Economic Policies For the Working Class

During my research on a recent subject, I found an organization called the Economic Policy Institute. In their own words they are "a nonprofit, nonpartisan think tank that seeks to broaden the public debate about strategies to achieve a prosperous and fair economy." They have a noble mission statement, "To inform people and empower them to seek solutions that will ensure broadly shared prosperity and opportunity." After reading some of their publications, I felt some vindication in my personal philosophy of what I like to call "responsible capitalism." A free market with a conscience and without rampant greed, or "moral hazard" as the Federal Reserve Board likes to call it.

Now, before all the conservatives out there start sniffing, yes, the EPI seems to be left side of center, and they do have a number of labor union representatives as part of their board of directors as well as liberal university egg-heads. BUT, yes, that's a big but, that is just their board. Their researchers and economist on the other hand are graduates and Ph.D's from places like MIT, Columbia, Yale, Princeton, Georgia Tech., and other places that give you really expensive pieces of paper after four, six or eight years of school. Their facts and research are rather interesting and explain a great deal on why I feel like I'm on a hamster wheel getting no where fast.

I highly recommend reading the following:

1.) How Much More Can Consumers Be Squeezed by Stagnant Income, Skyrocketing Household Costs, and Falling Home Prices?
Testimony given by Dr. Jared Bernstein, Senior Economist for the Economic Policy Institute, to the Joint Economic Committee of the United States Senate and the United States House of Representatives.

2.) A Plan to Revive the American Economy
If I was to give this a title, I would call it The New Deal for the New Century
Part of the EPI's Agenda for Shared Prosperity.

It is obviously part of the progressive movement, but unless you are part of the top 1% of America's wage earners, as most of all of us are not in a town with deep working class roots, why wouldn't you support this?