And as Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute has astutely reminded us, it’s not as if the U.S. doesn’t selectively protect. Successive administrations have spent great diplomatic and political capital to give exaggerated protections to politically influential industries like Big Pharma, software, and entertainment—just not to the crown jewels of unionized American manufacturing.
The American Prospect
March 7, 2018
It’s among the most depressing, perplexing findings of a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute and others as we near the 50th anniversary of King’s death. Education was supposed to be the key to eliminating such gaps. And yet, the black unemployment rate stands at 7.5 percent today compared with 6.7 percent in 1968, still roughly twice as high as the white unemployment rate. The wealth of white families is about 10 times as great as the wealth of black families, whose average wealth barely increased the past half century. That’s even though black Americans have closed the high school education gap – 90 percent of black adults have high school diplomas and the share of young black adults with college degrees has doubled – even while navigating a school system that is more segregated today than it has been in decades. Black Americans with post-graduate degrees, the most educated people in the country, barely have more wealth than white Americans who have only a high school education.
Charlotte Observer
March 7, 2018
According to an updated calculator released today by think tank Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a single parent with two kids needs $64,170 annually to achieve a “modest but adequate” standard of living in Orleans Parish. EPI’s “Family Budget Calculator” has been newly expanded to include cost-of-living information for U.S. counties, parishes and metropolitan statistical areas. It provides estimates on such expenses as housing, child care, transportation, taxes and other essentials for families with one or two parents and up to four children. (whole story)
Best of New Orleans
March 7, 2018
Residents seem to love the Bossier lifestyle — in fact, it’s been recognized as the best place to live in the entire state of Louisiana. But that lifestyle apparently comes with a price tag: Bossier Parish is among the most expensive parishes in North Louisiana in which to live, according to a new report. The ‘Family Budget Calculator,’ produced by the nonprofit think tank the Economic Policy Institute, “measures the income a family needs in order to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living.” In Bossier Parish, that means a required budget of some $74,205, the EPI calculator says. (whole story)
Bossier Now
March 7, 2018
It’s no secret: kids cost a lot of money. In the state of Oregon, it takes more than $77,000 per year for a couple to raise two kids, according to a non-profit think tank. The Family Budget Calculator, updated by the Economic Policy Institute Tuesday, estimates the costs to raise a family in a “modest yet adequate” standard of living. The monthly costs included housing, food, transportation, health care, and child care, which is often the biggest cost. “Research over the years has shown that Oregon has some of the nation’s most expensive child care,” said Janet Bauer, policy analyst with the Oregon Center for Public Policy, who examined the calculator’s data. (whole story)
KDRV-TV
March 7, 2018
EPI UPDATES FAMILY BUDGET TOOL: The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute updated its Family Budget Calculator Tuesday to reflect recent economic data. The tool allows users to find out the cost of living for families of varying sizes across 611 metro areas. View it here.
Politico Pro
March 7, 2018
How much does it cost to raise a family? It all depends on where you live.
The Economic Policy Institute, a progressive, nonprofit think tank, on Tuesday updated its “family budget calculator,” which shows what’s required for families to attain an adequate — if modest — standard of living in communities across the U.S. The calculator contains data on the cost of living for 10 family types in all 3,142 counties (and county equivalents) and in all 611 metro areas. (whole story)
Market Watch
March 7, 2018
“I truly dislike the vast majority of things the Trump administration has done,” said Josh Bivens, the director of research for the liberal think tank Economic Policy Institute, who wrote an column in the New York Times Monday defending the tariffs. “It’s definitely very unusual for me to defend them. “Bivens argues that state-supported steel and aluminum plants in China create unfair competition to the U.S. industry and imposing these kinds of tariffs is a necessary first step to level the playing field. “This is not a long-term fix,” he says. “But this is a way to jumpstart that solution.”
CNN Money
March 6, 2018
Marketplace
March 6, 2018