Liberal groups like the AFL-CIO and the Economic Policy Institute have started a petition drive to urge the Obama administration not to “let Congress run out the clock” on the Labor Department’s proposed overtime rule, which would more than double (to $50,440) the salary threshold under which virtually all employees qualify for time-and-a-half if they work more than 40 hours in any given week.
Politico
February 12, 2016
Given that the stock rout occurred right after the Federal Reserve boosted rates for the first time since 2006, some are pointing fingers at the central bank. Economists such as the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute have expressed concern that the hike wasn’t justified given the still-recovering U.S. economy. Federal Reserve chair Janet Yellen on Thursday called the December decision “tranquil” and pointed to other issues, including weaker global economic growth.
CBS Moneywatch
February 12, 2016
The trouble comes when we use the consumer spending numbers in the GDP to draw conclusions for which it was not designed, said Josh Bivens, research and policy director at the Economic Policy Institute. “I think there’s a critique of the U.S. economy that relies on the claim that [there is] too much short-termism, and people are too materialistic,” but the numbers don’t bear that out, Bivens said. “A lot of what has driven rising consumption over the last 20 or 30 years in the U.S. economy is health care, education and rent. And it doesn’t saying anything about a moral failure,” he said.
Marketplace
February 11, 2016
While unemployment has dropped to 4.9 percent overall, it is at 16 percent for those between the ages of 16 and 19, and 8.2 percent for 20-to-24-year-olds. According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a left-leaning think tank, even among employed and college-educated youth wages have been on a constant downward trend since the year 2000.
The New Republic
February 11, 2016
A state’s economic health is directly related to its workforce’s level of education, according to the Economic Policy Institute, so it’s fair to say that when college students fail to clear these hurdles and ultimately drop out, it’s bad for Chicago – and for Illinois as a whole.
Chicago Tribune
February 11, 2016
Some council members have expressed support for higher wages, but few have backed a specific dollar figure. In September, the council voted to set aside $150,000 for a study on the potential impact of a higher minimum wage in the city or the metro area. The council voted Wednesday to authorize a team of researchers from the University of Minnesota, Howard University, Rutgers University and the Economic Policy Institute to complete the study this spring, but some council members said they remain uncertain about the city’s ability to make any changes.
Minneapolis Star Tribune
February 11, 2016
Live-in domestic servants are uniquely vulnerable to abuse because their work takes place out of sight, experts say – which also makes it difficult to estimate how many are in the United States. Roughly 2 million people work in “in-home” professions, from housecleaning to elder care, according to a 2013 report from the Economic Policy Institute. Those who are live-in workers, or immigrants, are especially difficult to tally, and especially vulnerable.
Christian Science Monitor
February 10, 2016
The Economic Policy Institute says the biggest decline in wages from 2013 to 2014 occurred among those with undergraduate and advanced degrees. Just think what it would mean to Walmart if those Americans were paid better salaries: more customers in stores and online.
Philadelphia Inquirer
February 10, 2016
While collectors for other types of loans also pursue debtors behind bars, federal student loans are different because the government is the collector, which means taxpayer money is spent trying to reach borrowers who cannot easily communicate with the outside world and have few opportunities to earn money to repay the debt. McMillan, for example, said she was making less than a dollar per hour at her job as a suicide-prevention aid worker at Rikers. The average federal prison worker makes about 92 cents per hour, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Bloomberg
February 10, 2016
Government assistance helps millions of Americans afford health care, housing, food, and child care. Such programs have become the right wing’s go-to scapegoat for budgetary bloat and government dependency. But a new report from the Economic Policy Institute shows that a large chunk of government-assistance spending is due to the prevalence of low-wage work in this country.
The American Prospect
February 10, 2016