Indeed, by the early 1970s, one of our nation’s top corporate leaders — General Electric chair and CEO Reginald Jones — was pulling down a mere $200,000 a year and living in a modest brick colonial just outside New York. Jones and his big-time CEO counterparts, the Economic Policy Institute has detailed, were then averaging only 20 times or so more than what their workers were making.
Inequality.org
March 3, 2025
A December Economic Policy Institute report found that between 2021 and 2023, federal, state, and local authorities clawed back some $1.5 billion for workers. These recovery efforts, however, are ultimately “a very small piece in the grand scheme of how much wage theft is occurring,” says Margaret Poydock, an EPI senior policy analyst. To further combat this common problem, some regional governments and municipalities are stepping into the void to assist workers, particularly non-unionized employees.
American Prospect
March 3, 2025
The tariffs will likely have almost no impact on consumer prices, according to Adam S. Hersh, a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute.
“Corporations have more than sufficient profit margins to absorb small price increases to a small input to production,” he said.
…
A can costs a little bit less than 4 cents to produce, according to Hersh. “If we put a 25% tariff on that, it would raise the cost of the can to 5 cents,” he said, adding that it would increase the production cost of a six-pack by 6 cents.
Investors largely agree aluminum tariffs won’t result in significant cost hikes as share prices of beverage corporations have been relatively stable since they were announced, according to Hersh.
CNN Business
March 3, 2025
In a series of attestations, Trump administration officials aimed to give the impression that DOGE’s activities were generally aboveboard – with an eye toward the broader goal of refuting the claims advanced by the unions and the Economic Policy Institute.
Law & Crime
March 3, 2025
Per the Economic Policy Institute, tariffs can be utilized to protect domestic production and other goals. The EPI said tariffs are “most effective when they focus on well-defined and narrowly tailored goals, they work best as part of a larger strategy.”
97.1 FM
March 3, 2025
Illinois became the first state to pilot UI for school staff during the pandemic, Dave Kamper, a senior state policy strategist with the Economic Policy Institute, told lawmakers. Minnesota followed suit in 2023.
VT Digger
March 3, 2025
…double (7.7%) that of white people (4%), according to the Economic Policy Institute. The Illinois that ranks 45 out of 50 states for…[paywall].
Chicago Tribune
March 3, 2025
Samantha Sanders, the Director of Government Affairs and Advocacy at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, says such rhetoric “is based on racism, xenophobia, and misinformation.” What does more to depress working conditions and wages, Sanders told me, is the large number of workers who—whether due to deportation concerns or other fears—are not able to push against exploitative labor conditions.
“If you want to make sure that immigrant workers are not pushing wages down and contributing to a race to the bottom,” Sanders says, “give them legal status to work, to be able to work above board, and, ultimately, have a pathway to citizenship.” She pointed to a report from the Immigration Research Initiative, another nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank, and some of her colleagues at EPI, which found that immigration enables the US to experience continued economic growth despite an aging American-born population and a decreasing number of working adults.
A separate EPI report detailed the damage wrought by a “two-tiered” system of workplace rights, especially among immigrants who only have temporary status through a work visa.
Mother Jones
March 3, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute, the bottom 40% of Americans would be worse off if these cuts make it through the US Senate, while the bottom 20% could see their incomes reduced by 7.4%.
Keystone Newsroom
March 3, 2025
Economic Policy Institute Deputy Director for State Policy and Research Jennifer Sherer said she is worried about all the resources being taken away from Iowans.
“The richest man in the world is illegally firing frontline workers who serve Iowa veterans, seniors, our farmers and businesses and who keep our food, water and airlines safe,” Sherer said. “He’s compromising national security, targeting Iowa’s poorest families, and unfortunately just like many republicans in our own state legislature today, actively promoting hate and discrimination.”
KGAN
March 3, 2025