Media clips

• La importancia de ir a clase

  Las autoras del estudio son Emma García, economista del Economic Policy Institute y Teachers College, de la Universidad de Columbia, y Elaine Weiss, directora de políticas de la National Academy of Social Insurance e investigadora del Economic Policy Institute.

  La Opinion February 9, 2021
• Estancados en el medio de la pandemia: para muchos hispanos la recuperación no llega
  “La pandemia expuso las desigualdades que ya estaban presentes”, dijo a Univision Noticias Daniel Pérez, economista del Economic Policy Institute.

  Salarios bajos, discriminación, poco acceso a beneficios como un seguro de salud o licencias en caso de emergencias familiares y menos posibilidades de trabajar desde casa y evitar así enfermarse con covid-19, les han hecho más difícil enfrentar la crisis.

  …

  Si bien en enero la economía de Estados Unidos creó 49,000 empleos, en el rubro del ocio y en el minorista, por ejemplo, hubo un declive en la cantidad de puestos trabajo: de 61,000 en el primer caso y 37,800 en el segundo.

  “No veo que se dé una recuperación pronto. Creo que será una recuperación lenta y dolorosa para los latinos que trabajan en las industrias en la primera línea, salvo que haya una red de seguridad más robusta y se concreten las promesas hechas por la nueva administración a esos trabajadores”, explicó Pérez.
  Univision February 9, 2021
• H-1B visa: Outsourcers’ group welcomes Biden administration delay on lottery rule

  A May report by the left-leaning Economic Policy Institute and Howard University professor Ron Hira, who studies the H-1B, concluded that outsourcers comprise half of the top 30 H-1B employers and “make heavy use of the H-1B program.” Major Silicon Valley technology firms “take advantage of program rules in order to legally pay many of their H-1B workers below the local median wage for the jobs they fill,” the report said.

  The Mercury News February 9, 2021
• Raising minimum wage without caveat could lead to lost jobs for those with disabilities, Steil and advocates say

  In Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District — which includes all of Racine and Kenosha counties and parts of four other counties, and is represented by Janesville Republican Bryan Steil — an estimated 28% of workers (97,000 people in total) would be directly affected by the increase to a minimum wage of $15, according to a model from the Economic Policy Institute based on federal data.

  The average wage increase for those workers would be 18%. Of those 97,000 workers: less than half of them (38,000) would be 16-24 years old. And 44,000 of them would be 25-54 years old.

  The Journal Times February 9, 2021
• State legislatures are trying to run American cities

  I would go further than that. State legislative attempts to override the authority of local governments strip communities of their right to self-governance. Particularly in a state like Texas, where rural and suburban communities exert outsized influence in shaping policy at the state level, state-set limits to local governmental control deny urban Texans their voice and representation on the local issues that often have the greatest impact on their lives and communities. It shouldn’t be a surprise that, too frequently, these are issues that disproportionately affect people of color. “You have these predominantly white state legislators making decisions and setting ceilings that keep communities of color from putting into place policies,” says Julia Wolfe, an analyst with the Economic Policy Institute, a progressive think tank, who spoke to Governing.

  D Magazine February 9, 2021
• 7 Things: Shelby confirms he’s retiring in 2022, impeachment silliness begins again, vaccinations ramping up while coronavirus numbers in Alabama go way down and more …

  Nearly half of a congressional district would get a raise with a $15 minimum wage

  • U.S. Representative Terri Sewell (D-Birmingham) has previously supported regional increases in minimum wage based on the cost of living. Now, the debate over raising the minimum wage to $15 is back. In Sewell’s district, 43% of workers would receive a pay raise if the minimum wage increased to $15, according to the Economic Policy Institute. This would average out to a 22% increase for those workers, or $4,700 per year.
  Yellowhammer News February 9, 2021
• Column: CBO attacks plan for higher minimum wage — or does it?

  Proponents focused on the positives in the analysis. “CBO finds that for a very small relative cost to the government, the benefits of the Raise the Wage Act are enormous,” Heidi Shierholz, director of policy at the pro-labor Economic Policy Institute, said during a conference call scheduled Monday by her organization.

  “It will increase the average incomes of low- and lower-middle-income families, it will reduce poverty, it will shift money from corporate profits toward wages of low-income workers, it will reduce inequality,” Shierholz said.

  LA Times February 9, 2021
• Los aumentos salariales de Biden podrían tener contrastados efectos, dice estudio

  El centro de estudios progresista Economic Policy Institute dijo el lunes que el informe del CBO esta “equivocado” e indicó que otros análisis mostraron que no habrá efectos negativos.

  Agence France Press (AFP) February 9, 2021
• Policy expert argues further targeting of stimulus checks not really necessary

  There’s a lot of debate about how much and who should get a third round of direct payments from the government. But the back and forth on the issue may not be all that necessary.

  “It’s rare. When we have the cards set up to actually have a genuinely rapid economic recovery that could push unemployment really low in the next couple of years, I think that might happen, we should seize that opportunity,” said Josh Bivens, Research Director at the Economic Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates for the low and middle income.

  Bivens says further targeting of direct payment checks isn’t really necessary because no one rich is getting them to begin with.

  He adds that narrowing them too much could leave out people who may have had a solid 2019, but then had devastating changes in 2020, since the payments are based on 2019 tax returns.

  Scripps National News February 9, 2021
• Environmentalism is the new war on the working class

  If Democrats want to win back working-class voters and keep the loyalty of minorities— who, according to a 2016 Economic Policy Institute study, will constitute a majority of blue-collar voters by 2032—they need to focus on creating well-paying jobs for non-college graduates.

  Newsweek February 9, 2021