Numerous economists have argued that a rise in the minimum wage has either negligible or even positive effects on net employment, and the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute in 2014 circulated a letter signed by hundreds of academics attesting to as much. (Ortiz did not respond to a question about JCN’s factual representation.)
The Nation
January 25, 2017
President Donald Trump painted a bleak picture of black American life from the campaign trail — citing crime, poverty and failing schools frequently. These characterizations were criticized as inaccurate and overly broad. We’ll explore the financial, political, and cultural changes black Americans have experienced in recent years, and take a look at where things could be headed in the future.
Guests: Elise Gould senior economist, Economic Policy Institute.
1A
January 25, 2017
While parts of that gap stem from women taking time off to raise children, engaging in salary negotiations less frequently, or finding work in fields that see lower profits, research shows the division begins as soon as men and women leave college. A study conducted last year by the Economic Policy Institute found that recent female graduates make an average of $4.36 less hourly than their male counterparts, adding up to roughly $9,000 less each year.
The Christian Science Monitor
January 25, 2017
How many jobs the United States has lost is in dispute, but it’s worth noting that even the high estimates aren’t all that high. The NAFTA-skeptical Economic Policy Institute pins it at about 40,000 jobs per year.
The Boston Globe
January 24, 2017
Critics also say the TPP would be the latest in a string of failed trade policies that have contributed to wage stagnation in the U.S. Working-class Americans already lose about $1,800 annually because wages have been depressed by companies choosing to operate in countries with lower wages, according to the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “It’s a race to the bottom on wages,” said Robert E. Scott, senior economist for the institute.
USA Today
January 24, 2017
In 2014, Heidi Shierholz left the Economic Policy Institute, a liberal think tank, for an appointment as the United States Department of Labor’s chief economist. Obama’s second-term Labor Department, helmed by Tom Perez, was leading the way on the president’s economic agenda. It pushed through some of the strongest rules and regulations for workers in many decades, including the new rule expanding eligibility for overtime, the fiduciary conflict-of-interest rule, and executive orders boosting minimum pay and requiring paid sick leave policies for federal contract workers.
American Prospect
January 24, 2017
A pair of pro-labor interest groups, Jobs for Justice and the Economic Policy Institute, have set up a web site and Twitter hashtag devoted to Puzder’s nomination called, “#antilaborsecretary.”
The Associated Press
January 24, 2017
While we heard a lot during the election season about how the loss of high-paying manufacturing jobs with good retirement benefits has hurt the White working class, Black workers have suffered even more. In fact, according to Monique Morrissey of the Economic Policy Institute, the retirement gap between White and Black workers really started to grow in the 401(K) era. And among those with retirement savings today, the median balance is $22,000 for Black families, compared with $73,000 for White families.
Ebony
January 24, 2017
The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute contends that right to work is, in fact, expensive for workers. One of its studies shows that the anti-union laws reduce wages by about 3 percent. Ross Eisenbrey, an institute vice president, says claims of job gains amount to “smoke and mirrors. Really what it is about is weakening unions.”st.
St. Louis Post Dispatch
January 22, 2017
Think tanks—from the Center for American Progress and Economic Policy Institute on the liberal side, to the Heritage Foundation and American Enterprise Institute on the conservative side—have played an important role in policymaking in recent decades.
Marketplace
January 20, 2017