Media clips
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It has been 50 years since the historic Kerner Commission found that discrimination against African-Americans had created barriers to their ability to be successful in civic life. The commission, formally known as the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, was established after America’s 1967 race riots. Researchers from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) have analyzed some of the same measurements of success in a new report, to discover whether – and to what extent – the same barriers exist. … The EPI analysis found that African-American workers continue to earn 82 cents for every dollar earned by white workers, and said virtually no progress has been made in the rate of home ownership.
Public News Service March 14, 2018 -
The Economic Policy Institute notes that without homeownership, among other things, black wealth has suffered. The median wealth of a black family is $17,409, compared to $171,000 for a white family—nearly 10 times as much. Because homeownership has been so central to America’s post-war economy, those shut out of it tend to be left behind.
Curbed March 14, 2018 -
A new Economic Policy Institute study by Jeffrey Keefe, a Rutgers University professor emeritus, finds that Pennsylvania’s public school teachers earn 6.8 percent less, even after accounting for pension benefits, than similarly educated and skilled workers in the state. Looking to the future, Keefe finds that recent cuts in pension benefits for new teachers enacted in June will boost the pay penalty that new teachers face to 10 percent.
The Times-Tribune March 14, 2018 -
Yet in some states, teachers are earning close to poverty wages, as the West Virginia strike and the threatened Oklahoma strike have demonstrated. Indeed, those two states offer compensation roughly a third lower than the national average for all public teachers, numbers that do not look much better adjusting for the cost of living. Moreover, there is data demonstrating that the teacher pay gap—meaning what public-school teachers earn compared with comparably qualified individuals in the private sector—is large and growing. The left-of-center Economic Policy Institute (EPI) has found that teachers’ average weekly wages actually fell $30 per week between 1996 and 2015 after adjusting for inflation, whereas they increased measurably among all college graduates. EPI also has estimated that public-school teachers were earning about 2 percent less than comparably qualified private-sector workers in 1994, a disparity measure that grew to 17 percent by 2015. “Teachers actually gained ground in the depths of the recession, as their pay didn’t fall, whereas pay for other workers did,” Larry Mishel, an economist at EPI, told me. “But when there was a recovery, they didn’t get much recovery.” Indeed, as state and local finances rebounded, many red and purple states cut their income taxes, with property taxes remaining depressed due to the subprime-mortgage crisis. The result: sharp declines in public-school funding per student, reduced salary increases through the recovery, and widespread teacher shortages. Teacher enrollments dropped from 691,000 in 2009 to just 451,000 a year in 2004 as attrition—meaning the share of educators dropping out of the profession—hit 8 percent a year. Nationwide, the number of teachers and other school workers has fallen by 135,000 since 2008, a recent analysis of government data by the Center for Budget and Policy Priorities, a left-of-center think tank, found. Yet as that number declined, the number of students rose by 1.4 million.
The Atlantic March 14, 2018 -
According to the Economic Policy Institute, a single adult in Denver needs to earn more than $41,000 a year, or nearly double the current minimum wage, just to meet basic needs such as housing. A single parent with one child has to earn $72,000 dollars to get by in Pueblo, and $59,000 in Grand Junction.
Public News Service March 14, 2018 -
One major cities in Upstate New York, Buffalo ranks the lowest in cost of living, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute in Washington D.C. According to WKBW A family of four, with two adults and two children, could maintain a “modest yet adequate” standard of living in Buffalo for $7,339 per month or $88,071 per year. For comparison, the closest city to those numbers upstate is Rochester where the same standard of living could be maintained for $7,775 per month or $93,296 per year. Check out this family budget calculator which will show you what it estimates different sized families need to make in order to have a modest standard of living in locations across the country. (whole story)
WBLK March 14, 2018 -
If you’re a family of four in Solano County, you need about $7,500 per month, or nearly $90,000 annually, to live halfway decently, a new report shows. That same family in Napa County needs about $103,000 annually or nearly $9,000 per month to maintain that same modest lifestyle, it shows. The Economic Policy Institute’s Family Budget Calculator measures the income a family needs to attain a “modest yet adequate” standard of living, Institute officials said. The budgets estimate community-specific costs for 10 family types (one or two adults with zero to four children) in all counties and metro areas in the United States. It offers a more accurate measure of economic security in the U.S. than the federal poverty line and the Supplemental Poverty Measure, they said. (whole story)
Vallejo Times-Herald March 14, 2018 -
Of major cities in Upstate New York, Buffalo ranks the lowest in cost of living, according to research from the Economic Policy Institute in Washington D.C. A family of four, with two adults and two children, could maintain a “modest yet adequate” standard of living in Buffalo for $7,339 per month or $88,071 per year. For comparison, the closest city to those numbers upstate is Rochester where the same standard of living could be maintained for $7,775 per month or $93,296 per year. A family of four, with two adults and two children, could maintain a “modest yet adequate” standard of living in Buffalo for $7,339 per month or $88,071 per year. For comparison, the closest city to those numbers upstate is Rochester where the same standard of living could be maintained for $7,775 per month or $93,296 per year. (whole story)
WKBW March 14, 2018 -
It’s not just you: Miami really is one of the least affordable places to live in the country. But it’s not only because of the high cost of housing, healthcare, transportation and taxes. A family of four spends almost $85,000 per year to live in Miami-Dade County, according to the updated Family Budget Calculator released by the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive Washington-based think tank. Along with the above-mentioned items, the calculator estimates costs for food, child care and “other necessities.” That makes Miami the 41st most expensive place to live among America’s largest 100 metros when measured in pure cost. The EPI study mirrors previous surveys that have ranked Miami as high on costs, low on wages, and adds further context to how difficult it is to make ends meet here. (whole story)
The Miami Herald March 14, 2018 -
If you think it’s expensive to live in Los Angeles County, you’d be right. The Economic Policy Institute’s latest Family Budget Calculator shows that a family of two adults and two children in L.A. County need to earn $7,691 a month, or $92,295 a year, to meet all of its living expenses. That outstrips L.A. County’s median family income, which is just $66,203 per year, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey. The Family Budget Calculator estimates that family of four will pay $1,663 a month for housing, $830 for food, $1,223 for child care, $1,159 for transportation, $795 for health care, $1,006 for other necessities and $1,016 for taxes. A household with just two adults can get by for much less, as they need to earn $4,697 a month, or $56,361 a year. Zane Mokhiber, a research analyst with the EPI, notes that the annual totals are sometimes off by a few dollars because the various monthly expenses were rounded up or down. (whole story)
Los Angeles Daily News March 14, 2018