Media clips

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• Anti-union Right’s alternate reality on NLRB election rule

  Fact No 1: Is “regulatory uncertainty” destroying jobs? On this point, Wszolek might read the Economic Policy Institute’s study, “Regulatory Uncertainty: A Phony Explanation for our jobs problem.” EPI director Larry Mishel concludes, “An examination of current economic trends, and especially what employers are doing in terms of hiring and investment, debunks this story about regulatory uncertainty as the cause of our dismal job growth.” With regard to the NLRB rules, GOP lawsuits and legislation are responsible for creating the current uncertainty.

  The Hill April 24, 2012
• Romney Would Have To Cut Food Inspection, The FBI, And National Parks By 20 Percent To Achieve His Budget Goals

  So Romney’s plan would lavish tax breaks on the richest Americans and increase already sky-high defense spending, while gutting some of the core functions of government: public safety, education, and infrastructure. As the Economic Policy Institute noted, the current level of domestic discretionary spending — which is comprised of the programs listed above, among many others — “is 4 percent of GDP, about equal to the historical average since the early 1960s.” Last week, Romeney orchestrated an event with some “real Americans,” who told him it might be necessary to raise their taxes, rather than cut priorities like education.

  Think Progress April 24, 2012
• 53% of Recent College Grads Are Jobless or Underemployed—How?

  But are we really becoming another Greece or Spain, a wasteland of opportunity for anybody under the age of 25? Not quite. What the new statistics really tell us about is the changing nature, and value, of higher education.

  First, here’s the nut of the AP’s findings, which it derived with the help of researchers from Northeastern University, Drexel University, and the Economic Policy Institute, based on data from the Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey and the U.S. Department of Labor

  The Atlantic April 24, 2012
• Half Of Recent College Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed

  The disappearance of mid-level jobs during the Great Recession, along with overall high unemployment, have made it hard for recent college graduates to find good jobs upon leaving school. More than 50 percent of college graduates under age 25 are either jobless or underemployed, according to an analysis from Drexel University and the Economic Policy Institute

  Think Progress April 24, 2012
• On Earth Day, let’s protect Clean Air Act

  Far from being job killers, these regulations will mean new work for the innovative American companies who supply the equipment needed for plants to comply with the law. A study by the Economic Policy Institute found that enactment of these standards would create a net gain of 117,000 jobs.

  Concord Monitor April 23, 2012
• 1 In 2 New Graduates Are Jobless Or Underemployed

  The figures are based on an analysis of 2011 Current Population Survey data by Northeastern University researchers and supplemented with material from Paul Harrington, an economist at Drexel University, and the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington think tank. They rely on Labor Department assessments of the level of education required to do the job in 900-plus U.S. occupations, which were used to calculate the shares of young adults with bachelor’s degrees who were “underemployed.”

  About 1.5 million, or 53.6 percent, of bachelor’s degree-holders under the age of 25 last year were jobless or underemployed, the highest share in at least 11 years. In 2000, the share was at a low of 41 percent, before the dot-com bust erased job gains for college graduates in the telecommunications and IT fields.

  Associated Press April 23, 2012
• No Change in D.C. Unemployment Rate, Though City Adds 4,000 Jobs

  And though D.C.’s jobless rate remained stagnant, it is down from from 10 percent in March 2011. Unemployment in the District hovered in the double digits for over two years beginning in August 2009 before finally dipping to 9.9 percent in January. In the past 12 months, D.C. has added 13,100 jobs for a total of 738,600, according to the BLS.

  Even though the needle moved very little in the past month, there are still some silver linings to be found, said Doug Hall, an analyst at the Economic Policy Institute.

  “The fact that the employment rate is below 10 percent is a pretty good thing,” Hall said. “At the same time, an unemployment rate that’s more or less 10 percent is certainly not something to be celebrating. It’s obvious more needs to be done to turn the corner in what’s been a pretty weak recovery.”

  Hall said much of the onus on keeping economic fires alive lies with the federal government funding infrastructure projects that can lead to long-term job creation. He cited a recent analysis by his organization of the budget proposal favored by House Republicans that would make significant cuts to domestic discretionary spending.

  “The role of the federal government is clear here,” Hall said. “At the same time, state and local governments need to make sure they are not compromising their future based on the faulty premise of avoiding deficits down the road.”

  DCist April 23, 2012
• Bad Economy Puts Obama In Tight Spot With Young Voters

  “All downturns disproportionately impact young people and this one is no different,” said Lawrence Mishel, president of the Economic Policy Institute. “Everyone’s situation deteriorates in a downturn. No one escaped and young people got hurt the most.”

  ABC News April 20, 2012
• Let’s Get The Facts Straight Over Mercury Standards

  The Economic Policy Institute determined that the rules would yield a net increase of  84,500 direct jobs by 2015.

  Think Progress April 20, 2012
• Should Apple Take Responsibility For Concerns Over Its Chinese Labor Practices?

  Many groups, including the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), are speaking out against Apple claiming it should take full responsibility.

  “Apple is certainly to blame because Apple is in control of the situation,” Ross Eisenbrey, the Vice President of the Economic Policy Institute, said to WebProNews.

  The EPI, along with Students and Scholars against Corporate Misbehavior (SACOM), the Workers Rights Consortium, and others, recently held a forum to raise awareness of these issues. Their research, as Eisenbrey explained to us, found that Foxconn’s Chinese factory employees work 60-70 hours per week, are exposed to dangerous chemicals, experience explosions from uncontrolled aluminum dust, and are under a military-style of management.

  WebProNews April 20, 2012