Media clips
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The share of Americans in the workforce is also shrinking – particularly among those with lower levels of education, said Valerie Wilson, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute. “The workers we would expect to have the strongest labour attachments have actually been becoming less attached,” she said. Among survey respondents who did not attend college, nearly 40% said it was too expensive or that they needed to earn money. Their status was also closely tied to whether their parents had attended college.
BBC News May 23, 2017 -
Young men falling to the bottom of the income ladder
The Boston Globe/Katie Johnson
“This has an effect on their entire lives,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, who recently coauthored a report on new high school and college graduates. “Those first jobs are going to set you up for your lifetime of earnings.” … “This has an effect on their entire lives,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, who recently coauthored a report on new high school and college graduates. “Those first jobs are going to set you up for your lifetime of earnings.”
The Boston Globe May 22, 2017 -
A bedrock principle of private property is that stealing is wrong. Yet the problem of employers refusing to pay their workers the wages they’ve earned—or wage theft—is pervasive and growing in North Carolina. That’s the message of Employers steal billions from workers’ paychecks each year, a report recently released by The Economic Policy Institute.This report looks specifically at employers’ failure to pay the minimum wage to their employees at in the 10 most populous states, including North Carolina, and reveals the magnitude of the impact of wage theft on the low income workers who are least able to withstand it. While other types of wage theft are also harmful – non-payment of overtime wages and illegal deductions, for example – minimum wage violations are a direct hit to low income workers who rely on their wages to meet basic needs. (whole story)
The Progressive Pulse May 22, 2017 -
Martin Carnoy wrote for the left-leaning Economic Policy institute in February: “Extensive research on educational vouchers in the United States over the past 25 years shows that gains in student achievement are at best small.” (Martin cited throughout)
NPR May 21, 2017 -
“We are looking at a rosier picture today for college grads,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute. “Things have definitely been improving. … As we add more jobs, jobs are being offered to people across the spectrum.” (Elise quoted/EPI cited throughout)
Baltimore Sun May 21, 2017 -
More than 13 percent of Pennsylvanians lived in poverty in 2015 – and new research suggests that number would be lower if some workers weren’t being cheated out of pay they have earned. The Economic Policy Institute examined reports of minimum-wage theft in the 10 most populous states, including Pennsylvania. Among those states, the report found each year that 2.4 million workers are being paid less than minimum wage, amounting to more than $8 billion in lost wages annually. A senior economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute and the report’s co-author, David Cooper, says nearly one in five of these workers lives in poverty. (whole story)
Public News Service May 20, 2017 -
Hundreds of thousands of people in Michigan live in poverty, and new research suggests that number would be lower if some workers weren’t being cheated out of pay they have earned. The Economic Policy Institute examined reports of minimum-wage theft in the 10 most populous states, including Michigan. Among those states, the report found each year that 2.4 million workers are being paid less than minimum wage, amounting to more than $8 billion in lost wages annually. (whole story)
Michigan Public Radio May 20, 2017 -
It’s Time for the Government to Give Everyone A Job
The National/David Dayen
Darity estimated that the 4.4 million job target was about 2 or 3 times less than what’s needed for a real job guarantee, and Tcherneva put it closer to 4 or 5 times less. For their part, Ross Eisenbrey and Larry Mishel of the Economic Policy Institute were more comfortable with CAP’s scope, but questioned the political overlay. “I’m not sure this responds to Trump voters, who are looking for middle-class jobs,” said Eisenbrey. “They’re not desperate for $15/hour.” One familiar complaint with the job guarantee concept in general is that making essential services like health care and education reliant on available dislocated workers is dangerous, because the availability of those services would expand and contract based on the state of the labor market. “We think we need universal child care, we don’t want child care work subject to this accordion,” said Mishel.
The Nation May 19, 2017 -
Do fewer regulations translate to more growth?
Marketplace/Kimberly Adams
“As a blanket statement, the idea that deregulation helps growth — I think that’s just totally false,” said Josh Bivens, director of research at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “There is no consensus about the generalized impact of deregulation on growth, because regulations are incredibly, you know, heterogeneous group of stuff.”
Marketplace May 19, 2017 -
As cities and states across the U.S. move to increase the minimum wage, the number of employers violating the rules grows. According to the Economic Policy Institute, workers in the U.S. lose between $8.6 billion and $13.8 billion a year because they are paid below their state’s minimum wage. That estimate– which includes all workers, native-born and immigrants–was extrapolated based on a study prepared for the U.S. Department of Labor of minimum wage violations in 2011 in New York and California, two states with relatively high minimum wage requirements. The study also found that non-citizens were 1.6 to 3.1 times more likely to be affected by minimum wage violations, according to the EPI.
The Associated Press May 19, 2017