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** COVID-19’s economic impact: Cutting through the noise
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A note from EPI's Kirstyn Flood ([link removed]) : As the concern around COVID-19 heightens, EPI is providing analysis and practical policy solutions to address the economic impact on workers and their families.

There are endless questions for workers. Many wonder whether they can afford to stay home and seek medical care if they become infected, whether their health insurance covers getting tested, and whether their small business will survive during and after the crisis. If the coronavirus has taught us anything, it’s that the health of our economy is dependent on the health of the public. Many policymakers want to take action and mitigate the economic fallout, but what makes real economic sense?

EPI’s economists weigh in on the best path ahead—and shed light on the debate over expanding health care coverage.


** Trump’s payroll tax cuts are a terrible opening bid to address the economic fallout of COVID-19 ([link removed])
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Unconditional tax cuts for employers are a terrible policy response to the economic fallout of COVID-19. But employer tax credits that are tied to the provision of specific benefits for workers can be a useful way to deliver emergency help. In the long run, key benefits like paid sick leave and strong unemployment insurance should not rest on employer tax credits, but these credits might be the best way to deliver emergency benefits right now. Read the blog post » ([link removed])
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** Trump's payroll tax cuts are a terrible opening bid to address the economic fallout of COVID-19
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** Getting serious about the economic response to COVID-19 ([link removed])
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With the stock market plummeting and concern around COVID-19 (commonly known as the coronavirus) escalating, it is time to get serious about the economic policy response. Policymakers and the public will need help in distinguishing between smart responses and ideologically opportunistic responses such as calls for cuts in taxes and regulations. Read the blog post » ([link removed])


** Amid COVID-19 outbreak, the workers who need paid sick days the most have the least ([link removed])
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The United States is unprepared for the COVID-19 pandemic given that many workers throughout the economy will have financial difficulty in following the CDC’s recommendations to stay home and seek medical care if they think they’ve become infected. Millions of U.S. workers and their families don’t have access to health insurance, and only 30% of the lowest-paid workers ([link removed]) have the ability to earn paid sick days—workers who typically have lots of contact with the public and aren’t able to work from home. Read the blog post » ([link removed])


** Teachers pay out-of-pocket to keep their classrooms clean of COVID-19 ([link removed])
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“I keep my surfaces as clean as possible, wipe down tables every day, and use sanitizer, but it becomes an expense, because the district doesn’t give us wipes or sanitizer for our classrooms,” Kristin Luebbert, a teacher at the U School in North Philadelphia, recently told The Philadelphia Inquirer ([link removed]) . “It’s just a worry—what’s the plan and how are we going to be safe?” Read the blog post » ([link removed])


** Union workers are more likely to have paid sick days and health insurance: COVID-19 sheds light on least-empowered workers ([link removed])

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The COVID-19 pandemic highlights the vast inequalities in the United States between those who can more easily follow the Center for Disease Control’s recommendation to stay home and seek medical attention when needed and those who cannot. High-wage earners are more likely to be able to stay home and have health insurance to seek medical care than low-wage earners. And, those in certain sectors—e.g. information and financial activities—are more likely to have paid sick days or can work from home than those in other sectors—e.g. leisure and hospitality. COVID-19 also sheds light on another difference in economic security and access to medical care among workers: the benefits to being in a union. Read the blog post » ([link removed])


** Fundamental health reform like ‘Medicare for All’ would help the labor market ([link removed])
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A new report ([link removed]) from EPI Research Director Josh Bivens finds that Medicare for All would bolster the labor market and strengthen economic security for millions of U.S. households, and would likely boost the number of jobs in the U.S. labor market. Read the report » ([link removed])
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** Even HBO’s John Oliver didn’t provide the full context on ‘Medicare for All’ and jobs ([link removed])
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There’s a lot of misleading rhetoric out there about how providing “Medicare for All” (M4A) could destroy the economy or lead to ruinous tax increases. But one bright spot was HBO host John Oliver’s monologue on the plan that went viral last month. Read the blog post » ([link removed])


** EPI in the news
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The Washington Post ([link removed]) cited a recent EPI report ([link removed]) on Medicare for All in its analysis of the benefits of the health care reform on the economy. | Medicare-for-All Would be a Boon to the American Labor Market, Study Finds ([link removed])
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EPI Senior Economist Elise Gould is quoted in a Bloomberg ([link removed]) article on the lack of paid sick leave, an issue she recently wrote about in a blog post ([link removed]) . | Coronavirus Hits America Where It’s Weakest with Big Health Gaps ([link removed])
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Gould also discussed paid sick leave on Democracy Now! ([link removed]) in light of the Trump administration’s emergency response proposal to the coronavirus. | Lack of Paid Sick Leave Makes It Difficult for Many Workers to Comply with CDC Advice to Stay Home ([link removed])
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EPI Research Director Josh Bivens joined the host of CounterSpin ([link removed]) to discuss policy changes to address the coronavirus and crises in the future. | Josh Bivens on Coronavirus Economics, Mandy Smithberger on Military Economics ([link removed])
Follow EPI on Instagram ([link removed])


** What we're reading
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** If You Can Work from Home, You Should. Now. ([link removed])
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The fire is upon us. By now, the SARS-CoV-2 virus ([link removed]) is either established or making itself at home in communities across the United States. Read more » ([link removed])

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** If You Can Stay Home Now, You Make Things Safer for the People Who Can’t ([link removed])
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There are now more than 1,100 identified coronavirus ([link removed]) cases in the US, up from 500 just a couple of days ago. Read more » ([link removed])

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** Living Without a Living Wage: At the Ever-growing Bottom of the American Economy, a Low-Wage Worker Becomes a Minimum-wage Activist ([link removed])
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Shelly Hughes says three things are required to do her job: a strong back, a strong stomach and a big heart. Read more » ([link removed])

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** 'Who's Going to Help Them?': Caregivers Brace For the Spread Of Coronavirus ([link removed])
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DURHAM, N.C. — She had been riding the city bus almost every day for the past decade without paying much attention to the people around her. Read more » ([link removed])

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COVID-19’s economic impact: Cutting through the noise
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