EPI Research (Page 18 )

  • Helping Low-Wage Americans – Wage Based Tax Credits: A New Solution to an Age Old Problem

    May 2004

    Sixty-five years ago, pharmacies stocked mercury, heroin, and radon as remedies; few people believed that a fungus-based drug called penicillin could cure anything; and the minimum wage was considered our most effective anti-poverty policy. Doctors prescribing mercury today would lose their license, yet the popularity of similarly counterproductive minimum wage increases endures—despite the existence of successful anti-poverty measures such as the federal Earned Income Tax…

  • Minimum Wage And Its Effects On Small Business

    April 2004

    A Hearing Before the Subcommittee on Workforce,
    Empowerment, and Government Programs

    Sixty-five years ago, pharmacies stocked mercury, heroin, and radon as remedies; few people believed that a fungus-based drug called penicillin could cure anything; and the minimum wage was considered our most effective anti-poverty policy. Doctors prescribing mercury today would lose their license, yet the popularity of similarly counterproductive minimum wage increases endures—despite the…

  • Helping Working-Poor Families

    April 2004

    Two major policies relied upon during the 1990s for enhancing the incomes of working poor families were expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and raising the minimum wage. Both approaches have shortcomings. The minimum wage inefficiently targets benefits to low-income families, in addition to inducing job losses among the less skilled and causing price increases on goods and services produced by low-wage labor…

  • The Cost of California’s Health Insurance Act of 2003

    October 2003

    California’s recently passed Health Insurance Act of 2003 (HIA) is an extremely costly mandate on employers to provide health coverage for all of their employees. HIA applies to all businesses with more than 20 employees and requires employers to either provide private health coverage or pay into a state fund providing insurance for the working uninsured. This study estimates that HIA will cost California employers…

  • Welfare Reform and its Effect on the Dynamics of Welfare Receipt, Employment, and Earnings

    August 2003

    Welfare reform efforts at the state and national level dramatically transformed the United States cash assistance program. The past system of indefinite cash payments for qualified applicants was replaced by a new system with time limits on aid, work or work-related requirements, and penalties for recipients who fail to meet the newly established requirements. Prior to federal reform, a number of states independently enacted a…

  • San Francisco Residents Oppose Minimum Wage Hike

    July 2003

    News stories have reported strong support for an increased wage mandate in the City of San Francisco. However, more in-depth research shows that previous polls only scratched the surface of residents’ opinions’. When asked for their support level for an increased wage mandate coupled with other economic factors, residents overwhelmingly oppose a proposed $8.50 minimum wage that applies to all employers. When presented with alternatives,…