Media clips

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• Midterms Voters Turned Out for Progressive Economic Solutions

  In this year’s midterm elections, voters showed a strong level of support for progressive ballot measures across the country. These victories were tempered by the defeat of worthwhile ballot measures in some states and the uncertainty of progress under a divided Congress. Nonetheless, voters across the country approved minimum wage increases, protected access to abortion, supported cannabis legalization, and approved measures to increase housing affordability and promote good union jobs.

  Though much work remains to be done to enact a progressive economic agenda, this midterm election showed clear signs of support for a policy agenda that prioritizes economic, racial, and gender justice for working families.

  Common Dreams November 18, 2022
• Tech layoffs may give U.S. IT workers opportunities

  The Wall Street Journal hosted a panel discussion that featured two advocates who favor expanding the H-1B program and one critic who urges major reforms. The advocates, David Bier, the Cato Institute’s immigration studies associate director, and Theresa Cardinal Brown, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s managing director of immigration and cross-border policy, argued that the H-1B visa cap should be increased and that their labor market presence makes America a more prosperous place.

  The critic, Dr. Ron Hira, Howard University, political science associate professor and Economic Policy Institute research associate, countered that the rigged H-1B system is a transfer-of-wealth scam that makes the employers wealthy winners, and the workers, low-wage losers. Dr. Hira added that employers aren’t required to prove that a U.S. worker shortage exists before hiring an H-1B, that H-1B workers’ wages are set too low, and that the compliance system doesn’t hold employers accountable. “Guest-worker programs are supposed to fill domestic labor shortages. The H-1B program does not fill shortages,” Dr. Hira said.

  Highland County Press November 18, 2022
• Plan to ban short-term rentals in single-family Dallas neighborhoods finally goes forward

  That brings me to the city’s 20,000-unit housing shortage. As landlords chase those higher returns, “the Airbnb effect” on the local market — as studied by the non-partisan U.S. think tank Economic Policy Institute — creates more costs than benefits.

  “The costs to local renters and local jurisdictions likely exceed the benefits to travelers and property owners,” the 2019 report found.

  Dallas Morning News November 18, 2022
• Democrats Can Defeat GOP Extremism by ‘Fighting for Working People’: Warren

  “The 2022 midterms prove that Democrats can beat Republican extremism by fighting for working people and making our democratic values clear,” Warren (D-Mass.) said at EconCon Presents, a meeting co-hosted by Demos Action, Economic Policy Institute Action, Economic Security Project Action, Groundwork Action, Omidyar Network, and Roosevelt Forward.

  Common Dreams November 18, 2022
• Will the Fed Raise Rates Again in December? What the Latest Inflation Data Tells Us

  But the reduction in supply was met with increased demand as Americans started purchasing durable goods to replace the services they used prior to the pandemic, said Josh Bivens, director of research at the Economic Policy Institute. “The pandemic put distortions on both the demand and supply side of the US economy,” Bivens said. 

  CNET November 18, 2022
• Inequality-Fighting Ballot Initiatives Win Big

  In deep red Nebraska, they won a state minimum wage hike to $15 an hour by 2026, up from the current $9 an hour. The National Employment Law Project and the Economic Policy Institute estimate this action will benefit about 150,000 Nebraskans. 

  Inequality.org November 18, 2022
• Voters across the country follow Maine in passing RCV, Medicaid expansion

  Massachusetts voters passed a “millionaires tax” at the ballot box on Election Day in an apparent reaction to the state’s growing income disparities. The Economic Policy Institute ranks the state as the sixth-worst in the country when it comes to income inequality.

  Maine Beacon November 18, 2022
• Meta’s H-1B layoffs challenge visa holders and U.S. workers

  Visa workers must be paid a prevailing wage, which has four tiers. But the prevailing wages allow salaries below the median wage for an occupation. A 2020 study by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a think tank in Washington, D.C., found that 60% of H-1B positions certified by the U.S. Dept. of Labor pay wage levels below the local median. Hira and Daniel Costa, director of immigration law and policy research at EPI, conducted the research.

  Tech Target November 18, 2022
• Advocate warns about consequences of repealing Michigan’s Right to Work law

  That 2019 Democratic news release cited a 2015 study from the Economic Policy Institute that found that wages in Right to Work states were 3.2% lower on average than wages in states without the law.

  The Center Square November 18, 2022
• Bosses are ‘done with the COVID excuse’ and it means calling out sick is getting harder

  That could be because 14% of workers in the US didn’t have access to sick leave as of this March, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. When it comes to low-wage employees, over 60% don’t have access to sick leave, according to a September study from the Economic Policy Institute. 

  Business Insider November 18, 2022
• What’s the deal with telecom layoffs?

  As McDevitt noted, the telecom workforce had been shrinking for a long time before the pandemic hit. According to data analyzed by the Economic Policy Institute, the number of telecommunications employees as a percentage of the overall U.S. workforce fell from 1.4% in 1983-1986 to 1% in 2003-2006 and just 0.6% in 2016-2019. Or put another way, the number of telecom employees in the country dropped from nearly 1.4 million in 1983-1986 to just under 894,000 in 2016-2019.

  Fierce Telecom November 18, 2022
• America’s New Industrial Policy Needs Unions

  In America, the Economic Policy Institute has documented that “erosion of worker bargaining power” has led to lower wages and a “deterioration of labor’s share of income.” Only seven percent of American private sector workers are union members; in contrast, around half of German workers are covered by collective bargaining agreements.

  Forbes November 18, 2022
• Midterms Voters Turned Out for Progressive Economic Solutions

  In this year’s midterm elections, voters showed a strong level of support for progressive ballot measures across the country. These victories were tempered by the defeat of worthwhile ballot measures in some states and the uncertainty of progress under a divided Congress. Nonetheless, voters across the country approved minimum wage increases, protected access to abortion, supported cannabis legalization, and approved measures to increase housing affordability and promote good union jobs.

  Though much work remains to be done to enact a progressive economic agenda, this midterm election showed clear signs of support for a policy agenda that prioritizes economic, racial, and gender justice for working families.

  Common Dreams November 18, 2022
• Plan to ban short-term rentals in single-family Dallas neighborhoods finally goes forward

  That brings me to the city’s 20,000-unit housing shortage. As landlords chase those higher returns, “the Airbnb effect” on the local market — as studied by the non-partisan U.S. think tank Economic Policy Institute — creates more costs than benefits.

  “The costs to local renters and local jurisdictions likely exceed the benefits to travelers and property owners,” the 2019 report found.

  Dallas Morning News November 18, 2022
• Tech layoffs may give U.S. IT workers opportunities

  The Wall Street Journal hosted a panel discussion that featured two advocates who favor expanding the H-1B program and one critic who urges major reforms. The advocates, David Bier, the Cato Institute’s immigration studies associate director, and Theresa Cardinal Brown, the Bipartisan Policy Center’s managing director of immigration and cross-border policy, argued that the H-1B visa cap should be increased and that their labor market presence makes America a more prosperous place.

  The critic, Dr. Ron Hira, Howard University, political science associate professor and Economic Policy Institute research associate, countered that the rigged H-1B system is a transfer-of-wealth scam that makes the employers wealthy winners, and the workers, low-wage losers. Dr. Hira added that employers aren’t required to prove that a U.S. worker shortage exists before hiring an H-1B, that H-1B workers’ wages are set too low, and that the compliance system doesn’t hold employers accountable. “Guest-worker programs are supposed to fill domestic labor shortages. The H-1B program does not fill shortages,” Dr. Hira said.

  Highland County Press November 18, 2022
• The economic impact of the pandemic on women

  Features Elise discussing women in the work force.

  WBUR On Point November 18, 2022
• Democrats Can Defeat GOP Extremism by ‘Fighting for Working People’: Warren

  “The 2022 midterms prove that Democrats can beat Republican extremism by fighting for working people and making our democratic values clear,” Warren (D-Mass.) said at EconCon Presents, a meeting co-hosted by Demos Action, Economic Policy Institute Action, Economic Security Project Action, Groundwork Action, Omidyar Network, and Roosevelt Forward.

  Common Dreams November 18, 2022
• Why are way more women suddenly working in construction?

  “Employers maybe have to search a little harder when the labor market gets tighter in the expansionary times,” said Elise Gould, a senior economist at the nonprofit Economic Policy Institute, “and then exercise less discretion — perhaps less discrimination — in who they’re hiring.”

  The Washington Post November 18, 2022
• November 18, 2022
  November 18, 2022
• The economic impact of the pandemic on women

  Features Elise discussing women in the work force.

  WBUR On Point November 17, 2022
• Gig companies pledge to help end hunger in the U.S. Some of their workers can’t afford the food they deliver.

  There is evidence that gig workers are more likely than other service-sector workers to experience hunger firsthand. In spring 2020, nearly one in five (19%) gig workers went hungry, compared to 14% of other service-sector workers, according to a national study by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank. Twice the rate of gig workers (30%) as W-2 employees in the service sector (15%) relied on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) — the public benefit once known as food stamps — within a month of the survey, according to the study. (W-2 refers to the tax form employees use to report their income.)

  MarketWatch November 10, 2022
• What’s next for John Fetterman?

  “In terms of things that would lower prices on store shelves, it’s pretty tough to act that quickly,” Josh Bivens, research director of the liberal think tank Economic Policy Institute, told the Inquirer. This sentiment was echoed by Alex Arnon, the associate director of policy analysis at the Penn Wharton Budget Model, who told the Inquirer, “Other than maybe very targeted tax increases, which I think there’s very little appetite for, there’s not a lot that Congress can do at this point.”

  The Week November 10, 2022
• Voters approve higher minimum wage in Nebraska and Washington, D.C. Votes still being tallied in Nevada

  Votes for the Minimum Wage Amendment in Nevada are still being tallied. But if it is approved, the minimum wage would rise to $12 per hour by 2024, up from $9.50 or $10.50 per hour, depending on health insurance benefits. Ben Zipperer, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute, said these results align with past state and local efforts, noting that raising the minimum wage is “an extremely popular policy initiative.”

  CNBC November 10, 2022
• CNN This Morning Weekend

  Features Heidi discussing the latest jobs report.

  CNN November 10, 2022
• Bernie Sanders warns ‘future of this country’ at stake in final campaign blitz before midterms

  While the nation’s electorate ranks the state of the economy as a major concern heading into Election Day, the message from Senator Sanders – primed on wealth inequality, women’s rights and the climate crisis – has framed inflation as a consequence of corporate greed. An analysis from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute found that fatter profit margins have accounted for roughly 54 per cent of inflation.

  The Independent (via Yahoo! News) November 10, 2022
• I Bought a House Five Months Ago. I Already Deeply Regret It.

  You’re absolutely right. It’s unfair that schools expect teachers to buy the supplies to do their job when other employers would cover these costs. Moreover, because of inequitable school funding, the teachers with the lowest salaries are the most likely to need to pay for supplies. An Economic Policy Institute survey found that teachers spend an average of $459 out-of-pocket on classroom supplies.

  Slate November 10, 2022
• Amidst organizing surge, Wisconsin unions still face an uphill climb

  Many employers automatically push back against employees’ organizing efforts, hiring law firms specializing in “union avoidance” to seek every avenue to dissuade workers, change election parameters or contest voting results. U.S. employers spend $340 million each year on such efforts, according to the Economic Policy Institute, a pro-labor think tank.

  The Cap Times November 10, 2022
• Herman Daly: A Economist Who Future Economists — and Societies — Will Dare Not Ignore

  A point of reference: Last year, the Economic Policy Institute reports, American corporate CEOs averaged 399 times the pay of our nation’s typical workers.

  Counter Punch November 10, 2022
• An Economist’s Chart Goes Viral: Shows Main Source of Inflation

  On April 21 Josh Bivens posted a titillating analysis on the Working Economics Blog. Bivens has a Ph.D. in Economics from the New School for Social Research and is the Director of Research at the Economic Policy Institute. The blog post was titled: “Corporate profits have contributed disproportionately to inflation. How should policymakers respond?”

  Counter Punch November 10, 2022
• Agency battling wage theft in California is too short-staffed to do its job

  California stands out among states for its efforts and policies to tackle wage theft given its union density, number of worker centers and public dollars committed to combating the problem, said David Cooper, a researcher who has studied wage theft at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, which is based in Washington, D.C.

  Union members accounted for 15.9% of wage and salary workers in California, compared to 10.3% nationally. That higher than average membership helps workers identify wage theft, Cooper said.

  “California has far more immigrants than a lot of other places, and we know that immigrants, and people of color generally, tend to more likely be victims of wage theft,” said Cooper, who is director of the institute’s Economic Analysis and Research Network, which coordinates nearly 60 state and local research and advocacy efforts nationally. 

  “Immigrants who are either undocumented, or may have family who are undocumented, are not going to speak up as vocally if their rights are being violated.”

  Cooper said the thousands of wage theft claims filed in California each year are likely an undercount of stolen pay cases.

  Cal Matters November 10, 2022