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Joint Economic Committee Democrats

Publications

May 10 2018

GOP Tax Law Has Not Led to Real Wage Growth

Today’s latest inflation data shows American workers are not seeing real raises. The average hourly wage for production and nonsupervisory workers in April was only 0.1 percent higher than what it was a year ago, after adjusting for inflation. Wage growth for most workers is weak and now that inflation is starting to pick up, wages are barely keeping pace. And this comes on top of decades of stagnating wages for most workers. If wage growth is barely keeping up to inflation, American families will see little improvements in living standards.

May 10 2018

Medicaid: Supporting the Economy and Middle Class Since 1965

Before Medicaid, many Americans couldn’t afford the care they needed. For more than 50 years, the Medicaid program has guaranteed access to comprehensive health insurance for millions of people, providing coverage to over 72 million beneficiaries today. In doing so, Medicaid has bolstered the U.S. economy and provided an important backstop to the country’s economic security.

May 08 2018

Trump to Push Gas Prices Higher?

Gas prices have increased almost 50 cents a gallon in the past 12 months, reaching their highest levels since 2015, and are poised to jump higher if President Trump pulls out of the nuclear agreement with Iran when it comes up for renewal this week.

May 07 2018

Uninsured Rates on the Rise in Non-Medicaid Expansion States

After the implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), the percent of adults without health care insurance declined steadily. The individual marketplaces and expansion of Medicaid in many states opened up new avenues to insurance for families who could not get coverage through employers. The Trump administration and Congressional Republicans are working hard to reverse this progress, though, and the data show that they are succeeding in reducing access to health care. A new survey shows that the number of nonelderly adults without health insurance rose again in 2018, particularly in states that have not expanded Medicaid.

Apr 27 2018

April Economic Snapshot of the States

Although the U.S. economy overall continues its expansion following the Great Recession and associated financial crisis, the recovery can look very different from state to state. The lion’s share of economic gains are not only concentrated at the top of the income and wealth distribution, but also in a small share of regions. While some parts of the country have surged ahead, millions of Americans in urban and rural communities are still waiting for their wages to start rising again and struggling to make ends meet.

Apr 26 2018

Social Security: A Promise to American Workers and Families

As life expectancy has increased over the past half century, Americans are living longer today during retirement than their parents did. Social Security is the economic backbone to millions of Americans, many of whom use it to better support themselves in retirement, and to millions of workers who have become disabled as well as their families. Social Security’s support is proof that we are committed to protecting and supporting workers when they leave the job.

Apr 24 2018

Consumer Corner: Financial Access Still Out of Reach for Millions

Four months after the GOP passed a tax bill that sliced tax rates for big banks nearly in half, large financial institutions are reporting record profits and returning billions of dollars to wealthy shareholders. And yet, these same banks continue to fall short for the millions of “unbanked” or “underbanked” Americans who still lack access to basic financial services and struggle to attain economic security.