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
Six labor unions and the Economic Policy Institute filed a February lawsuit claiming DOGE’s efforts to slash “waste, fraud and abuse” go beyond the legal scope.
The Hill
March 3, 2025
Medicaid and related programs provide health insurance for nearly 80 million adults and children, but potential cuts outlined in the budget resolution passed by House Republicans this week would leave millions with less money to pay for food and housing while boosting incomes for the extremely wealthy by 3.9 percent, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
Truthout
March 3, 2025
The $7.25 federal minimum wage hasn’t increased since 2009, but the effective minimum wage has increased in 30 states over the last decade, according to the Economic Policy Institute. For this report, Redfin used a national effective minimum wage of $11.59 for 2025.
WMTV
March 3, 2025
“And it had been at or below 4.2% for 39 months. The last time unemployment was that low for that long was in the 1960s,” said Heidi Shierholz, president of the Economic Policy Institute.
She said as of this January, the whole economy was strong. And on its own, this week’s bump in unemployment claims isn’t really something to worry about.
“But many data sources are now starting to flash yellow, some are even starting to flash red,” she said. “Stock markets are down, bonds are down, consumer sentiment is down, inflation expectations are way up. All of those are going in the wrong direction.”
Marketplace
March 3, 2025