On average, infant care in a center costs $11,512 per year, which is nearly 14% of a median family’s income in South Carolina, according to a report released last week by the Economic Policy Institute.
This makes it nearly impossible for many families to find good care that fits their budget.
South Carolina Daily Gazette
March 13, 2025
As of September 2024, there were 12.2% fewer school bus drivers on the road than September 2019, according to data from the Economic Policy Institute. Aharon said it is difficult for the district to compete with other higher paying roles when ABSS bus drivers are making between $17 and $18 an hour to drive a bus route and handle discipline issues on buses.
Elon News Network
March 13, 2025
“Our country has lost more than 5 million jobs in more than 90,000 factories due to devastating globalization over the last three decades alone.”
A White House official said the source was a 2020 report from the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute. The headline was: “We can reshore manufacturing jobs, but Trump hasn’t done it.”
According to the article — written by a now-retired EPI economist — “the U.S. has suffered a net loss of more than 91,000 manufacturing plants and nearly 5 million manufacturing jobs since 1997.”
…
The employment-loss numbers “are about the job displacements associated with higher trade deficits,” said Josh Bivens, chief economist at EPI, in an email. “These deficits are, in our view, definitely a problem. But we’d also argue that they are a problem that will not be effectively addressed with large, across-the-board increases in tariffs. Large, across-the-board tariffs have no real chance of really reducing trade deficits unless they become so prohibitive that they shut down essentially all trade. Tariffs can be a useful and strategic tool to hit targeted goals and provide effective protection to narrow industries, but they cannot work to increase manufacturing employment generally.”
The Washington Post
March 13, 2025
Veterans make up more than 30% of the federal workforce.
- Illinois is home to 20,900 civilian federal employees who are veterans, spouses of veterans, or spouses of active military personnel, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
Axios Chicago
March 13, 2025
A report from the Economic Policy Institute ranks Washington state as the eighth most expensive state when it comes to infant care, at an average cost of $1,723 per month, or $20,677 per year. Child care for a 4-year old comes in at an average of $1,201 per year.
Along with costing 154% more than tuition at a public four-year university, child care costs barely less than the average rent bill.
Tri-Cities Area Business Journal
March 13, 2025
In 2023, the state rolled back its previous protections for child labor, despite a 266% rise in violations from 2020 to 2023.
Nina Mast, a policy analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, said these protections are important for young workers. She said permits keep employers compliant with state labor laws, inform parents of the job duties and create a dedicated paper trail for enforcement.
“It’s not a burdensome process,” she said. “It creates some work for the employers, schools and labor agencies, but it’s worth it.”
States that required children to get work permits had 15% fewer workplace violations between 2008 and 2020, according to a University of Maryland study.
Mountain State Spotlight
March 13, 2025
The retirement savings gap is perhaps the most stark—according to the Economic Policy Institute, white families have typically accumulated $120,000 more in retirement savings than Black families by retirement age. Many factors contribute to this gap, including lower access to employer-sponsored retirement plans and earlier withdrawals due to financial emergencies.
Essence
March 11, 2025
The Economic Policy Institute pointed out Monday that “since the creation of the PSLF program, more than 1 million borrowers have received student loan forgiveness, largely due to fixes made under the Biden administration.”
“More than 2 million individuals currently qualify for the PSLF program, according to the Department of Education,” the think tank added. “The executive order could potentially narrow which organizations qualify for the program.”
Common Dreams
March 11, 2025
Why It Matters: According to the Economic Policy Institute, Trump inherited a healthy economy from his predecessor, President Joe Biden.
Benzinga (via Yahoo! Finance)
March 11, 2025