Moynihan says the government spends “about $350 billion on federal employees every year, out of a $6.5 trillion budget.”
That represents “a tiny sliver of total government spending — just around 5% to 6%,” according to Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan think tank.
NPR
February 4, 2025
Josh Bivens, chief economist and research director at the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), told Newsweek in a previous article that these actions could trigger a “steep recession.”
Newsweek
February 4, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute noted that “although the latest BLS data show a decline in the unionization rate, many workers continued to make organizing gains within auto manufacturing, hospitality, public education, and healthcare.”
Common Dreams
February 4, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute released a study this fall that projected that more than 563,000 workers in Michigan would earn over $1.3 billion in additional wages each year. For the 100,000 tipped workers who would benefit, it would mean a $6,669 raise. Women and people of color would likely benefit the most, as they make less on average in tipped service positions, and often have to endure harassment from customers who control their wages.
More Perfect Union
February 4, 2025
Economic objections have also been raised. Dr. Josh Bivens of the Economic Policy Institute previously told Newsweek that “the long-term consequences would be catastrophic” and “guaranteed to cause a steep recession” as federal grant funding is pulled out of the economy.
Newsweek
February 4, 2025
In a statement, the Economic Policy Institute warned that freezing federal funding “risks throwing the U.S. economy into chaos.”
The statement, written by Samantha Sanders and Josh Bivens, warned that risks increased the longer uncertainty over federal funding persisted.
“The federal government gives $1 trillion in grants to state and local governments alone, for everything from physical infrastructure and public safety to health and social services,” they wrote. “Removing this money from the economy would represent a huge economic shock.”
Kansas City Beacon
February 4, 2025
Research by the progressive Economic Policy Institute shows union workers earn about 10.2% more in hourly wages, and even nonunion workers benefit in highly unionized industries.
Minnesota Reformer
February 4, 2025
Nina Mast, a policy and economic analyst for the Economic Policy Institute, said it is just the start of combatting illegal child labor in the Commonwealth.
Public News Service
February 4, 2025
According to the Economic Policy Institute,
“Following the EO’s directives would require executive branch agencies to illegally redirect dollars from programs where both funding levels and disbursement rules are assigned by Congress. Legality aside, this EO effectively redirects taxpayer money away from students attending public schools towards relatively well-off families who send their kids to private schools. Around 90 percent of students attend public schools — and this is particularly true in the low-income communities where private schools may be financially out of reach, and rural communities where private schools may not exist. These school districts rely on federal funds to provide high quality education.”
Under the Desk News (Substack)
February 4, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute reports that as of 2023, teachers nationwide earned 26.6% less than workers with similar educational credentials, and Mississippi’s average teacher salary is just $53,354.
WLOX-TV (Mississippi)
February 4, 2025