What’s interesting about that? It’s very similar to what I was told by Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank. When I asked Bivens about the idea of leaving the tax rate for those making more than $1 million where it is, he said, “In a vacuum I would probably be pretty happy about it.” But in the context of the Republican plan, Bivens said, “it’s going to be mostly meaningless, because even a lot of income at the current top rate is just going to be reclassified as pass-through income to take advantage of the new loophole they’ve created.” (Josh quoted throughout)
The Washington Post
October 24, 2017
Previously, Florida had been adding about 19,000 jobs a month since January, while Texas added about 24,000 jobs a month since the beginning of 2017. Those states, along with the surrounding regions, are likely to see those numbers rebound in the coming months, as construction workers and temporary openings flood the South. “The rebound will certainly happen by the end of the year and [maybe] in the next few weeks,” said Janelle Jones, an analyst at the Economic Policy Institute. “People are already doing [temporary] and holiday hiring. It’s good for these workers who need jobs immediately, and there are a lot of hours to be had.”
The Wall Street Journal
October 24, 2017
Meanwhile, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step into the redistricting fight there. Marni von Wilpert writes for the Economic Policy Institute’s Working Economics Blog that the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in Murphy Oil v. National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), a case which will determine whether workers should have to sign away their rights to sue their employer by signing mandatory employment arbitration agreements. As von Wilpert notes, arbitration is often forced on employees to prevent them from suing their employers in court should they have grievances, which can make obtaining justice iffy at best for women suffering workplace gender discrimination.
Rewire
October 24, 2017
“The well-off is who really benefits. In that sense, it’s a really bad tax break,” said Monique Morrissey, an economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute who has researched workplace retirement plans.
Politico
October 24, 2017
ALEC decided to make another push on preemption in 2013 and found a warm reception among Republican lawmakers in state legislatures and governorships. “All of a sudden, we saw a slew of states deciding to pass preemption laws [that] looked very similar to its model bill,” says Marni von Wilpert, associate labor counsel at the Economic Policy Institute. Between 2011 and 2013, 105 preemption bills undermining wages were introduced in statehouses, about two-thirds of which were sponsored or co-sponsored by legislators who were affiliated with ALEC. At least 25 states have now instituted laws that usurp city and county power to take action on their own minimum wages. More than half have passed since 2013. Five states joined the list in 2016 alone, with three more this year so far.
In These Times
October 24, 2017
The last time President Donald Trump spoke to the nation about his administration’s plan for infrastructure spending, he ended up defending the honor of violent white supremacists in Charlottesville, Virginia. Since then, the proposed $1 trillion bill appears to have slipped on his list of priorities: Trump hasn’t tweeted about infrastructure since August. But if and when the topic of America’s crumbling bridges, leaky pipes, and outdated electrical grid comes up again, the need will outstrip whatever resources in whatever bill Congress gets around to passing—even if it’s a trillie. Prioritizing infrastructure projects to be funded turns out to be more art than science. The government could be much better at making these decision, whether it’s at the local, state, or federal level. That’s the conclusion of a new report from the Economic Policy Institute that explores ways for policymakers to tighten up the process. The report’s author, Josh Bivens, who is the organization’s director of research, sees three ways that government is falling down on the job—and one big-picture solution for making infrastructure projects work better for everyone. (whole story)
CityLab
October 24, 2017
Preemption is on the rise nationwide. In the past year and a half alone, 15 states have passed 28 laws preempting local labor standards. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), state preemption laws target five key areas: minimum wage, paid leave, fair work schedules, prevailing wages, and project labor agreements. Red states are particularly vulnerable to this trend. In 33 states, the Republican Party controls the governorship and has majority representation in both chambers of most state legislatures, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
CNBC
October 23, 2017
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT: Economically troubled communities, cross-governmental coordination and the costs of climate change aren’t getting enough attention when it comes to prioritizing infrastructure projects, the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute charges in a report released Wednesday. Among the group’s proposed fixes: Establish a federal body to oversee infrastructure coordination among federal, state and local governments.
Politico Pro
October 20, 2017
And, indeed, what has happened with wages? According to the Economic Policy Institute, from 1973 to 2013, hourly compensation of a typical nonsupervisory worker like a truck driver or hospital worker rose just 9%, while productivity increased 74%. In other words: People have worked hard, but that hard work didn’t translate into bigger paychecks. (EPI cited throughout)
CNN Money
October 19, 2017
Overall, women earn 83 cents for every dollar that men do, according to data released by the Economic Policy Institute earlier this year. The gender wage gap gets even more complicated when the data gets broken down by race. Consider that for every dollar paid to non-Hispanic white men:
- Asian women earn 88 cents
- White women earn 81 cents
- Black women earn 65 cents
- Hispanic women earn 59 cents
Marketplace
October 19, 2017