The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) raised concerns that the law will incentivize many to work as much overtime as possible to gain the extra income, including evenings and weekends — habits “associated with a range of negative impacts on physical and mental health, well-being, and productivity.”
In addition, those unable to work overtime for personal or health reasons will lose out on the benefits. The EPI called the law “another gimmick that does more harm than good” and suggested that offering workers raises so they don’t have to work the extra hours would prove a better option.
MoneyWise
August 13, 2025
If the Trump administration were to deport 4 million people over a four-year period, New Jersey’s workforce could shrink by 234,000 — including 67,000 people in construction — said a July report by the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
NorthJersey.com
August 13, 2025
As researchers at the Economic Policy Institute and North Carolina Budget and Tax Center have documented in a pair of recent briefs, the “no taxes on tips” idea benefits comparatively few workers.
Analysis from EPI shows that the law will benefit between 2.5 and 5.2 million tipped workers who will receive an income tax deduction before the policy expires in 2028. The average tax benefit would amount to $1,700 annually during the four years the bill would be in effect. Notably, however, the policy would disproportionately benefit the top 20 percent of all tipped workers, who would receive an average tax cut of over $5,700. Because so many tipped workers have incomes too low to have any federal income tax liability, the bottom 20 percent of all tipped workers would receive an annual average tax cut of just $74.
NC Newsline
August 13, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the average estimated expenses tied to living in Cortland County for two adults without children is $5,019 per month, or $60,231 per year.
MoneyDigest
August 13, 2025
And because of the severity of cuts to Medicaid and food assistance, the lowest-earning 40% of American households would lose income, on average, according to the Washington-based Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.
The CT Mirror
August 13, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute has slightly different numbers but the same trend: Wage growth shot up with inflation, then slowed as inflation ebbed. However, wage growth in 2025 remains higher than during the first half of Trump’s first term, when it generally ran under 3%; in the last half, it topped 3% and was running at 3.4% before the pandemic hit.
Cardinal News (VA)
August 13, 2025
Here are some of the sources I currently rely on for the truth: Democracy Now, Business Insider, The New Yorker, The American Prospect, The Atlantic, Americans for Tax Fairness, Economic Policy Institute, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, The Guardian, ProPublica, Labor Notes, The Lever, Popular Information, Heather Cox Richardson, and, of course, this Substack.
Robert Reich Substack
August 13, 2025
- Reduced reliance on government assistance: As of 2025, the federal minimum wage is considered a “poverty wage,” according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). A single, full-time working adult earning $7.25 per hour now falls below the poverty threshold of $15,650. Raising the minimum wage to match inflation could lift millions above the poverty line and reduce dependence on safety net programs like food stamps and Medicaid, ChatGPT said.
GO Banking Rates
August 13, 2025
The ITIN has also been used as a way for immigrants to show they are abiding by the law as they wait for Congress to pass an immigration reform bill, said Daniel Costa, the director of Immigration Law and Policy and the Economic Policy Institute.
“I think this is because the immigration reform bills that have been proposed in Congress and included a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants have often included provisions requiring undocumented immigrants to pay back taxes. If they have kept up with paying their taxes and a legalization passes Congress, then they’ll already have met that requirement,” he said. He added, however, that Congress hasn’t taken a meaningful step in that direction since 2013.
Houston Chronicle
August 13, 2025