Another big reason that families consider dropping to one income is the cost of child care. In 38 states and Washington D.C., full-time child care costs more than public college tuition, according to the Economic Policy Institute (4).
MoneyWise
February 9, 2026
Advocates such as the Economic Policy Institute describe Social Security as “by far the most effective antipoverty program in the United States.” Narrowly, this is correct: If Social Security were eliminated, Census Bureau research suggests about 10 million older Americans would fall into poverty. But Social Security won’t be eliminated.
The Hill
February 9, 2026
Local cost equivalents for a $6,773 Super Bowl ticket (national average price) | Average Work Hours (Based on monthly household income per city and the US national average hours worked *) | Average Rent Price in Each City
*US national average of 34.2 hours worked per week, converted to monthly hours. | Local data comes from widely used public sources, including the US Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Economic Policy Institute, and Numbeo.
Sherwood News
February 9, 2026
One of the key ways to uncover abuses by labor contractors is for regulators to inspect the farms where their workers pick crops. Daniel Costa, an attorney and director of immigration with the think tank the Economic Policy Institute, said federal regulators have become so strapped for resources that they’re only inspecting a tiny fraction of farms each year.
“When less than 1% of farm employers are investigated every year, they can act with impunity, knowing that there is a very low likelihood that they will ever be investigated,” Costa said.
ProPublica
February 9, 2026
National figures show immigrants are heavily represented in construction work, with roughly one in three workers in construction and extraction jobs born outside the United States. That helps explain why enforcement actions and policy uncertainty flow straight into longer rebuilding timelines, according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute.
Hoodline
February 9, 2026
The bills could shrink Virginia’s public-sector pay gap, which is among the largest in the U.S., according to an analysis by the nonpartisan Economic Policy Institute; public employees in Virginia make more than 25% less than private-sector workers with similar schooling and backgrounds. The EPI’s report, published in January, found closing the pay gap could also lead to better public services, less turnover and improved racial and gender pay gaps.
WHRO Public Radio (Virginia)
February 9, 2026
Yesterday, the Virginia Senate Commerce and Labor Committee advanced a bill to repeal the commonwealth’s ban on collective bargaining for public sector workers on an 8-6 party line vote.
The bill would result in over 500,000 workers getting the right to collectively bargain, including teachers, firefighters, home care workers, and campus workers. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) published a report last month looking at how this legislation would benefit workers and Virginia more broadly.
“Data show that strong collective bargaining laws help states address persistent public-sector pay gaps, reduce staff vacancies and turnover, and lead to higher unionization rates,” EPI says.
Virginia Dogwood Newsletter
February 9, 2026
According to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, roughly 50% of workers ages 50 to 70 hold physically demanding (50.3%) or high-pressure jobs (46.1%). If you’re suffering physically or mentally, claiming benefits at 62 could provide the opportunity you need to focus on your physical and mental health.
Motley Fool
February 9, 2026
But a study from the Economic Policy Institute found that for low-income adults, the main barriers to work are economic conditions outside of their control, and that work requirements in the past have failed to boost work in significant ways.
Prism Reports
February 9, 2026
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI), a nonpartisan think tank that works “to counter rising inequality, low wages, and weak benefits for working people,” says about 70 percent of workers in the United States between the ages of thirty-two and sixty-six who had incomes above the taxable maximum in 2024 would face more in benefit cuts than they would pay in higher taxes if the cap were scrapped. But the remaining 30 percent, EPI reports, would be better off financially if they took the hit in benefit cuts than they would be if they paid higher taxes.
The Progressive Magazine
February 9, 2026