Cites EARN in the South press conference on paid leave.
Little Rock Public Radio
January 26, 2026
“We are the only country in the industrialized world that doesn’t have a federal paid leave policy,” said Sen. Jennifer Boysko (D-Fairfax), who is sponsoring the legislation.
The program would pay qualified workers up to 80% of their average weekly salary for up to 12 weeks, something Democrats saif is necessary to help working Virginians.
“Everyone deserves the dignity and the ability to care for themselves and their loved ones, and hold on to their jobs and get some of their paycheck when the biggest things happen,” Boykso said.
WRIC-TV (ABC Richmond)
January 26, 2026
Features interview with Dave Kamper.
The Valley Labor Report
January 26, 2026
Paid Family and Medical Leave (PFML) and paid sick leave help workers maintain their livelihoods while taking care of themselves and their families. And now, several states in the South have begun to expand worker access to these critical benefits.
On January 20, the Economic Policy Institute’s EARN in the South network — a coalition of Southern policy, research and grassroots organizations — held a virtual press conference highlighting 2026 opportunities to expand paid leave policies in Southern states.
In particular, Virginia is poised to become the first state in the South to enact comprehensive paid family and medical leave legislation. Speakers celebrated the promise of Virginia’s proposed legislation and noted that for too long, Southern states have fallen behind as states in other regions have begun to implement comprehensive paid leave programs.
Statepoint Media
January 26, 2026
Nonhousing Affordability
Why it matters: Day-to-day expenses – food, transportation, utilities – determine how far savings stretch.
Source: Economic Policy Institute Family Budget Calculator
Motley Fool
January 26, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute reports that the average American household income as of 2023 was $80,610. To be in the top 20% of earners, you’d have to make almost double the average, over $130,500 a year. (5) While the IRS benchmark for being a 1-percenter is income above $540,009 per year, the Institute puts that figure at $819,324 a year. (6)
MoneyWise
January 26, 2026
According to Move.org’s analysis of data provided by the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the average cost of groceries in the U.S. is $370 per month per person. Meanwhile, the EPI itself reports that a month’s worth of food for a single person costs almost $400 in the Ridge area. Factoring in all these day-to-day living expenses, it seems unlikely that anyone in the 34.5% of the Ridge population that’s retirement age is getting by without some degree of retirement savings.
Money Digest
January 26, 2026
Researchers such as Ben Zipperer at the Economic Policy Institute have shown that immigrant deportation policies of President Trump, like his tariffs, or taxes, on U.S. imports, harm the native-born working class, including small businesses. Removing immigrant workers from the U.S. labor force equals slower economic growth and fewer jobs. ICE deporting immigrants is a job-killer policy. This is not rocket science, folks.
Counterpunch
January 26, 2026
Kym Shaw, executive director of the Fort Worth-based Early Learning Alliance, said it’s encouraging to see candidates centering early childhood issues in their campaigns. She noted the high cost of child care for infants in Texas and its strain on family finances. The state’s average cost of infant care is about $10,700 per year, or $892 per month, according to the Economic Policy Institute.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
January 26, 2026
Still, despite broad support among House Democrats over the summer, the issue has cropped up in final House-Senate negotiations on a compromise DHS appropriations bill. Analysis last month from the left-leaning, labor-backed Economic Policy Institute found that if enacted, the Harris amendment could lead to more than 250,000 H-2B visas.
“This amendment in Congress would mainly benefit employers by allowing them to gradually hire an exponentially higher number of workers they can control, while undercutting labor standards for all workers,” EPI’s December report said.
CQ Magazine
January 26, 2026