Media clips

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• Uncertainty for local federal workers amid ‘largest mass layoff’ in US history

  According to numbers provided by the Economic Policy Institute, Ohio has nearly 81,000 workers employed by the federal government, based on U.S. Census and other data.

  Dayton Daily News March 10, 2025
• Oregon ranks among the most expensive for infant child care in U.S.

  Paying for care for a baby in Oregon can cost more than supporting a college kid.

  The average cost of infant care in the state in 2024 was about $19,064 a year, or $1,589 a month, according to a new tool released by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank.

  The Oregonian March 10, 2025
• Fired NOAA Researchers Talk About Their Critical Work Protecting Northern CA Coasts From Climate Change

  The researchers are determined to continue their work in spite of the recent layoffs. Several state governments are looking to snap up former federal employees, including Hawaii, Washington State, Virginia, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and New York.

  Considering California is home to the most federal workers in the country — according to Economic Policy Institute, here’s hoping California is next in line, and this critical work protecting our coastline can continue.

  SFist March 10, 2025
• She worked at Subway for more than a decade—then found out her boss had been breaking labor laws the whole time

  Millions of workers across the country regularly experience similar violations, amounting to tens of billions of dollars in illegally withheld wages every year, according to an Economic Policy Institute report. 

  Fast Company March 10, 2025
• When tariffs are a good idea

  Other key reasons for tariffs include national security concerns, shoring up key points in supply chains and combating monopolization of critical imports — aspects that became particularly salient during the Covid-19 pandemic, Economic Policy Institute economists Adam Hersch and Josh Bivens have noted.

  “Tariffs are a valid, and often useful, industrial policy tool that can provide narrow and targeted protection for key sectors,” they noted.

  CNN Business March 10, 2025
• Consumers elected Trump to fix prices – his policies could do the opposite

  While inflation was a centerpiece of Trump’s campaign, so far “We’re not seeing anything that is credibly going to address the high prices of food, housing and health care that he pledged to do something about,” Adam Hersh, senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank, told MarketWatch. “What he talked about doing is almost certain to cause prices to go up.”

  MarketWatch March 10, 2025
• Costs of child care now outpace college tuition in 38 states, analysis finds

  The cost of child care now exceeds the price of college tuition in 38 states and the District of Columbia, according to a new analysis conducted by the Economic Policy Institute.

  The left-leaning think tank, based in Washington, D.C., used 2023 federal and nonprofit data to compare the monthly cost of infant child care to that of tuition at public colleges.

  …

  EPI leaders said child care is unaffordable for working families across the country, but especially for low-wage workers, including those who provide child care.

  “This isn’t inevitable — it is a policy choice,” Katherine deCourcy, EPI research assistant, said in a news release. “Federal and state policymakers can and should act to make child care more affordable, and ensure that child care workers can afford the same quality of care for their own children.”

  Stateline March 10, 2025
• Congress’ proposed cuts may jeopardize Medicaid and negatively impact the economy, report finds

  “It is very hard to imagine coming up with enough savings from what’s in their jurisdiction without a hefty cut to Medicaid, just given its size,” said Josh Bivens, chief economist at the Economic Policy Institute.

  …

  Because the program is the largest federal program for alleviating poverty, cutbacks would increase hardships for already struggling families, according to new research from the Economic Policy Institute.

  CNBC March 10, 2025
• Faith Leaders Blast GOP’s Attacks on Poor and Tax Cuts for the Rich

  At this critical moment in our nation’s history, we need a government that promotes unity and love towards all members of the human family, not division and hatred,” added Barber, whose group released the report in partnership with the Economic Policy Institute (EPI) and the Institute for Policy Studies (IPS).

  The report—titled The High Moral Stakes of the Policy Battles Raging in Washington—explains that “social safety net and housing programs are under attack from two fronts,” pointing to both Republican lawmakers’ pursuit of cuts and Elon Musk, the unelected leader of Trump’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).

  Common Dreams March 10, 2025
• Trump Renews No Tax On Tips Pledge In Speech To Congress

  Furthermore, many tipped workers already have little or no federal income tax liability: an estimated 37% of tipped workers earn so little that they pay no federal income tax under current law (due to the standard deduction and credits), according to an analysis by the EPI. ​For those workers, eliminating taxes on tips would not increase their take-home pay because they weren’t paying income tax on those earnings. (Notably, tips would presumably still be subject to payroll taxes for Social Security and Medicare unless specifically exempted).

  Economic Implications: Analysts across the political spectrum have raised red flags that no tax on tips is more of a political gesture than sound policy​, notes the Brookings Institution. Similarly, the EPI warns that exempting tips from taxation could “harm more workers than it helps.” In summary, EPI finds such a policy would help very few workers while undermining pay increases for many more, expand the use of tipped work (a system often rife with instability and abuse), and deplete federal and state budgets while creating new avenues for tax avoidance​.

  Forbes March 10, 2025