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Press Release
‘Functional Unemployment’ Rises for Latino Workers in December, Wages Down in Q4
Inflation-adjusted wages for Latino wage earners declined 2.4% for the fourth quarter of 2022, with the percentage of Latino workers seeking, but unable to find, living-wage jobs rising from 25.5% to 26.4%, according to a report by LISEP.
January 19, 2023
Article
Highest Interest Rates in 15 Years Are Derailing the American Dream
The highest interest rates in 15 years are delaying home dreams, putting business plans on ice and forcing many Americans to agree to loan terms that would have been unimaginable just nine months ago. “Consumers who weren’t able to make ends meet are just digging themselves a deeper and deeper hole with the higher interest rates,” said Philip Cornell, economist at the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, which focuses on research about middle- and lower-income families.
Bloomberg
December 19, 2022
Article
FTX Was a Warning. Washington Should Act Now to Fill Other Holes in the Swiss Cheese
Instead of creating a new bureaucracy every time a new scam shows up, Congress should empower existing financial regulators.
MarketWatch
December 16, 2022
Press Release
More Americans in Living-Wage Jobs as Year-End Approaches, Says Ludwig Institute
Just in time for the holiday season, American workers saw an increase in the number of living-wage jobs available for November, with functional unemployment dropping for all major demographics, according to the monthly True Rate of Unemployment report by the LISEP.
December 14, 2022
Podcast
What Is the True Living Cost in America?
How do the CPI and Unemployment Rate fall short of measuring our economic realities?
So Money
December 12, 2022
Press Release
‘Functional Unemployment’ Makes Biggest Jump Since Start of Pandemic
The rising cost of living continues to take a toll on working families, with a growing percentage of American workers unable to find a living-wage job or their current job fails to boost them over the poverty line after adjusting for inflation, according to the monthly True Rate of Unemployment (TRU) report by LISEP.
November 21, 2022
Article
Working Class Americans Need a Hand Up, Not a Handout
Middle- and low-income Americans are materially worse off over at least the last two decades than government headline statistics would have us believe. To assess how this group is faring, LISEP created the True Living Cost index that includes only the key items a family must have to subsist, such as food and fuel, housing, and healthcare. The findings are astonishing: Over the last 20-plus years, inflation has punished this group by 50 percent more than the Consumer Price Index indicates over the same period.
Newsweek
November 17, 2022
Press Release
Prices Rising for Middle, Lower-Income Families More Than CPI Indicates
Even before the inflationary trend that has grabbed headlines during 2022, the cost of just the basic necessities – the items that represent most, if not all, of the average family budget – increased by 5.8% from 2020 to 2021, a rate that is nearly 25% higher than the CPI increase over the same period, according to a new analysis by LISEP.
November 17, 2022
Article
Stop Looking at Unemployment Figures. They Tell Us Nothing About the Job Market
The methods for measuring who is “working” or “not working” are based on a time in the 1930s when people either had a factory, technical or educational job, or didn't at all. “Today, it's a much more complex environment,” Gene Ludwig says.
CNET
November 4, 2022
Press Release
Earnings Up for Q3, Living-Wage Jobs Grow in September, According to Ludwig Institute
Even after adjusting for inflation, low- and middle-income workers posted notable wage gains for the third quarter of 2022, while the percentage of Black and Hispanic workers in full-time, living-wage jobs is at its highest level since 1995, according to an analysis by the LISEP.
October 18, 2022
Podcast
Is It Time for New Economic Metrics?
Do we really understand what’s happening in the economic lives of regular Americans? Gene Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, discusses how and why we should pay attention to different economic indicators with Duke law professor and risk analyst Sarah Bloom Raskin, and Oren Cass, director of the conservative think tank American Compass. New York Times writer David Leonhardt moderates the conversation, which took place at the end of June.
Aspen Ideas to Go
September 21, 2022
Press Release
More Americans Joining Workforce, But Many Are Unable to Find Living-Wage Jobs
The American workforce expanded from July to August, but many of those workers found they were unable to secure a full-time job that paid a living wage, according to an analysis by LISEP.
September 15, 2022
Press Release
Inflation Nibbles at Paychecks as Functional Unemployment Inches Upward for July
Even though government-reported statistics show inflation easing and jobs being added, the percentage of the American workforce unable to find and maintain living-wage jobs inched upward slightly for July, according to an analysis by LISEP.
August 17, 2022
Commentary
The True Cost of Misleading Headline Inflation Statistics
Several key government-reported headline statistics present a distorted view of reality for most Americans, with the impact extending far beyond Wall Street. And it can have dire consequences — particularly when those numbers drive economic policy. Look no further than the Federal Reserve's recent decision to hike interest rates.
American Banker
August 12, 2022
Commentary
“Too Big to Fail” Again?
Why Washington needs to wake up to the crisis that’s looming in the nonbank financial sector.
Democracy Journal
August 3, 2022
Newsletter
First in MM: Ludwig on CRA
Former Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig is urging federal regulators to use their authority under the Community Reinvestment Act to give banks more tools to extend credit to low- and moderate-income individuals during economic downturns. The Fed, the FDIC and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency are currently accepting public comments on a proposal to revamp the 1977 anti-redlining law.
Politico Morning Money
August 1, 2022
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Podcast
How High Inflation, High Rates Will Impact Banking
In the latest episode of The Slant Podcast, former Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig believes the combination of high inflation and rising interest rates present unique risks to the banking industry. Ludwig expects that higher interest rates will lead to more expensive borrowing for many businesses while also increasing their operating costs. This could ultimately result in “real credit risk problems that we haven’t seen for some time.”
Bank Director
July 25, 2022
Press Release
Wages Keeping Pace With Inflation, Living-Wage Jobs Grow, According to Ludwig Institute
Inflation-adjusted earnings remained steady for the second quarter of 2022 while the percentage of the American workforce finding full-time, living-wage jobs is at the highest level in 25 years, according to an analysis by LISEP.
July 19, 2022
Article
Inflation Inflicts Impossible Choices on Middle-Class Americans
“For the average, middle-to-low income Americans, life is getting more difficult,” said Gene Ludwig, founder of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, an economic research group. In recent months, “it’s been getting worse significantly above expectations.”
Bloomberg
July 15, 2022
Commentary
CPI Doesn’t Capture the True Cost of Living in Trump Country
Wednesday’s consumer-price index report showed a 9.1% year-over-year jump. Following similar news last month, the Federal Reserve increased interest rates by 0.75 percentage point. This spells double trouble for middle- and low-income Americans: increased expenses for the former and job losses from the latter. But the economic squeeze on these Americans is no new phenomenon, a truth that voting patterns have been better at revealing than official inflation data.
The Wall Street Journal
July 15, 2022
Event
Aspen Ideas Festival: New Ways to Measure Our Economy
How do we know the real effect of inflation on the buying power of individuals in the United States? Unless we change the way we analyze data and evaluate key economic indicators, we will not have an accurate picture of the health of our economy, according to Eugene Ludwig, a leader in finance and former comptroller of the currency. Ludwig is joined by two panelists on opposite sides of the political spectrum to consider what policies and strategies are required to right our economic outlook — especially as it evaluates the financial health of middle- and lower-income Americans.
June 30, 2022
Watch the Video
Press Release
Functional Unemployment Virtually Unchanged as Inflation Eats Away Worker Earnings
Even though official government statistics indicate the U.S. economy continues to add jobs and the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the lowest jobless rate in more than two years, LISEP reports the “functional unemployment” rate remains high due to the inability of low- and middle-income workers to earn a living wage in the face of rising inflation.
June 14, 2022
TV Interview
US Adds 390,000 Jobs in May Despite Fears of Economic Backslide
America’s employers extended a hiring streak in May, adding 390,000 jobs amid skyrocketing inflation and mounting fears of a potential economic backslide.
NewsNation
June 3, 2022
Watch the Video
Press Release
Living-Wage Jobs Rebound in Tech Regions Post-Pandemic, but Manufacturing Lags
Driven by high-tech and aerospace sectors, the “Space Coast” of Florida saw the biggest living-wage job growth in 2021 while supply chain issues caused the manufacturing-heavy Piedmont Triad in North Carolina to lose ground, according to an analysis by LISEP.
May 31, 2022
Article
‘True Unemployment’ Is a Lot Higher Than You Think
New data released this morning by the Ludwig Institute, shared exclusively with Morning Money, show large labor market discrepancies among metro areas across the country, each grappling with their own challenges related to the pandemic, or in some cases economic upheaval from decades earlier.
Politico Morning Money
May 31, 2022
Commentary
Inflation Has Been Pummeling the Middle Class for Decades, but the Out-of-touch CPI Masks this Reality
Perhaps “fake” is too strong a term to describe the data-driven consumer price index (CPI), which serves as the U.S. government’s proxy for inflation. But the narrative the CPI has long burnished—namely that, since 2000, ordinary expenses have been fairly manageable amid rising wages — is entirely debunked by new research.
MarketWatch
May 28, 2022
Article
A Progressive Perspective: Democrats Struggle to Maintain Faith While Republicans Rejoice
The focus should have been on those who the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity described in a recent Time Magazine article entitled “Middle Class, Low Hopes.” “A theoretical teacher and an ambulance driver in Albuquerque who would make $77,000 a year, which is higher than the U.S. median income of $67,000 – but they’d still have to go $6,000 into debt to meet their minimum adequate needs every year.” These folks need and should get help.
The Trentonian
May 22, 2022
Press Release
Low-Wage Workers Appear to be Leaving Workforce, According to Ludwig Institute
While a drop in the percentage of Americans in the workforce classified as “functionally unemployed” appears to be a good indication of a recovering economy, issues with the workforce participation rate may indicate that low-wage earners are joining the ranks of discouraged workers, according to an analysis by LISEP.
May 18, 2022
Article
Markets Gloom Looms Large Over Milken
Gene Ludwig, founder of consulting firm Promontory Financial, went even further, saying, “most leaders in America don’t understand how bad things are for the poor and middle class .... If we don’t make changes we are headed for civil unrest.”
Financial Times
May 9, 2022
Event
Milken Global Conference: Strengthening Economic Opportunity in America
Economic dynamism and opportunity have enabled the United States to build the most innovative, resilient, and prosperous economy in the world. As we continue to confront pandemic-era economic challenges, our nation has an imperative to drive a widespread recovery that lifts individuals and communities across the country.
May 2, 2022
Watch the Video
Commentary
Minority-owned Banks Need More Help and Fewer Setbacks from Washington
Each time the economy falters, a disproportionate number of Minority Depository Institutions find themselves in trouble through no fault of their own.
The Hill
April 29, 2022
Article
The Economy is Great. The Middle Class is Mad
Eugene Ludwig, the former comptroller of the currency in the Clinton Administration, says the CPI distorts the real economic picture for lower- and middle-income Americans because it counts the costs of discretionary items such as yachts, second homes, and hotel rooms. By his calculations, the cost of household minimal needs rose 64% from 2001 to 2020, 1.4 times inflation.
Time
April 28, 2022
Article
When Black-owned Businesses Fail, It Hurts Everybody
When Black businesses fail, are unable to get off the ground, or underperform, it doesn’t just add to the racial wealth gap — it costs all Americans money.
The Boston Globe
April 24, 2022
Press Release
Wages Fail to Keep up with Inflation, Functional Unemployment Grows, says Ludwig Institute
Inflation-adjusted earnings for the first quarter of 2022 show that American workers are losing ground, forcing a larger percentage of the workforce out of living-wage job status for the month of March and into the ranks of the “functionally unemployed,” according to an analysis by LISEP.
April 15, 2022
Press Release
Growth of Living-Wage Jobs Stalls in February, Says Ludwig Institute
After nearly a year of improvement in the ability of Americans to find full-time, living-wage jobs, the percentage of workers classified as “functionally unemployed” inched upwards in February, according to LISEP.
March 15, 2022
Press Release
Ludwig Institute: Rising Prices Hitting Middle, Lower-Income Families Hardest
The concern about today’s inflation misses the point, according to a new analysis by LISEP, which indicates that over the last 20 years, rising consumer prices have hit middle- and lower-income households much harder than the Consumer Price Index suggests.
March 9, 2022
Event
Axios: The Affordability Crisis
LISEP Chair Gene Ludwig spoke about the True Cost of Living (TLC) at a virtual Axios event on The Affordability Crisis on March 9. Esteemed speakers included Heather Boushey of the White House Council of Economic Advisers and UC Berkeley public policy professor Robert Reich.
March 9, 2022
Watch the Video
Press Release
New Economic Justice Loans Set New Standard for Minority Business Lending
Former U.S. Comptroller of the Currency and current LISEP Chair Gene Ludwig and NACA CEO Bruce Marks announced a groundbreaking lending program for minority-owned businesses. Economic Justice Loans will be a model for financial institutions, financial regulators, and the government to address economic inequality created by a long-term inability to access capital with favorable terms. This program will offer fixed, low-interest loans to people lacking wealth and high credit scores, and who have been subject to systematic racism.
March 2, 2022
Press Release
More Americans in Living-Wage Jobs for January; ‘Discouraged’ Workers Coming Back
More American workers are in living-wage jobs than any time since 2019, with even those previously labeled as “discouraged workers” returning to the labor force, according to an analysis by LISEP. But meanwhile, a huge gap remains between the ability of men and women to secure and retain employment paying above the poverty line.
February 16, 2022
Press Release
Big Yearly Gains in Living-Wage Jobs, Wages, According to Ludwig Institute
The percentage of Americans defined as “functionally unemployed” took the biggest drop year-over-year in more than 25 years, according to the December 2021 True Rate of Unemployment, released today by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. And while worker earnings also posted significant gains over the past year, growth stagnated in the latter part of 2021 due to inflationary pressures, LISEP found.
January 20, 2022
Commentary
Why Are Minority-Owned Banks Disappearing? Washington Holds the Smoking Gun
For decades, regulators have embraced a set of policies that, when recessions arise, force the closure of struggling lenders that serve poorer and marginalized communities. In practice, this has the effect of allowing investors to purchase the closed lenders’ assets (loans and properties) while they’re devalued. This vicious cycle has steadily worsened inequality because those assets — now owned by outsiders — skyrocket in value when the market recovers. Federal policy and practice, in other words, ensures that the rich get richer and poor get poorer during each turn of the economic cycle.
Politico
January 19, 2022
Article
Following 346 Homicides in Memphis in 2021, Officials Consider What’s Driving the Violence
During the course of the pandemic, Memphis lost a substantial number of jobs that pay a living wage, according to at least one Washington D.C.-based think tank that focuses on economic development for the lower and middle classes. The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity defines “functional unemployment” as being employed but not at a livable wage, or working part time at a job due to unavailability of full-time jobs with benefits.
Memphis Commercial Appeal
January 3, 2022
Article
What Supply-Chain Woes Mean When You Live Next to a Port
Forget shipping delays. A deluge of truck traffic and abandoned containers at the Port of Los Angeles creates daily hazards for residents in the neighboring community of Wilmington.
Bloomberg
December 20, 2021
Article
Researchers Worry that Low-income Californians May Have Trouble Repaying Unemployment Benefits
Even before the pandemic, nearly one in three Californian households struggled to pay for basic necessities, according to the United Ways of California. During the pandemic, a report from the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity found that 4.8 million Californians were seeking, but unable to find, full-time work that paid a living wage.
CalMatters
December 20, 2021
Article
What’s Working: Colorado Springs Is the Only Metro Area that Has Recovered All Jobs Lost in the Pandemic
Statewide, 85.7% of the jobs lost during COVID are back. Plus: Wages are up, unemployment rate falls again and another look at the true unemployed.
The Colorado Sun
December 18, 2021
Press Release
Living-Wage Job Growth Stalls for November, Ludwig Institute Reports
Living-wage job growth has seemingly stalled from October to November, but remains improved over a year ago, according to the monthly True Rate of Unemployment data released by LISEP.
December 16, 2021
Article
The Problem with Our Employment Stats
Despite all the buzz about the “Great Resignation,” labor shortages, and 10 million unfilled job openings, this is the underlying reality: Many tens of millions of Americans are jobless for lack of job opportunity.
The Hill
December 11, 2021
Article
Memphis Ranks High On Loss of Living-Wage Jobs
Memphis lost more living-wage jobs during the pandemic than most metros around the country, according to a new analysis from a think tank focused on economic equity for the middle and lower class.
Memphis Flyer
December 1, 2021
Press Release
Nation’s Largest Metro Areas Lose Living-Wage Jobs in First Year of Pandemic
Eighty-four of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas posted negative growth in living-wage jobs — five by double digits — during the first year of the pandemic, according to an analysis by LISEP.
Press Release
November 30, 2021
Press Release
Nation’s Largest Metro Areas Lose Living-Wage Jobs in First Year of Pandemic
Eighty-four of the nation’s 100 largest metropolitan areas posted negative growth in living-wage jobs — five by double digits — during the first year of the pandemic, according to an analysis by LISEP.
November 30, 2021
Article
The Twin Cities’ “True” Unemployment Rate
While the Twin Cities metro’s unemployment rate is technically a low 2.6%, the “true” number of people who are unemployed — by one analysis — is much higher than that.
Axios Twin Cities
November 30, 2021
Press Release
LISEP Analysis Shows Living-Wage Job Growth for Black Workers for 4th Month
For the fourth consecutive month a higher percentage of Black workers are finding living-wage jobs, according to the October True Rate of Unemployment (TRU) report from LISEP. That’s the modest good news.
November 16, 2021
Commentary
California’s High Unemployment Rate May Be Too Low
While a 7.5% unemployment rate is dismal, it may also understate the true nature of the job situation in California.
CalMatters
November 14, 2021
Podcast
Beowulf Rochlen Speaks with Gene Ludwig on Why the Unemployment Rate Doesn’t Make Sense
Facepalm America
November 13, 2021
Article
New Study Finds Millions of Workers Are ‘Functionally Unemployed’
California’s official unemployment rate is 7.5%. But a newer method of measuring unemployment reveals a far larger portion of the state is struggling to find full-time employment that pays enough to cover the cost of living.
CalMatters
November 4, 2021
Press Release
Wages, Employment Prospects Improving for Black Workers, According to LISEP
More Black workers moved out of the ranks of the “functionally unemployed” and into living-wage jobs for the month of September, with significant wage gains across the board for the third quarter of 2021, according to an analysis by LISEP, resulting in a narrowing of both the earnings and employment gap.
October 19, 2021
Article
What the US Unemployment Rate Doesn’t Tell You
For some, September’s headline figure is woefully misleading, as it is every month. What if the “true” unemployment rate is actually closer to 22%?
The Guardian
October 10, 2021
Op-Ed
America’s Hidden Hedge Against Inflation
There is an enormous (but invisible) supply of labor that companies can hire to keep costs down.
MarketWatch
October 7, 2021
Op-Ed
Measured by Creation of Good Jobs, Today’s Recovery Stands Alone
Economic recoveries should be judged not simply by how many jobs come online, but by whether the jobs created pay a reliably middle-class wage.
The Hill
September 25, 2021
Article
America Fought the Pandemic Economy — and Won
The U.S. economy is emerging from the pandemic with more well-paying jobs for those who want them, less hunger, less poverty, higher wages, less inequality, and more wealth for everyday Americans.
Axios
September 17, 2021
Press Release
‘Functional Unemployment’ Drops to Lowest Rate in Nearly Two Years
A higher demand for low- and middle-income workers and robust competition for those employees led to a higher percentage of American workers in full-time, living-wage jobs last month than any time since December 2019, according to an analysis by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
September 15, 2021
Press Release
Functional Employment Increases for July as Wage Growth Stalls
A higher percentage of Americans joined the ranks of the functionally unemployed for the month of July in spite of modest wage gains in the second quarter of 2021 by low- and middle-income workers, according to data released by the Ludwig Institute of Shared Economic Prosperity.
August 19, 2021
Article
Will States Lead the Way on Expanding CRA to Nonbanks?
After decades of calls to expand the Community Reinvestment Act’s anti-redlining obligations to nonbanks, the idea is going mainstream thanks to key endorsements from states and even the chairman of the Federal Reserve.
American Banker
July 26, 2021
Press Release
Functional Unemployment Drops While Overall Earnings Decline, According to LISEP
More Americans moved out of the ranks of the “functionally unemployed” and into living-wage jobs for the month of June, according to an analysis by LISEP, with the bottom 25% of earners posting significant gains in real wages. But unfortunately for the middle class, real median earnings as a whole fell, with earners at the 75th percentile losing more than 2.0%.
July 16, 2021
Press Release
Living-Wage Employment Continues to Exceed Pre-Pandemic Levels
More Americans are finding living-wage jobs than prior to the pandemic, signaling an ongoing economic recovery, according to an analysis by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. Yet the percentage of “functionally unemployed” individuals remains alarmingly high and indicates the need for ongoing policy efforts if the recovery is to continue, said LISEP’s chair.
June 17, 2021
Podcast
U.S. Workers Worse Off Than They Appear: Gene Ludwig
“If we walk around America and walk around Washington D.C., we see some things that are quite disturbing,” says former Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig, who now runs the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. “You see huge homeless communities in many cities and towns in America, you see dilapidation in areas that used to be lovely. And you begin to say, well, if we have the low unemployment rates that the Bureau of Labor Statistics has put out, why do we have the situation that we see?”
American Banker
June 8, 2021
Press Release
More Americans in Living Wage Jobs for Third Straight Month, Says Ludwig Institute
More American workers continue to move into living-wage jobs, with the percentage of Americans classified as “functionally unemployed” dropping to the lowest level since December 2019, according to the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
May 20, 2021
Newsletter
Wages Hit Record Highs — for White Americans
The gap between White Americans’ wages and everybody else's grew even larger in the first quarter of this year, according to new data from LISEP, the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
Axios Capital
April 29, 2021
Press Release
Wages Rebound, but Not for Black Workers, According to Ludwig Institute Analysis
While wages for many Americans have rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, earnings for Black workers declined in the first quarter of 2021, with the wage gap between Black and White workers growing to its highest level since before the pandemic, according to an analysis of earnings data by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
April 28, 2021
Press Release
Black Workers Lose Ground on Living-Wage Jobs in March, According to LISEP
The percentage of Black Americans unable to find a living-wage job climbed to its highest level in six months, even while other segments of the population enjoyed marginal improvement, according to an analysis released today by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
April 22, 2021
Op-Ed
Reforms That Can Help Revive the American Dream
A new cadre of financial regulators can transform the financial world’s role in the fight against prejudice and inequality.
The Atlantic
April 21, 2021
Op-Ed
When It Comes to Biden’s Jobs Bill, Bigger Is Better
Policymakers shouldn’t be fooled by a bullish stock market or what appears to be plummeting unemployment rates. Now is not the time to take our foot off the gas.
The Hill
April 19, 2021
Press Release
New Analysis Reveals 20 Years of Stagnant Wage Growth for American Workers
American workers have seen their real earnings grow by less than 10% over the last two decades, with a growing racial gap where gains by Black workers are half that of their White counterparts, according to new earnings data released by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
March 25, 2021
Article
U.S. Workers Get 19% Less Than Federal Estimates, Wage Data Show
American workers are making less than official estimates show, according to new analysis. U.S. workers earn a median weekly wage of $797, or $41,456 a year, according to the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity, which analyzed data up until 2020. That’s 19% below official estimates from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a widely-used measure of pay.
Bloomberg
March 25, 2021
Article
Stories of Pandemic Unemployment: ‘It … Eats Away at You’
Low wages, risky jobs put LGBTQ+ people, BIPOC and women in the line of fire
Flatland
March 18, 2021
Press Release
Growth of Living-Wage Jobs Declines in February, LISEP Analysis Reveals
A new analysis of unemployment data further underscores the need for the strong relief measures included in the recently approved $1.9 trillion federal economic stimulus package, according to Gene Ludwig, chairman of the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
March 17, 2021
Op-Ed
Go Big on COVID Stimulus — We Can’t Afford Not To
The country needs this amount of relief — or more.
Morning Consult
March 3, 2021
Interview
Why Stimulus Is Needed to Aid Economic Recovery, Help with Joblessness
Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity Chair Gene Ludwig joins the Yahoo Finance Live panel to discuss the impact of unemployment amid the coronavirus pandemic.
Yahoo Finance
February 25, 2021
Op-Ed
Expand CRA to Include Nonbanks
As the world of finance has changed, the Community Reinvestment Act’s reach has failed to keep pace. Of most concern, large portions of the lending marketplace have been claimed by nonbank lenders that are not subject to the CRA’s regulations. Today, that disparity threatens to undermine the spirit of equality the CRA intended nearly a half-century ago.
American Banker
February 22, 2021
Press Release
Analysis Reveals Risk of Stalled Economic Recovery Among Black Workers
While American workers as a whole, particularly women, saw incremental growth in living-wage job opportunities in January, Black workers lost ground, according to an analysis by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
February 18, 2021
Press Release
True Rate of Unemployment: One-fourth of American Workers Remain ‘Functionally Unemployed’ as Racial and Gender Gaps Widen
More than one-fourth of American workers remain without a job that lifts them above the poverty level, presenting a major challenge for the new Congress and the Biden Administration, according to the latest analysis of the country’s unemployment rate released today by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity. At the same time, racial and gender gaps have widened, exacerbating economic inequity.
January 27, 2021
Op-Ed
Unemployment Is Much Worse Than You Think — Here’s Why
These days the headline unemployment rate isn’t just an undercount, it actually paints an alternate reality that masks the degree to which low- and moderate-income people are hurting. As a result, policymakers believe these Americans are better off than they actually are.
Politico
January 25, 2021
Article
U.S. Poverty Jumps the Most in 60 Years
Of the various measures of the coronavirus pandemic’s comet strike on the U.S. economy, one especially reveals the size of the crater: Over a six-month period, nearly 8 million Americans have tumbled into poverty.
CBS News
December 17, 2020
Article
Women's Unemployment Crisis Revealed
The true unemployment rate for women isn't going down, as official statistics suggest. In fact, it's going up — at least according to the most recent analysis of official data from LISEP, the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
Axios
December 16, 2020
Press Release
Fewer Living-Wage Jobs in U.S. Economy for November, Ludwig Institute Analysis Finds
More than a quarter of Americans desiring full-time work found themselves without a living-wage job in November, with women losing substantial ground in the workforce, according to a report released by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
December 16, 2020
Article
1 in 4 Americans Are Jobless or Earning Poverty-level Wages, New Study Finds
Official government figures show that unemployment around the U.S. has fallen sharply since peaking at nearly 15% in April as the coronavirus was shuttering businesses left and right. Yet the jobless rate as depicted in headlines offers a skewed picture of employment today, failing to capture the real financial pressure bearing down on millions of Americans, according to a new study.
CBS News
November 20, 2020
Press Release
Ability of Americans to Find a Living-Wage Job Remains Stalled Over Past Month, According to Ludwig Institute Analysis
The opportunity for Americans to find a living wage job during the month of October remains stagnant in spite of improving unemployment data released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, according to an analysis by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity.
The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity
November 19, 2020
Article
Trump or Biden’s Big Economic Challenge: Millions of Struggling Americans
The winner of the race for the White House will face a generation of low-to-middle income Americans struggling to get back to work because of a health crisis not seen in more than 100 years.
Reuters
October 28, 2020
Podcast
Gene Ludwig’s Plan for Saving the American Dream
Former Comptroller of the Currency Gene Ludwig has written a book, The Vanishing American Dream, about the plight of middle- and low-income Americans.
American Banker
October 26, 2020
Event
Economic Recovery or a Vanishing American Dream?
Gene Ludwig recently joined The Chicago Council of Global Affairs to discuss The Vanishing American Dream with esteemed participants including Yale Law School Dean Heather Gerken, former Chicago alderman Ameya Pawar and Heartland Alliance President Evelyn Diaz.
October 16, 2020
Watch the Video
Article
Exclusive: America’s True Unemployment Rate
A person who is looking for a full-time job that pays a living wage — but who can't find one — is unemployed. If you accept that definition, the true unemployment rate in the U.S. is a stunning 26.1%, according to an important new dataset shared exclusively with "Axios on HBO."
Axios
October 13, 2020
Press Release
Ludwig Institute Launches New Economic Indicator; Shows True Rate of Unemployment More Than Three Times Government Reported Rate
A new economic indicator launched today by the Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity reveals a True Rate of Unemployment of 26.1 percent for September, compared to the accurate but misleading 7.9 percent reported by the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity
October 13, 2020
Op-Ed
US Regulators Should Prod Lenders to Help Minority Communities
Present markets will probably prompt lenders to serve wealthier individuals and bigger companies first, exacerbating inequality. Fortunately, regulators have within their grasp several tools to direct lending to the businesses and low-income families — including many minority communities — where it will do the most good.
Financial Times
October 11, 2020
Press Release
Gene Ludwig to Release New Book Examining the Plight of Lower- and Middle-Income Americans
Gene Ludwig rose to become comptroller of the currency from a humble childhood in the once-thriving industrial city of York, Pa. In a groundbreaking book, The Vanishing American Dream, he brings academics, policymakers, and business leaders together to discuss why cities like York were struggling even before the coronavirus pandemic. During the good times, positive economic indicators — low unemployment rates and rising GDP — shrouded the heart-rending reality that, for much of the population, the American Dream has fallen farther out of reach. During an electric conference bringing experts from left, right, and center together at Yale Law School, luminaries from Larry Summers to Glenn Hubbard asked two fundamental questions: Why are so many lower- and middle-income families worse off than they were a generation earlier? And what can be done to set things straight?
The Ludwig Institute for Shared Economic Prosperity
September 22, 2020
Op-Ed
How the Fed’s Rescue Program Is Worsening Inequality
Americans have been justifiably disturbed by stories of deep-pocketed corporations accepting loans from the Paycheck Protection Program designed to save small businesses and non-profits. But outrage over generous loans to well-heeled businesses is obscuring another troubling problem: The Federal Reserve’s efforts to preserve liquidity in the corporate debt market are, however inadvertently, sending wealth up the income scale, exacerbating inequality.
Politico
May 28, 2020
Op-Ed
Rosy Economic Data Belies a Harsh Reality for Many Americans
To read the economic reports coming out of Washington, you might assume that the American economy is firing on all cylinders. But beneath this rosy picture is a much darker reality.
The Hill
May 15, 2019
Op-Ed
Strong GDP and Jobs Numbers Don’t Tell the Whole Story about America's Economic Reality
GDP and unemployment numbers support the notion that times are good. They say our economic policy is sound, and the status quo is working. But a different picture emerges looking at the homeless people gathered by the Federal Reserve building in DC, or in visiting my hometown, York, Pennsylvania, where wages have stagnated and factories have closed. In reality, most Americans actually are poorer now than they were before.
CNBC
July 16, 2018
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