Emily Top
Economics21
Washington, DC, United States
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Past articles by Emily:
Saddling Horses Can Tame Recidivism and Rein Spending
America’s criminal justice system holds approximately 2.3 million people. On average, states spend $33,274 per prisoner, with a total estimated cost of $43 billion. However, animal training programs in prisons, such as the Wild Horse Inmate Program (WHIP), have the ability to reduce government costs. → Read More
Don’t Raid Social Security for Paid Parental Leave
Allowing individuals to contribute to personal care savings accounts avoids depleting entitlement programs. Additionally, it avoids problems associated with mandating paid leave, such as a reduction in economic opportunities for women and a reduction in other paid-leave benefits. When working on constructing a paid parental leave policy, IWF should move away from Social Security and design a… → Read More
Baltimore’s Losing Subway
By allowing the repairs on the Baltimore Metro SubwayLink line, Governor Hogan and his administration are implicitly agreeing to continue to fund the expensive and underutilized Metro line. By doing so, Maryland will continue to waste more money on an unnecessary transportation line where it could have allocated that money to bettering the bus systems to cover the area from the lost Metro line… → Read More
Arizona Finds Downside to Higher Minimum Wage
Arizona’s minimum wage increases are still in the earlier stages as compared to Seattle. However, if its current trajectory remains unaltered, the consequences for the state’s labor force could become something akin to Seattle. A higher minimum wage does not seem to benefit the low-skill workers it is aimed to help. → Read More
Infrastructure Will Grow Faster Without Project Labor Agreements
Research does not show more labor-related problems during President Bush’s terms. In contrast, recent infrastructure projects in states illustrate how PLAs have reduced competition and increased construction costs. Additionally, projects have not been more efficient with PLAs and still run into many delays. → Read More
Congress Should Ban Union Violence
Representative Steve King (R-Iowa) proposes to close the union loophole by introducing the Freedom from Union Violence Act of 2017 (H.R. 4422). The proposed bill states that “nothing… shall be construed… to preclude Federal jurisdiction over any violation of this section, on the basis that the conduct at issues… occurred during the course of a labor dispute or in pursuit of a legitimate business… → Read More
Follow the UK Model for Entitlement Reform
By increasing the labor force participation rate, the United States could see a reduction in spending on welfare programs with the potential to see more economic growth. This year Congress should be ready to undertake entitlement reforms that will help long-term fiscal stability. → Read More
Congress Should Allow Law-Abiding Haitians to Stay
Congress should act in order to avoid deporting productive workers who have assimilated into American culture and have helped boost the economy. According to the Center for Migration Studies, 81 percent of Haitian nationals over the age of 16 participate in the labor force. Thirty percent of Haitians have mortgages. A large share work in the restaurant industry, and others work in industries… → Read More
American Apprenticeships on the Rise
This week is National Apprenticeship Week, and the Urban Institute and Franklin Apprenticeships held the third annual Transatlantic Apprenticeship Exchange Forum. The forum explored whether the United States has the capability to create 5 million apprenticeships. Apprenticeship programs have been successful around the world and in some states in America, and could expand further. → Read More
Purple Line Extravagance Leaves Less for Metro
Rather than criticizing Secretary Chao for not funding more of the Metro, Governor Hogan should reevaluate his financial choices. Funds currently earmarked for the Purple Line project could be better spent improving the infrastructure that is already in place. → Read More
Making It Easier for Employers to Hire
On Tuesday the House of Representatives will vote on a new bill, known as the Save Local Business Act (H.R. 3441), introduced by Representative Bradley Byrne (R-AL). The purpose of the bill is to roll back the changes and to make it easier for employers to hire workers. The bill seeks a return to the prior standard, that to be an employer, a firm must have an “actual, direct, and immediate”… → Read More
All Eyes on Ohio Drug Price Vote
The measure, similar to last year’s rejected California Proposition 61, would require state entities, such as the Department of Health, Ohio State University Medical Center, and the Department of Medicaid, to purchase prescription drugs from manufacturers at a net price at or below the price paid by the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs (VA). → Read More
Tax Reform Needed for Continued High GDP Growth
If the United States is able to maintain 3 percent growth in GDP for three quarters in a row, it would show real improvement on prior years. The last time GDP grew over 3 percent for three quarters in a row was over ten years ago, between Q3 in 2004 and Q1 in 2005. In order to accomplish this, it will be important to continue to work toward policies that foster economic growth. → Read More
CEA Analysis Buttresses Case for Corporate Tax Cuts
CEA finds that workers, who have recently seen diminishing growth in their wages over the past decades, could see substantial increases in salary income and wage growth in the future if the corporate tax rate was reduced. → Read More
Montgomery County Wage Hike Will Drive Business to Virginia
Although there is the potential for the higher wage to benefit a few people, the costs will likely outweigh the benefits. At the county’s Health and Human Services Committee meeting on October 9th, members should advocate against the minimum wage hike. → Read More
Roll Back the Fiduciary Rule
What supporters of the rule do not recognize is that the Fiduciary Rule does not necessarily fix the loss in retirement funds from commissions. The rule merely shifts how clients pay for financial advice. Instead of paying from their funds, the higher costs faced by the financial services industry likely would be passed along to clients in the form of an upfront fee. If the Fiduciary Rule is not… → Read More
Intercity Buses Cruise Ahead of Amtrak
As Congress considers additional infrastructure spending, Americans are increasingly choosing buses for intercity travel. Since 2008, the number of passenger miles spent on express intercity buses, such as Megabus and Boltbus, has increased by about 2 billion miles. Additionally, the number of trips grew about 22 percent from 2010 to 2015. → Read More
The Minimum Wage Debate Continues
While academia continues the minimum wage debate, its consequences are being played out in the labor market. As more cities and states raise their minimum wages above the federal minimum, our knowledge on the issue will expand and inform policy decisions in the future. → Read More