Media clips
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“Most of this deceleration is likely transitory—due in part to particularly bad weather in the first quarter. Growth in the rest of 2015 will most likely be faster than previously projected, as the economy bounces back from this weak start to the year. Yet data on GDP in recent years confirms that the U.S. economy has not reached escape velocity—growth rates have not broken past the 2%-2.5% pace that normally is associated with rapid declines in economic slack. Because growth has been steady for years, it might be tempting for some policy makers to shrug their shoulders and declare that this is the ‘new normal’ and the best we can do. The economic evidence clearly suggests otherwise—this economy still needs active measures to boost demand to achieve a full recovery. At a minimum, this means the Federal Reserve should put off interest rate increases for the rest of 2015.” — Josh Bivens, Economic Policy Institute
Wall Street Journal April 30, 2015 -
The Economic Policy Institute estimates that between 2007 and 2010, a total of $121.5 billion in executive compensation was deductible from corporate earnings, and roughly 55 percent of this total was for performance-based compensation.
The Atlantic Monthly notes that: “Between 1940 and 1970, average CEO pay remained below $1 million (in 2000 dollars). According to the Economic Policy Institute, from 1978 to 2013, CEO pay at American firms rose a stunning 937 percent, compared with a mere 10.2 percent growth in worker compensation over the same period, all adjusted for inflation. In 2013, the average CEO pay at the top 350 U.S. companies was $15.2 million.”Congressional Mentions April 30, 2015 -
Regarding the April 27 editorial “Mr. Obama’s trade fight,” defending the Trans-Pacific Partnership:
Critics object that the proposal would further lower incomes and opportunities for working Americans. The template for the trade deal is the1994 North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico, upon which all of the major U.S. trade deals since have been based. Under that model, the United States negotiates away the interests of Americans who work here to gain benefits for Americans who invest elsewhere. Unsurprisingly, these agreements have helped generate chronic trade deficits, driven down wages and increased inequality.
The editorial was silent on this record. Its one reference to NAFTA was followed by the irrelevant point that the United States is running a surplus with four minor trading partners. The major argument seems to be that the Trans-Pacific Partnership will check China’s influence — in Asia!
The editorial board’s failure to demonstrate domestic economic benefits from the Trans-Pacific Partnership reveals just how weak the case for it is.
The Washington Post April 29, 2015 -
While rising exports help support American jobs, rising imports can put Americans out of work. “Looking only at exports is like counting only the runs by the home team,” said Robert Scott, a trade economist at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. “Might make you feel good, but it doesn’t tell you the outcome of the game — it doesn’t tell you whether your team won or not.” The U.S. trade deficit with Korea has widened more than 80 percent since the trade deal took effect. Scott worries the Asia Pacific deal will bring more of the same. “My answer is, show me the money,” Scott said. “Show me the wages that you’re going to generate for working Americans. Explain how this policy is going to reverse the 30-year trend of stagnant real wages for most working Americans.”
NPR April 29, 2015 -
Could you hold the key to eliminating income inequality? We unpack the belief that talking to your friends about how much money you make could help close the pay gap.
The Huffington Post April 28, 2015 -
And we know, because we have seen the impact on our economy firsthand. Without our trade deficit with Japan, Michigan would have an estimated 56,200 more jobs, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute. Let me tell you, people feel it.
Detroit Free Press April 28, 2015 -
According to Sanders, the impacts he identified are based on an evaluation of House and Senate versions of the budget resolutions by the Office of Management and Budget, the Economic Policy Institute and the Institute of Taxation and Economic Policy. Some data was generated based on projections from the Census Bureau and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
The Hill April 28, 2015 -
The argument has long bothered Thomas Hungerford, senior economist and director for budget and tax policy at the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute, because it takes for granted that there is no possibility of raising additional revenue. And in a new paper released Tuesday, Hungerford makes the case that not only is the U.S. not broke, but it can raise enough money to pay for future spending needs, including important additional investments in infrastructure and education. “While the federal government is projected to run deficits far into the future, the U.S. economy is projected to generate substantial amounts of income growth far into the future,” he writes. “This means the real fiscal challenge is simply the political problem of raising revenues that are sufficient to meet our spending needs.”
Fiscal Times April 28, 2015 -
President Bill Clinton at the time made big promises of job gains, while presidential contender Ross Perot warned of a “giant sucking sound” that would devour nearly six million jobs. Some economists since have argued loudly that Nafta did indeed devour jobs and drive down wages, while others have argued that such claims are overblown and simplistic.
Wall Street Journal April 27, 2015 -
Each side has its share of studies to bolster its argument about the benefits and costs of the agreement. Critics have pointed to the loss of manufacturing jobs over the past generation. The Economic Policy Institute, a think tank critical of many major trade deals, has determined that non-college-educated Americans have lost $1,800 annually in wages in recent decades because of international trade agreements.
Newsweek April 24, 2015