:Economic Policy Institute
{{Short description|American public policy think tank}}
{{Infobox organization
| name = Economic Policy Institute
| image = Logo Economic Policy Institute.svg
| image_border =
| caption =
| location = 1225 I Street NW
Washington, D.C., U.S.
| coordinates = {{coord|38.901627|-77.029256|display=inline,title}}
| type = Public policy think tank
| tax_id = 52-1368964
| formation = {{start date and age|1986}}
| founder = Jeff Faux, Lester Thurow, Ray Marshall, Barry Bluestone, Robert Reich, Robert Kuttner
| leader_title = President
| leader_name = Heidi Shierholz
| revenue = $8,020,337{{cite web | url=https://files.epi.org/uploads/epi-2018-990-public-disclosure.pdf | title=Economic Policy Institute | website=Foundation Center | access-date=10 Feb 2022 }}
| revenue_year = 2018
| expenses_year = 2018
| staff =
| website = {{Official URL}}
}}
The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) is a left-wing 501(c)(3) non-profit think tank based in Washington, D.C., that carries out economic research and analyzes the economic impact of policies and proposals.
Affiliated with the labor movement,{{cite book | last=Eckes | first=Alfred E. | title=U.S. Trade Issues: A Reference Handbook | year=2009 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Xp0h3CQEQvwC&pg=PA57 | publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group | isbn= 9781598841992}}{{cite book | last=Sauvant | first=Karl P. | date= January 2009| title=Investing in the United States: Is the US Ready for FDI from China? | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-B_7n0jOJggC&pg=PA90 | publisher=Edward Elgar Publishing | page=90 | isbn= 9781849803502}}{{cite book | last=Sinclair | first=Barbara | date= 22 October 2014| title=Party Wars: Polarization and the Politics of National Policy Making | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=sHYCBQAAQBAJ&pg=PA331 | publisher=University of Oklahoma Press | page=331 | isbn= 9780806182162}} the EPI is usually described as presenting a left-leaning and pro-union viewpoint on public policy issues.*{{cite news|author=Jonathan Lemire, Kevin Freking and Aamer Madhani |title=New Trump advisory groups to consult on reopening US economy |publisher=Associated Press |date= 2020-04-15 |url=https://apnews.com/2bead1fe5861efed1342f426a0f5044b|quote='It doesn’t work if you bring in the hallelujah chorus,' said Thea Lee, president of the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning Washington think tank.}}
- {{cite news|last=Wiessner |first=Daniel |title=IN BRIEF: Report says 1.5 mln grad students would lose union rights under NLRB rule |publisher=Reuters |date=2019-12-19 |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/labor-gradstudents/in-brief-report-says-15-mln-grad-students-would-lose-union-rights-under-nlrb-rule-idUSL1N28T2B5 |quote=The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute in the report also said that 57,500 graduate students who are already unionized would lose the ability to collectively bargain with their schools under the September proposal.}}
- {{cite news|last=Lyons |first=Patrick J. |title=Coronavirus Briefing: What Happened Today |newspaper= The New York Times|date= 2020-03-17 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/17/us/coronavirus-today.html |quote=The left-leaning Economic Policy Institute projects up to three million jobs lost by summer.}}
- {{cite news|last=McGregor |first=Jena |title=Major company CEOs made 271 times the typical U.S. worker in 2016 |newspaper= The Washington Post|date=2017-07-20 |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/on-leadership/wp/2017/07/20/major-company-ceos-made-271-times-the-typical-u-s-worker-in-2016/ |quote=The report from the left-leaning think tank said that number was slightly lower than 2015, when average pay was $16.3 million and the ratio was 286-to-1.}}
- {{cite news|last=Masunaga |first=Samantha |title=CEO pay is 303 times that of workers, study finds |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=2015-06-22 |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-ceo-pay-20150622-story.html |quote=Chief executives of the country’s largest firms made 303 times more than a “typical” worker in 2014, according to a report from the Economic Policy Institute, a left-leaning think tank.}}*{{cite news|last=Hiltzik |first=Michael |title=Unmasking the most influential billionaire in U.S. politics |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=2012-10-02 |url=https://www.latimes.com/business/la-xpm-2012-oct-02-la-fi-hiltzik-20121003-story.html |quote=The foundation’s roster of grant recipients has been similarly eclectic: the right-wing Heritage Foundation and the liberal Brookings Institution. The progressive Center for American Progress, the free-market American Enterprise Institute and the pro-union Economic Policy Institute.}}
- {{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=86zarCG2NKgC&dq=%22Economic+Policy+Institute%22+%22pro-union%22&pg=PA221|author=Bruce Miroff, Raymond Seidelman, Todd Swanstrom, Tom De Luca|title=The Democratic Debate: American Politics in an Age of Change|year=2009|page=221|isbn=9780547216386|publisher=Cengage Learning|quote=Economic Policy Institute ... Pro-union; favors more equal distribution of wealth}} Since 2021, EPI has been led by economist Heidi Shierholz, the former chief economist of the Department of Labor.
EPI has an advocacy arm, EPI Action, which is a 501(c)(4) group.
History
EPI was founded in 1986 by economists Jeff Faux, Lester Thurow, Ray Marshall, Barry Bluestone, Robert Reich, and Robert Kuttner.{{cite web|title=About|url=http://www.epi.org/about/|access-date=27 November 2012|publisher=Economic Policy Institute}} Since 2021, Heidi Shierholz has served as its president.{{Cite web|url=https://www.epi.org/about/staff/|title=Staff|website=Economic Policy Institute|language=en-US|access-date=2020-02-12}} Shierholz succeeded Thea Lee, who was named Deputy Undersecretary for International Affairs at the Department of Labor by President Joe Biden.{{Cite news|last=Hsu|first=Andrea|date=2021-05-10|title=Longtime AFL-CIO Official Takes Up Key Labor Post In Biden Administration|language=en|work=NPR|url=https://www.npr.org/2021/05/10/995542715/longtime-afl-cio-official-takes-up-key-labor-post-in-biden-administration|access-date=2022-02-04}}
Policy proposals
{{Progressivism sidebar}}EPI supported Bernie Sanders's Medicare for All proposal. In a March 2020 policy paper, it argued that the loss of jobs in the insurance industry and in administering the current system would be small, within the normal job churn, and easily absorbed by the economy. The paper argued that this cost would be outweighed by the benefits of universal health care and in small business formation.{{Cite news |last=Ingraham |first=Christopher |date=2020-03-05 |title=Analysis {{!}} Medicare-for-all would be a boon to the American labor market, study finds |language=en-US |work=Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2020/03/05/medicare-for-all-jobs-labor/ |access-date=2023-08-07 |issn=0190-8286}}{{Cite web |last=Derysh |first=Igor |date=2020-03-14 |title=Medicare for All would lead to job boom, experts say |url=https://www.salon.com/2020/03/14/medicare-for-all-would-lead-to-job-boom-experts-say/ |access-date=2023-04-26 |website=Salon |language=en}} EPI has also released policy papers analyzing U.S. investment in early childhood education.{{Cite news|last=Grose|first=Jessica|date=2022-02-02|title=Opinion {{!}} How to Fix Child Care Before the Next Pandemic Wave|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/02/opinion/vaccines-child-care.html|access-date=2022-02-04|issn=0362-4331}}
In July 2012, EPI and the AFL–CIO, Center for Community Change, Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, National Council of La Raza and SEIU proposed a budget plan titled Prosperity Economics, a counter to the Republican Party's Path to Prosperity budget plan. The Prosperity Economics plan suggests that major public investment in areas like infrastructure is needed to jump-start the economy.{{cite news|last=Izadi|first=Elahe|title=Liberal Groups Counter GOP's Economic Agenda With New Plan|url=http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/influencealley/2012/07/liberal-groups-counter-gop-s-economic-agenda-with-new-plan-31|access-date=28 November 2012|newspaper=National Journal|date=2012-07-31|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116101935/http://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/influencealley/2012/07/liberal-groups-counter-gop-s-economic-agenda-with-new-plan-31|archive-date=16 November 2012|url-status=dead}}
File:Heidi Shierholz.jpg, a former chief economist of the United States Department of Labor, has served as the EPI's president since 2021.]]
In response to the debate over the United States fiscal cliff, EPI economist Josh Bivens advocated raising tax rates for higher income earners, writing: "Given this rise in [income] inequality, it makes sense that much of the future burden of reducing budget deficits should be borne by those who have benefited the most from economic trends in recent decades."{{cite news|last=Milani|first=Kate|title=Economists React: The Fiscal Cliff 'Can't Be Fully Avoided'|url=https://blogs.wsj.com/economics/2012/11/20/economists-react-the-fiscal-cliff-cant-be-fully-avoided/|access-date=28 November 2012|newspaper=Wall Street Journal|date=2012-11-20}}
Funding
Eight labor unions made a five-year funding pledge to EPI at its inception: AFSCME, United Auto Workers, United Steelworkers, United Mine Workers, International Association of Machinists, Communications Workers of America, Service Employees International Union, and United Food and Commercial Workers Union.{{cite news|last=Taylor|first=Paul|title=Analyzing Alternatives In Labor's Think Tank;Liberal Economists Study Government's Role|url=https://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73797768.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+19%2C+1987&author=Paul+Taylor&pub=The+Washington+Post+%28pre-1997+Fulltext%29&edition=&startpage=a.25&desc=Analyzing+Alternatives+In+Labor%27s+Think+Tank%3BLiberal+Economists+Study+Government%27s+Role|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130131145747/http://pqasb.pqarchiver.com/washingtonpost/access/73797768.html?FMT=ABS&FMTS=ABS:FT&date=Feb+19,+1987&author=Paul+Taylor&pub=The+Washington+Post+(pre-1997+Fulltext)&edition=&startpage=a.25&desc=Analyzing+Alternatives+In+Labor's+Think+Tank;Liberal+Economists+Study+Government's+Role|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 31, 2013|access-date=23 July 2012|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=19 February 1987}} According to EPI, about 29% of its funding between 2005 and 2009 was supplied by labor unions and about 53% came from foundation grants.
In the 1980s, EPI took money from the Tobacco Institute, a now-defunct tobacco industry trade group, to oppose excise taxes on the tobacco industry's behalf. The Tobacco Institute worked with groups like EPI "to support the release of studies, editorials, press briefings, and testimony against regressive excise taxes" that would negatively impact the tobacco industry's bottom line if passed.{{cite journal|last1=Balbach|first1=Edith D.|last2=Campbell|first2=Richard B.|title=Union Women, the Tobacco Industry, and Excise Taxes|journal=American Journal of Preventive Medicine|date=Aug 2009|volume=37|issue=2|pages=S121-5|pmc=2712937|pmid=19591750|doi=10.1016/j.amepre.2009.05.011}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website}}
- {{ProPublicaNonprofitExplorer|521368964}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:Political and economic think tanks in the United States
Category:Progressive organizations in the United States
Category:Non-profit organizations based in Washington, D.C.
Category:Think tanks established in 1986
Category:1986 establishments in Washington, D.C.