$24 Minimum Wage Is What It Takes To Afford Rent Anywhere in America

Minimum wage and affordable housing do not coexist. There’s not a single place in the country where minimum-wage workers can afford to rent one- or two-bedroom homes without working impossible hours. Not even in places like Washington, D.C., Massachusetts, or California—where minimum wage is nearly double the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour—can workers find decent housing at an affordable rent. Michela Zonta, PhD, a senior policy analyst for housing and consumer finance policy at the Center for American Progress, says it’s always been this way. READ MORE

CARES Act — Prelude to a $15 Minimum Wage?

Included in the March 2020 Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act were three programs with less euphonious acronyms: FPUC, PEUC, and PUA. These programs extended (by 13 weeks), expanded (to self-employed workers), and added a $600 per week federal kicker to, state-level unemployment benefits. As July comes to a close, more than 25 million Americans are about to lose that federal kicker. READ MORE

Stop Asking Job Candidates for Their Salary History

In response to nationwide protests, CEOs have committed to fighting discrimination and intolerance and have renewed pledges to increase diversity and fairness within their organizations. But how can they demonstrate that these are more than just empty promises? New research (by Bessen, Denk, and co-author Chen Meng) shows that CEOs can take one simple, immediate action to substantially reduce pay disparities for Black and women employees: Stop asking job applicants about prior pay. READ MORE