Media clips
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Robert Scott is a man of the moment. As director of trade and manufacturing policy research for the liberal-leaning Economic Policy Institute in Washington, Mr. Scott has long sounded alarms against the effects that global trade is having on the American economy. For many years, arguments like his were largely pushed to the side by the leadership of both parties in Washington. Freer trade had become an American gospel, and Scott’s Jeremiads were the stuff of backward-looking pro-labor groups, it seemed.
The Christian Science Monitor September 20, 2016 -
Black Americans today earn even less relative to their white counterparts than they did in 1979, according to a new report by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). The report, released by the left-leaning thinktank on Tuesday, shows that the gap between wages of both black and white men and black and white women has widened over the last 36 years
The Guardian September 20, 2016 -
Black men and women earn significantly less than white counterparts due to job market discrimination, and this racial wage gap has significantly widened over the last 36 years, according to a report released Tuesday by the Economic Policy Institute. “People should be troubled and really question why we would observe this pattern through 2015,” said Valerie Wilson, director of the liberal think tank’s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy. “Is the American dream really obtainable ― equally obtainable for all people?”
Huffington Post September 20, 2016 -
The wage gap between blacks and whites is the worst it’s been in nearly four decades, according to a new report from the Economic Policy Institute. Last year, the hourly pay gap between blacks and whites widened to 26.7%, with whites making an average of $25.22 an hour compared to $18.49 for blacks, the EPI found. Almost 40 years ago, in 1979, the wage gap between blacks and whites was 18.1%, with whites earning an inflation-adjusted average of $19.62 an hour and blacks earning $16.07 an hour.
CNN Money September 20, 2016 -
As wages for American workers have stagnated for more than a generation, the income gap between black and white workers has widened, and discrimination is the main reason for the persisting disparity, according to a new report. The Economic Policy Institute also found that young black women are being hit the hardest. This gap remains even after controlling for factors like education, experience, or geography. The wage gap today is “worse now than it was 36 years ago,” said Valerie Wilson, director of the liberal-leaning think-tank ‘s Program on Race, Ethnicity and the Economy.
Associated Press September 20, 2016 -
Economists say it’s that sense of betrayal that’s driving a lot of the anger in this election cycle. Some of it, fueled by a perception that middle class incomes have remained stagnant while the wealthiest have prospered. Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute in Washington says the income gap has only widened since the recession. “The top 5 percent is still the only group that has completely returned back to their 2000 levels. So they’ve made up lost ground. There’s inequality across the income distribution and as you say correctly there’s inequality between groups.”
Voice of America September 19, 2016 -
Sound fair? It’s not. A recent federal study revealed that banks and lenders are 10 times more likely to prevail in arbitration than their customers. In employment disputes, the Economic Policy Institute found that employees were 70% more likely to win in federal court over arbitration, and the median recovery for workers in federal court discrimination cases was $176,426, compared to just $36,500 in secret arbitration.
Time September 16, 2016 -
The current average cost of childcare in the U.S. is such that many full-time workers would need to devote their entire salaries to afford even the most basic help. Childcare costs more than rent in most places in the country. A study done by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) found that childcare is more expensive than in-state tuition at a four-year public college in 24 states and Washington, D.C. The report also found that childcare costs can range from just over $300 a month in rural communities to more than $1,400 in major cities, translating into median costs of approximately $4,000 to $17,000 annually, depending on where you live — figures that mean that the yearly median amount a two-parent, two-child family would need to earn to attain a modest yet adequate standard of living is just over $63,741. That figure can be as high as more than $100,000 for families in big cities.
Yahoo News September 16, 2016 -
The current income inequality among minorities is what experts are most concerned about. Illinois has the highest black unemployment rate in the country at 15 percent, according to an analysis last month by the Economic Policy Institute. Since the end of 2015, the black unemployment rate in Illinois rose 1.9 percent as unemployment rose 0.7 percent, according to the analysis. Experts say the high rate is the result of state leaders ignoring opportunities to encourage economic growth and enacting regulations that have stunted job creation.
Chicago Tribune September 16, 2016 -
Median earnings for women working full-time have increased by 7.8 percent since 2000, according to the Economic Policy Institute’s analysis of Census data. But men have seen their income shrink by 0.1 percent on the same basis. “It’s hard to applaud a decrease in the earnings gap due to men’s earnings being more stagnant, and that’s what we see in the longer trend,” said Elise Gould, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, on a conference call on Tuesday…In 26 states, median household income was below the national figure. Many of those states are located in the South, such as Mississippi and Alabama. Only 11 states enjoyed median household incomes above their 2007 levels: Colorado, Hawaii, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming, and Washington, EPI said. “Despite increases in 2015, it’s worth noting that income levels in most states are still lower than they were before the Great Recession,” Janelle Jones, an EPI economic analyst, wrote in a brief.
CBS News September 16, 2016