Media clips
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There’s no doubting the language brought forth by Occupy Wall Street— the one percent versus the 99 percent— has popularized discussions about income inequality around the U.S. and on the campaign trail. Now, a new study by non-profit think tank Economic Policy Institute is trying to put those figures into perspective by comparing the average earnings of those wealthy enough to be in the nation’s top one percent versus the other 99 percent of Americans. (whole story)
The Houston Chronicle July 25, 2018 -
This may be true in certain sectors. But it doesn’t pass the smell test on a large scale. “When employers can’t find workers with the skills they need at the wages they are offering, they will raise wages in order to attract qualified workers…,” according to Heidi Shierholz and Elise Gould at the Economic Policy Institute. They continue: “…if employers can’t find the workers they need among the unemployed, they will offer higher wages in an attempt to poach needed workers from other firms, who will then raise wages in an attempt to keep their workers, and so on. In other words, if there are skills shortages, we should see signs of faster wage growth for workers with needed skills.”
The Seattle Times July 25, 2018 -
According to the Economic Policy Institute, median real hourly wages have gone up 2.4% in Minnesota, compared to 0.3% in Wisconsin. Additionally, Minnesota has had stronger overall economic growth, stronger growth per worker and stronger population growth than Wisconsin since 2010. Wisconsin Democrats have prioritized legislation to stop corporate outsourcing, raise wages, promote Wisconsin-made products and give local businesses the first crack at state contracts.
Urban Milwaukee July 25, 2018 -
What’s left: a bifurcated economy that produces wealth but doesn’t spread much of it out. Connecticut boasted the nation’s highest per capita income in 2017, at $70,121. From 2009 to 2015, the income of the top 1 percent in Connecticut grew by 22.9 percent while incomes for everybody else dropped by 1.8 percent, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C. think tank. The institute ranks Connecticut the third most unequal state in the country, behind New York and Florida, in its most recent study. Economist Mark Price, who worked on the Economic Policy Institute inequality study, said financial industry hubs in Connecticut and New York exacerbate inequality in those states, but he noted that disparities are present throughout the U.S. economy. Unemployment numbers are improving nationwide and since 2015, Price said, there has been “broader and healthier growth” that is more widespread. “But that doesn’t reverse the overall 36-year trends where a tiny fraction of the folks at the top capture a significant share of income growth.”
Center for Public Integrity July 25, 2018 -
The gap between top earners and the other 99 percent remains higher in the Berkshires than in the state’s other three western counties, a new report shows, suggesting durable inequality in a region famous for Gilded Age cottages. A study by the Economic Policy Institute in Washington uses federal tax data from 2015 to show that just as “all politics is local,” as the saying goes, earning power can be as well. Teton County in Wyoming, for example, a popular getaway among the ultra-rich, has the biggest income gap in the nation. To make it into the top 1 percent by income in that Rocky Mountain county, you had to pull down $22,508,018 in 2015. Those people made 142.2 times more than the average income of the other 99 percent.(whole story)
The Berkshire Eagle July 25, 2018 -
Economist Mark Price has been working on the issue of economic inequality for a piece published this month by the Economic Policy Institute. Using IRS data, Price compared the top one percent of earners to the rest of the 99 percent of earners in cities across the U.S. and found that in Missoula, the top one percent make 30.8 times more than the bottom 99 percent. Price says ratio was way higher in Missoula than in any other Montana city, earning it the title of “most unequal metropolitan area in the state.” “The most unequal metro is Missoula, with a ratio of 30.8,” Price said. “The second most unequal metro is Bozeman with a ratio of 24. The third most unequal metro is Butte-Silverbow, with a ratio of 20.3, Kalispell is 19.4, and Billings is 16.9.” (whole story)
KGVO July 25, 2018 -
A new study released by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), shows the nation is facing a level of income inequality not seen in 90 years. And the worst of it is in New York, which led all states with the top 1 percent holding 31 percent of the income, followed by Florida at 28.5 percent, and then Connecticut at 27.3%. Among the nation’s major metro areas, the Bridgeport-Stamford-Norwalkcorridor ranked fifth with the top 1 percent holding a 38.6 percent share of income. (whole story)
WRCH July 25, 2018 -
A new report finds that Ohio’s wealthiest one percent made on average 18.6 times more than the average income of all other Ohio families in 2015, before taxes and transfers. The national report, by economists Estelle Sommeiller and Mark Price, was published by the Economic Policy Institute. Using Sommeiller and Price’s data, Policy Matters Ohio released an Ohio-specific analysis. Nationally, the wealthiest one percent earned 26 times the average earner in the bottom 99 percent combined. The average earner in the top one percent of households in Ohio brought in more than $858,000 in 2015, while the average earner in the bottom 99 percent combined earned just $46,157. (whole story)
Circleville Heral July 25, 2018 -
One reason Democrat politicians talk a lot about inequality may be that Democrat-dominated states have much higher levels income disparity. Income inequality is higher in states that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 when measured by the average income of the top one percent against the average income of the bottom 99 percent, according to data from a new report by the Economic Policy Institute. For Clinton states, the top incomes were on average 23.6 times the average income for the other 99 percent. (whole story)
Breitbart July 25, 2018 -
The Economic Policy Institute recently released a new report assessing the impact to date of a series of state and local policies like Emeryville’s, requiring employers to provide predictable schedules to their employees, or leave enough time to sleep and commute between scheduled shifts, or offer extra hours to current employees before making new hires — collectively referred to as “fair workweek” laws. (EPI cited throughout)
Next City July 24, 2018