Media clips
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“This is evidence of the last hired, first fired phenomenon,” said Valerie Wilson, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington, DC. “As the recovery continues on you start to see the biggest improvements for the groups that were hit the hardest.”
Bloomberg May 11, 2017 -
The Lonely Women of the Rust Belt
City Lab/Alana Semuels
Indeed, the decline of men is not affecting all parts of the white community; highly educated workers, both men and women, are doing just fine economically. According to the Economic Policy Institute, white men in the top 20 percent of income-earners are actually working 4 percent more than they did in 1979; men in the bottom two income quintiles are working fewer hours than they did in 1979. (Women in all income quintiles are working more.) These educated workers are clustered in big cities, where good jobs are relatively abundant. In the areas where there are shrinking opportunities for people without a college education, men are dropping out of the workforce and women are left to carry them or live without them.
CityLab May 11, 2017 -
In the ten most populous states in the country, employers steal $8 billion a year from their employees simply by paying them less than the legally mandated minimum wage, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). For the 2.4 million workers who are affected — 17 percent of the low-wage workforce — that amounts to an average loss of $64 a week. Given that they’re making just over $200 a week, on average, they miss out on nearly a quarter of their earnings. (whole story)
Think Progress May 10, 2017 -
You’re not getting a raise and nobody knows why
The Washington Post/Ana Swanson
Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, said that relatively sluggish wage growth “tells us that there’s still a fair amount of slack left in the labor market. The unemployment rate is missing part of the story of workers continuing to be sidelined.” Gould points to the employment-to-population ratio for prime-age workers, which measures the proportion of the population between the prime working ages of 25 and 54 who are employed. That figure stood at 78.6 percent in April, still significantly below where it was in 2007 and for most of 2008. “We have recovered a fair amount, but we still have a way to go,” Gould said. “If there was less slack, then employers would have to be offering better pay to attract and retain the workers they want, and they just don’t have to yet.” … Gould and other labor-friendly economists see these trends as ample reason for the Federal Reserve to hold off on raising interest rates. But other analysts see the threat of emerging inflation as a bigger risk, and believe the Fed should act now to raise interest rates to more normal levels.
The Washington Post May 10, 2017 -
Frontline May 10, 2017
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In his new book Richard Rothstein explains how, for more than 100 years, the U.S. government practiced, enforced and allowed segregation in housing. Segregated public housing, whites-only suburbs, racially biased loan programs and a host of other practices hobbled African-Americans, Rothstein argues, leading to the deep socioeconomic and geographic divides that exist in the United States today. Rothstein calls his book “a forgotten history” because it was once known. Acknowledging and understanding this history again, he says, is the first step toward finding a solution.
- Richard Rothstein research associate, Economic Policy Institute; senior fellow, Thurgood Marshall Institute of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund; author “The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America”
- Jim Carr Coleman A. Young Endowed Chair and Professor in Urban Affairs, Wayne State University; Visiting Fellow with the Roosevelt Institute; consultant to the National Association of Real Estate Brokers
- Nela Richardson chief economist at Redfin
- Sherrilyn Ifill president and director-counsel, NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund
1A May 10, 2017 -
“I would be very surprised if they actually decide to scrap the deal,” according to Robert Scott, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington. “There are too many businesses heavily invested in production in Mexico and Canada who would be hurt by doing away with Nafta.”
Bloomberg May 10, 2017 -
Job prospects are looking pretty good for graduates this year–the first cohort of gen Z to enter the workforce with a diploma or degree. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), unemployment rates for high school and college graduates are closing in on prerecession levels. Wages are beginning a slow climb as well, particularly for those with a college degree. Among young college graduates, average wages are $19.18 per hour—only 1.4% higher than in 2000. (whole story)
Fast Co.Exist May 10, 2017 -
Relatedly: The liberal Economic Policy Institute pushes back on an idea that has at least some bipartisan support — bringing down that 35 percent corporate rate. First off, Josh Bivens and Hunter Blair note that while the statutory corporate rate might be comparatively high, the effective rates that companies pay is pretty much on par with other first-world economies. “Further, we find that even if the effective corporate tax rate were higher (if loopholes were closed), economic theory and data do not support the idea that cutting these rates would encourage further investment in the U.S. or benefit Americans in general; we find that such cuts would primarily benefit a small number of high-income capital owners while increasing the regressivity of the tax system overall,” they write, in recommending that policymakers should get rid of corporate tax breaks without a corresponding rate cut. (Here’s one of the flip sides of that case: It’s not just shareholders, but also workers and consumers that bear the burden of the corporate tax. Plus, those in favor of lower corporate taxes argue that can lead to higher investment and less incentive for offshore gaming.)
Politico May 10, 2017 -
In that spirit, the Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) — led by co-chairs Reps. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) and Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) — last week released its annual budget alternative, “The People’s Budget: A Roadmap for the Resistance.” The release was well-timed. With Democrats struggling to find their way out of the wilderness, the CPC budget provides a coherent vision and a comprehensive plan to achieve it. In contrast with Trump’s “skinny budget” and one-page tax blueprint, it is an impressively detailed document, prepared in conjunction with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). It offers common-sense proposals that most Americans want to see enacted. Simply put, it represents a serious commitment to making the economy work again for everyone. The heart of the People’s Budget is a significant investment in America’s economic future. While Trump’s budget proposal slashes non-defense federal spending, the CPC aims to boost job creation and push the economy toward full employment (4 percent) through nearly $1 trillion in public investments between now and the end of 2018. In total, the budget proposes investing $2 trillion over two decades to rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure and bring our outdated energy, water and transportation systems into the 21st century. EPI estimates the plan would increase gross domestic product by 2 percent and create 2.4 million jobs.
The Washington Post May 9, 2017