most expensive places to live in the Sunshine state, according to the Economic Policy Institute. It’s really no surprise that Miami is more pricey than Tampa but would you have guessed that it c
Miami Patch March 22, 2018 -
As publicly traded companies confess the ratio between the pay of their CEOs and their median worker, a left-leaning policy research firm is offering a look at how the other half — or the other 99 percent if you are really riled up about income inequality — scrapes by. The Washington, D.C.-based Economic Policy Institute’s family budget calculator looks at 10 different family profiles, comparing median family income with the cost of living based on the metro region or county. The database covers all 3,142 U.S. counties and 611 metro areas. It should be no surprise that the exercise leads the EPI to conclude that nowhere in the country do minimum wage workers — even those in places where the minimum wage exceeds the federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour — earn enough to meet the requirements of a family budget. That’s the case whether the family is an adult with no children or two spouses with up to four children. (whole story)
Pittsburgh Post Gazette March 20, 2018 -
Let’s talk numbers. The Economic Policy Institute found that a single adult living in the Indianapolis-Carmel metro area spends, on average, about $250 per month on groceries. If that same adult moved to a more expensive borough such as Manhattan in New York City, their monthly food cost would be around $300. At first glance, these numbers do not seem so high. However, the EPI based food costs off of the United States Department of Agriculture’s low-cost plan, which assumes the individual would primarily buy and prepare his or her own food. So, if someone plans to eat out more or buy prepared foods, then the cost of food can greatly increase.
Indiana Daily Student March 20, 2018 -
The New Jersey strike is just the latest action by public school teachers following the West Virginia work stoppage to improve school funding and pay. Educators in Oklahoma and Arizona have threatened similar actions if improvements on those issues aren’t made in their states. The West Virginia strike’s influence seems apparent. It reminded workers, especially public sector workers, “who have been living on the whims of state legislatures,” of the power they have to improve wages and working conditions, Celine McNicholas with the Economic Policy Institute said. McNicholas is the director of labor law and policy at EPI, a progressive think tank.
Bloomberg BNA March 20, 2018 -
The average wealth for a white family is $678,737, according to the Economic Policy Institute; for a Black family, it’s $95,261. That’s a nearly $600,000 difference between the two races. This deep divide is also present when looking at median wealth: $134,230 for a white family, $11,030 for a Black family, EPI reported.
Romper March 20, 2018 -
“The ruling is bad for investors because it means investors will get conflicted advice,” says Heidi Shierholz, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a non-partisan, non-profit think tank. “It means that retirement investors are at risk of having their advisers legally steer them into investments that are not good for them.” Without the “fiduciary rule” in place, she adds, it means “the law does not protect them, so they will have to protect themselves.”Opponents of the rule argue that it was overly burdensome and, as a result, that it would end up resulting in higher, not lower, costs for investment advice. Investors who act on advice of financial professionals not working in their best interests will lose an estimated $1.9 billion a month, or roughly $23 billion a years, Shierholz says, citing the ECI’s latest analysis.
USA Today March 19, 2018 -
In response to the ruling, the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) said in a statement: “This common-sense rule has survived repeated court challenges, but special interests with deep pockets can persevere until they get the result they want. All this proves is how much conflicted advice contributes to Wall Street profits at the expense of retirement savers.”
Common Dreams March 19, 2018 -
Milich’s concern is well-founded. Per a 2016 Economic Policy Institute study, teachers are paid 23 percent less than other college graduates. One-time National Teacher of the Year Sean McComb responded to the EPI’s findings in a conversation with A Plus. “We should want the most talented, dynamic, dedicated professionals possible to entrust with our country’s future,” he said in 2016. “With this kind of salary deficit, the profession doesn’t get even ground to compete on its own merits.” (chart included)
A Plus March 19, 2018