Media clips

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• 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
• How Wal-Mart Shapes the World

  Although Furman advocates a higher minimum wage (as Wal-Mart does), he argues that even modestly higher Wal-Mart worker wages would eliminate the company’s profits or push up prices, thus implicitly hurting them.

  But an Economic Policy Institute team of economists authoritatively criticized Global Insight’s methodology and judged its projected savings from shopping at Wal-Mart “implausible.” For example, EPI critics say, the Global Insight report credited Wal-Mart with reducing prices it does not affect, like other services that make up 60 percent of the consumer price index. In any case, the EPI economists argued, if the savings are as big as claimed, Wal-Mart could raise wages and keep prices low.

  The American Prospect April 20, 2012
• Mitt Romney is the Dorian Gray of 2012

  And the Ryan plan is wounding. It would end the Medicare guarantee, voucherize the program, explode costs for seniors, and subject them to the callous mercies of the insurance industry. The plan would destroy 1.3 million jobs in 2013 and 2.8 million in 2014, according to the Economic Policy Institute. And Ryan would gut areas like college aid to shower the wealthy with more tax cuts.

  The Week April 20, 2012
• Off the clock: Employees fighting for overtime pay
  MSNBC April 18, 2012
• Jobs recovery slower for women
  Politico April 18, 2012